Hulk Hogan miraculously cheated death after he consumed a shocking amount of fentanyl as he grappled with intense pain towards the end of his wrestling career.
The WWE legend died in July 2025, aged 71, but Hulk could have passed away much earlier after his doctors said the star had taken more of the opioid drug than they had ever seen another person take.
Hulk – real name Terry Bollea – was “in so much pain” during a brief stint with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which he was forced to do after his 2009 divorce from Linda Hogan, in which he gave her “everything,” leaving Hulk “broke”.
Turning to Drugs
However, Hulk turned to drugs after TNA realised he was not in shape to be “an active member of the roster”, ex-TNA producer Jeremy Borash said in the Netflix docuseries, Hulk Hogan: Real American, which serves as Hulk’s final interview.
In January 2025, Hulk opened up about using drugs in the docuseries. He shared, “I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums here.
“I had two 300mg patches of fentanyl on my legs, and they gave me six 1500mg fentanyl lollipops to eat. I went to the pharmacy, he goes, ‘You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl.'”
Hulk admitted the pain forced him to sleep in a chair and not his bed.
The sports legend added: “If I just twitched my finger like that, my whole back would spasm and torque.”
Eric Bischoff’s Help
Ex-wrestling executive Eric Bischoff recalled in the docuseries that he helped his late friend get out of bed.
He said: “I would literally have to go to his hotel and help him get out of bed and get into the shower to get ready to go to the shoot.”
Eric “put together” a deal for Hulk to perform in TNA. The star was “reluctant to go” amid being in the “darkest, most devastating part of his life”, but “needed the money”.
Bischoff noted that Hulk was “contractually obligated to do it, and he wanted to do it”, but it was “hard to see” the wrestler struggling.
“There were times I felt really s***** about myself for making him do that,” said Eric.
Hitting Rock Bottom
Also in the docuseries, Hulk admitted he “hit rock bottom.” He thought about taking his own life after he split from Linda.
Hulk remembered: “I went home, and I started drinking, and you know, started eating pills, and I just went down this rabbit hole for a couple of days, and the next thing I know, I’m sitting in front of my bathroom with a gun in my mouth and not knowing what I was doing.
“I hit rock bottom. I gave Linda 70 per cent of everything because I just didn’t want to ever talk to her again, be with her, I never wanted to see her again.
“So, I gave her everything to get rid of her, and after the divorce, I had no money. I was broke, and so TNA [Total Nonstop Action Wrestling] saved me.”
Hulk and Linda married in 1983, and shared kids Brooke and Nick. Linda filed for divorce in 2007, with it finalised two years later.