Hulk Hogan was taking life-threatening amounts of fentanyl to manage his physical pain during his time with the TNA following his divorce from his wife, Linda Hogan.
The wrestling pioneer detailed his reliance on the drug in the new Netflix docuseries "Hulk Hogan: Real American," which served as his final interview before his sudden death in July 2025 from a heart attack.
Hulk said he signed up for the TNA (Total Nonstop Wrestling, the second-largest wrestling group behind WWE) after he gave "everything" to Linda during their 2009 divorce... and needed the cash. But, it wasn't long before he and TNA realized he was in no shape to compete at the level he'd been contracted to, so he turned to the opioid to help his severe pain.
WrestleMania 42 didn’t just deliver inside the ring -- it shattered records, making it one of the biggest events in WWE history!
WWE says the two-night spectacle at Allegiant Stadium was a hit across the board ... in ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise, and even VIP experiences.
Mania drew 106,072 fans from all 50 states and nearly 70 countries, making Las Vegas the center of the wrestling world for the weekend, attracting a ton of big celebrities, who showed up for the action.
The action matched the hype, too. Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk in Sunday night’s main event to win the World Heavyweight Championship, while Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE title against Randy Orton on Saturday -- despite early interference from Pat McAfee.
Safe to say CM Punk is no happy camper this morning ... after going down in flames to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, the WWE star got into an altercation with a fan, delivering a major smackdown to the man's phone!
Punk was captured on video just after midnight Monday, getting into it with the fan, who was filming Punk's WWE friend, Bayley, as she was hugging his wife in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on the Vegas Strip.
Check out the footage ... Punk steps right up into the face of the fan before slapping down his phone. Security promptly jumps in between Punk and the other dude to prevent things from really going awry. Punk then coldly stares at the man, who is so terrified that he runs off while apologizing profusely.
WrestleMania 42 Night Two has opened with a huge shock, as it appears Brock Lesnar has retired from the WWE!
Lesnar opened night two of the event facing off against the “The Ruler” Oba Femi in a highly anticipated match, with both powerhouses creating a build that not many other matches on this weekend's card could compete with.
Femi dominated Lesnar quickly, ending the match in less than 5 minutes after throwing Lesnar around as if he wasn’t 6’3” and 286 pounds. But it’s what happened after the match ended that shocked fans inside of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
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Lesnar sat in the center of the ring, clearly emotional, and slowly removed his gloves and boots, leaving them in the center of the mat, a gesture used by many wrestlers to symbolize their last match. Lesnar then hugged his longtime Manager Paul Heyman, both breaking down in tears, creating an emotional WrestleMania moment.
Joe Jonas kicked off WrestleMania Night Two in Las Vegas by showing off his solo vocals, performing the National Anthem for the 50,000 plus in attendance inside of Allegiant Stadium... but that wasn't the only thing he showed off in the last 24 hours...
Joined by his bandmates from DNCE, Jonas sang ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ before the start of the WWE event and he was decked out head to toe in the stars and the stripes.
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When WWE announced Jonas would open Night Two of the event he said, “Ummm as a certified lifelong WWE super fan both me and the younger version of me are freaking out.”
Think you can identify the stars of WrestleMania 42 just by their physiques? These WWE superstars are in peak condition -- now it’s your turn to match each face to the body and see if you’ve got what it takes to go head-to-head!
Keep an eye out for Finn Bálor, Jade Cargill, and more shredded stars ...
WrestleMania 42 is set to explode this weekend with WWE’s fiercest talent … and TMZ is hyping things up with a head-to-head “Who’d You Rather?” showdown.
Key players like Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, and The Bella Twins aren't backing down ... are you?!
LA Knight and The Uso's may be on Logan Paul's mind, but someone who ain't ... Tom Brady, as the G.O.A.T. is once again catching strays from The Maverick, who unleashed on TB12 from the site of WrestleMania in Sin City!
TMZ's Inside The Ring caught up with Logan at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ahead of an action-packed weekend and asked if he’s prepared for the possibility of Brady popping up. Paul didn’t hesitate to fire back.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s washed up,” Logan told us, adding Brady already “was beaten by a YouTuber slash wrestler in his own sport.”
Logan’s referring to their viral showdown at the Fanatics football just a few weeks ago ... when he went toe-to-toe with Tom on the gridiron and came out on top -- something he clearly hasn’t let the seven-time Super Bowl champ forget.
Oh, how the tables have turned ... instead of young immigrants, now Donald Trump's own children might be thrown into a cage for a change ...Hunter Biden just posted a video saying he wants a piece of DT's sons, Ericand Donald Jr.
Watch the clip ... while announcing he'll be joining Andrew Callaghan and his Channel 5 YouTube channel on tour this month, Hunter also let slip that Andrew is "trying to organize a cage match" between Eric, Don Jr., and Hunter.
Wrestling champ Kennedy Blades suplexed Abby Hornacek on live TV ... and it was actually the FOX News host's idea, according to the women, who walked TMZ Sports through the viral moment!
Blades, a 22-year-old world-class wrestler, says she had "just rolled out of bed" when she got the wild request from Hornacek.
"So I see Abby, and she's all happy and stuff, and then she's like, 'Yeah, Kennedy, we want you to suplex me live!' And I was like, 'wait, what?' I was not prepared for that at all!" the 2024 Olympian told Michael Babcock.
Fox News journalist Abby Hornacek is one tough cookie ... she got savagely body slammed by a wrestler, but made it seem like it was a walk in the park.
Abby went head-to-head with American wrestler Kennedy Blades during Saturday morning's "Fox & Friends" segment on the Real American Freestyle wrestling event, which goes down tonight in Tampa, FL and will air on Fox Nation.
Blades, who will do battle against Milana Dudieva at the event, showed Abby just what she plans to do to her opponent this evening with her signature move, known as a suplex. And Abby was totally down with the experience, but she also admitted she was "nervous" before things got violent.
Roman Reigns is training 'round the clock ahead of his showdown with CM Punkat WrestleMania 42 ... and while he's ready to crush "The Best in the World" in Vegas -- he says there's one thing that could come between him and the Heavyweight Championship.
His emotions.
The "Original Tribal Chief" was leaving Del Frisco's in NYC this week ... when Adam Glyn asked how he's staying in tip-top shape weeks before stepping foot on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" -- and he admitted his regimen "sucks."
RR broke it all down ... revealing he does three-a-days and meal prepping with no cheat meals whatsoever. In fact, his order at the steakhouse wasn't a cheat meal at all, as he still had his health as a priority.
WWE SuperStar Liv Morgan didn't wait until Monday Night Raw at Boston Garden to turn heads ... the 2026 Royal Rumble champ hit up a Celtics game with Raquel Rodriguez on Sunday, and the two women chugged beers on the jumbotron!
Morgan and Rodriguez were courtside in Beantown to watch the Celtics host the Minnesota Timberwolves ... a game the Timberwolves won, 102-92.
At one point, the two wrestlers were put up on the big, in-arena video boards at TD Garden, and as one must do when given the chance -- chug the drink in your hand!
Pro wrestling icon Dennis “Loverboy” Condrey has died at the age of 74, according to fellow wrestling star Dax Harwood, who shared the news Friday.
Harwood took to Instagram with an emotional tribute, calling Condrey "a true Pioneer of Professional Wrestling" and revealing the two would text after every match, and Condrey would always tell him what he liked and what needed improvement ... something Dax says will "never be lost" on him.
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Harwood goes on to include that Condrey’s wife gave him the green light to set up a GoFundMe in order to help cover funeral costs and bills she’s now left to handle on her own.
Members of the WWE roster aren't taking too kindly to Tom Brady's comments about their jobs being "cute and scripted" ... with names like Charlotte Flairand the Bella Twins ripping the NFL GOAT.
Brady made the comments while speaking with Sports Illustrated at the Fanatics Flag Football Draft Wednesday night ... when he was asked how many WWE wrestlers it would take to sack him.
"They wouldn't even get near me," he said. "Plus if I had a good offensive line they punch those guys right in the throat and they'd probably be crying."
AEW star Ricochet is facing a ton of backlash this week ... after he told a woman he's "glad" she's battling multiple sclerosis ... leading the wrestler to share his regret over the statement.
The exchange went down on March 16 ... when the woman appeared to be criticizing the former WWE talent's acting abilities.
Ricochet then apparently went to her page and read her bio -- which shared a motivational line about her experience with the chronic autoimmune disease -- because his response made a reference to it.
