WWE

Hulk Hogan tells TMZ Sports ... he's devastated over the news of his friend Roddy Piper -- saying, "I will forever miss him."

"He was my best friend. He is a legend."

Hogan adds, "God's gain is our loss. May his family in this time of need, find peace. Much love forever, HH."

Hogan and Piper were the two of the biggest stars in wrestling back in the '80s -- and famously did battle at "Wrestlemania I" in 1985.

But outside the ring, they were tight -- and remained friends for decades.

The Iron Sheik has also issued a statement ... saying, "Roddy Piper. I love you forever. God bless you bubba."

WWE legend Virgil -- "My main man. Always had my back. RIP #RoddyPiper."

Kevin Nash -- "RIP to Roddy Piper. Prayers to his family and loved ones."

Bill Goldberg -- "#RIP #RoddyPiper ........damn sure one of the good guys. Gonna miss ya buddy"

Jim Ross -- "Rest in peace, Roddy Piper. You will live in our hearts forever"

UFC's Dana White -- "Sad day. RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper."

John Cena -- "One of the true greats of all time. My heart goes out to his family and the fans he entertained over the years. RIP Rowdy."

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon -- "Roddy Piper was one of the most entertaining, controversial and bombastic performers ever in WWE, beloved by millions of fans around the world. I extend my deepest condolences to his family."

We're constantly updating this post ....

Another Canadian superstar is going in on Meek Mill -- Bret "The Hitman" Hart ... who just poured salt in the wound ... saying Meek's diss track was WEEEEAAKKKK!!!

"I’m glad to see a fellow Canadian walk away with the championship gold around his waist #drake #canadian #ovo #thebestthereiswasandeverwill," Hart posted.

And as our friends at BSO pointed out, he also posted a pic of Drake's OVO owl.

Depending on who you talk to, Bret "The Hitman" Hart is the greatest Canadian professional wrestler of all-time and is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest technical wrestler of all-time.

The fact even he is dissing Meek Mill tells you how big this battle between Drake and Meek has gotten.

If you wanted to use a wrestling analogy to describe the beef, Drake is currently John Cena and Meek is Fandango.

Charlotte Flair may be following in her famous father's footsteps on WWE's "NXT" -- but her abs are something Ric Flair only ever dreamed of having.

Still think wrestling is fake??

WWE superstar John Cena -- star of one of the biggest movies in the country right now -- broke his nose during Monday Night Raw last night ... after Seth Rollins bashed him in the face with a flying knee.

Despite blood dripping from his honker, the "Trainwreck" star continued with the match

WWE doc Steve Daquino says Cena suffered a nasal fraction -- and explained, "He’s got quite a bit of displacement, so we sent him over to the local emergency room so he can be evaluated by the ears, nose and throat doctor who’s on call tonight and see what can be done to properly repair it."

Damn.

By the way, Cena ended up WINNING the match.

John Cena naked might be a glorious thing to behold, but his fellow WWE star Big Show draws the line at seeing the man's semi-erect penis on a massive movie screen.

We got Big Show at LAX, and filled him on (spoiler alert) Cena's scene in "Trainwreck" where he shows off a good bit of his championship goods. The big man's reaction is priceless -- at first, he's totally comfortable, but the details of the scene push him over the edge ... in a funny way.

Also comical -- our photog suggested Big Show, who played college hoops at Wichita State, could have taken Shaquille O'Neal back in the day.

Boxing legend George Foreman isn't jumping on the bandwagon against his "friend" Hulk Hogan -- and swears he's not a racist.

Foreman told TMZ Sports ... “I have known Hulk Hogan for well over 20 years. I do not condone the language he used, but he is no racist, he is a good guy."

And instead of distancing himself from Hogan -- on the heels of the n-word scandal -- the ex champ went out of his way to verbally embrace him.

Virgil -- one of the most iconic black wrestlers ever -- says the Hulk Hogan he considered a mentor and a friend never showed any signs of racism in all the years he's known him.

Virgil tells TMZ Sports he was saddened Friday morning when he read about Hogan's N-word rant on a sex tape, and says he doesn't condone racism or racist behavior one bit.

But Virgil tells us, "You can only judge a person based on past experience. Hulk Hogan has never given me a reason to believe he is a racist."

Hogan has since apologized for the comments he made on the sex tape -- which was recorded 8 years ago.

Dennis Rodman's not only standing up for Hulk Hogan ... he's desperately trying to get together a squad of famous African-Americans to vouch for Hulk NOT being a racist.

Rodman says he's known Hulk for 25 years, and claims ... "There isn't a racist bone in that man's body." The Worm also called in the cavalry ... or tried to anyway.

He tweeted, ""Lets lend our support to the Hulkster who most certainly is not a racist @Scottiepippen @MagicJohnson @Shaq @MikeTyson." So far, he's gotten zero response publicly.

Hulk Hogan is apologizing for using the n-word during an angry rant about his daughter's ex-boyfriend, and it doesn't reflect who he really is -- but a transcript of the remarks paints a much different picture.

Hulk tells us ... "Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it."

The language he's referring to is outrageous -- coming on the tail end of his sex tape. Hulk says ... "I mean, I don't have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f**king n**gers."

He continues, "I mean I'd rather if she was going to f**k some n**ger, I'd rather have her marry an 8-foot tall n**ger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player."

Hogan is suing a website for releasing the sex tape, and the n-word rant is expected to come out when the case goes to trial later this year.

In his apology, Hogan says ... "I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs. It is not who I am. I continue to work every day to improve as a person, and this matter is an important learning experience for me in that regard."

He adds, that language "is inconsistent with my own beliefs."

The WWE is cutting all ties with wrestling legend Hulk Hogan ... after finding out about him angrily using the n-word to describe someone who was dating his daughter.

Our sources say the WWE fired Hogan after learning of a transcript of comments made on his sex tape. Hogan is in the middle of a lawsuit over the tape ... and the n-word remarks are expected to come out once the trial begins later this year.

The WWE released a statement Friday morning saying, "WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide."

TMZ has seen the tape ... and on it, Hogan is discussing his daughter Brooke's music career. He repeatedly used the n-word while talking about an African-American guy she was dating.

Hogan's attorney tells TMZ ... Hulk claims he was NOT fired, and actually resigned from the WWE late Thursday night.

Story developing ...

WWE superstar Big Show says Doink the Clown's family is WRONG to go after the WWE for the wrestler's death ... claiming Vince McMahon does EVERYTHING he can to protect the talent.

The 7-footer was out in L.A. when we asked about the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of Doink's children -- which claims Doink's life spiraled out of control due to concussions he suffered in the ring.

"I think that everybody who steps through those ropes knows what could possibly happen," Big Show says.

"You gotta accept that responsibility as a talent if you step those ropes, whether you're a boxer, ultimate fighter or sports entertainer."

The mother of Doink the Clown's children is suing the WWE -- claiming the former wrestling star suffered serious brain injuries in the ring that led to his death ... and the WWE ignored the problem.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made by Dusty Rhodes' wife moments after the wrestling legend collapsed at his Florida home ... and the 911 operator sounds inconvenienced by the whole ordeal.

The call was made on June 10th at 5:56 AM -- you can hear Dusty's wife say, "I need help. My husband has fallen. He's very sick. I need help."

The operator snipes back, "They're coming as fast as they can. Me talking to you is not stopping them."

Dusty's wife thanks the 911 operator and gets off the phone ... and that's when you hear the operator breathe a giant exasperated sigh.

Eventually, help arrived ... and Dusty was transported to a nearby hospital where he passed away the next day.

Rhodes was 69.

Dusty Rhodes' son Dustin Runnels (aka Goldust aka Dustin Rhodes) says his family is still shocked and "extremely sad" over the passing of the WWE legend ... telling TMZ Sports, "My dad was my hero."

Dustin followed in his father's footsteps and became a wrestling superstar himself ... and he tells us, "I owe everything to my father. I am who I am because of him. He was an amazing man."

"My dad was the greatest man I've ever known."

As we previously reported, Rhodes collapsed at his home in Florida on Wednesday and passed away at a local hospital the next day.

Dustin tells us his family is extremely sad ... "but thankful for the unbelievable amount of support they've received from around the world."

Some of the biggest wrestlers in the world have offered their condolences to the Rhodes family ... including Ric Flair and Roddy Piper, who shared one of his favorite memories of the American Dream.

Dusty Rhodes was a "national treasure" ... the human embodiment of 24-karat gold ... so says his former ring-mate Rowdy Roddy Piper who's honoring his friend with a HILARIOUS memory.

Piper was clearly emotional about the death of the wrestling legend when we saw him out in L.A. Thursday -- so we asked him to share a memory of Rhodes that would make him smile.

What we got was AWESOME -- a tale of smuggling a donkey (or a zebra) to the 12th floor of an apartment in Minnesota.

"He was in a league of his own," Piper says.

R.I.P.

Dusty Rhodes was laser focused on improving his health when he met with fellow wrestling legend Jerry Brisco last week, and feeling good about his prognosis.

Brisco -- who's known Rhodes for decades -- tells TMZ Sports they hung out in Orlando last Thursday, and Rhodes talked about how he was going to the doctor regularly. He'd been told he needed to bring his blood pressure down, and Brisco says Dusty's weight loss was helping.

Rhodes and Brisco were planning to go to an event Thursday night in Tampa to raise money for a wrestling wall of fame. Jerry says it won't be the same, but he's still going so he can gather with other wrestlers and fans to share Dusty stories.