WWE

Brooke Hogan is telling people close to her she's grateful she had one final chance to tell father Hulk Hogan she loved him, even if they were estranged in his final years ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Brooke tell TMZ … she learned of her dad's death Thursday morning when her brother, Nick, texted her husband to share the news. We're told the father-daughter relationship had been fractured for some time -- the result of a culmination of issues over the years and how Hulk treated Brooke.

Our sources say the last time they spoke was two weeks before Hulk married Sky Daily in September 2023. During that final phone call, we're told Brooke expressed deep love and concern for her father, telling him she didn't think he should still be working so hard given his declining health.

The wrestling world was left reeling after we revealed Hulk Hogan had died at the age of 71 in July 2025.

Through a career full of iconic moments on and off camera, the professional wrestler's legacy was really cemented in the ring -- where he made his bones by pushing his body to the limits in some of the sport's most memorable bouts.

Here's a look back at a few of Hogan's most impressive and talked-about matches over the course of his life.

One of the moments where Hogan really made a name for himself was at Wrestlemania III in 1987, where he faced off against legendary wrestler André the Giant.

The pair had been matched on several occasions before then, with the French wrestler typically coming out on top ... but their face-off at the then-WWF's main promotion brought legions of new fans into the wrestling world.

The two made it through a grueling match, which was billed as the main event of the night and viewed by tens of thousands of fans.

At the end of their match, Hogan managed to body-slam Andre before finishing him off with a leg drop pin, and retained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

While Hogan had been portrayed as a "face" -- that's a good guy, folks -- for much of his career, he unexpectedly turned "heel" -- a villain -- while appearing at the WCW Bash at the Beach event in 1996.

The match-up pitted Randy Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger against The Outsiders -- namely Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who were to be joined by a mystery third teammate.

Although Hogan's surprise arrival at the event was initially seen by fans as a move to help out Savage, Sting, and Luger, he performed a pair of leg drops on Savage, and helped Hall and Nash win the match.

Despite the trio being pelted with trash after the conclusion of the match, they went on to form the wrestling group New World Order, or nWo, and drove further competition between the WCW and WWE throughout the late '90s.

Hogan continued as a heel right up until Wrestlemania 18, billed as Wrestlemania X8, when he took on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the main match of the night.

Although Hogan was still playing the bad guy at the time of the event, he proved to be the crowd favorite, and he drew plenty of cheers from the show's audience after "hulking up" partway through the tilt.

Hogan and Johnson went back and forth for much of the match, and after Johnson took the upper hand and managed to pin his opponent, they shook hands in a show of respect.

FOX Nation is moving forward with streaming Hulk Hogan's wrestling series despite his sudden death ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us Hogan's "Real American Freestyle" show on the FOX News streaming subscription service will move forward with its original plan to stream live ... despite the WWE icon's shocking death.

Before Hogan's passing, the streaming giant signed its second deal in the live sports space, entering the ring as the exclusive broadcast partner for "Real American Freestyle," a new pro wrestling league co-founded by Hogan and others.

Hulk Hogan's former close friend Bubba the Love Sponge is mourning the death of the beloved wrestling star ... saying he has some regrets about their rocky history.

Bubba tells TMZ ... "I’m heartbroken to hear of Terry’s passing. As everyone knows we had our issues and those issues were mostly my fault. I loved him as a friend while he was with us, and will continue to love his memory as a friend going forward."

The famous radio DJ goes on to say, "I’m saddened that I will never be able to tell him how sorry I am for the way I handled things that created the rift between us. I miss my friend and hope he rests in peace."

11:20 AM PT -- Vince McMahon -- who made WWE what it is today -- released a statement ... saying, "The world lost a treasure today."

"Hulk Hogan was the greatest WWE Superstar of ALL TIME, someone who was loved and admired around the world," he said on X. "He was a trailblazer, the first performer who transitioned from being a wrestling star into a global phenomenon."

"His grit and unbridled thirst for success were unparalleled -- and made him the consummate performer. He gave everything he had to the audience whom he appreciated, respected and loved."

"He leaves us with one of his favorite expressions, 'Train, take your vitamins and say your prayers.' Today, we pray for him."

11:00 AM PT -- The sad news has made its way to the Oval Office ... with President Donald Trump reflecting on his "great friend," Hulk Hogan.

"Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way -- Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart," Trump said on Truth Social. "He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week."

"He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive. To his wife, Sky, and family, we give our warmest best wishes and love. Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed!"

Hollywood and the sports world are mourning the sudden death of Hulk Hogan, who passed away Thursday after going into cardiac arrest at his Florida home.

Leading the tributes pouring in across social media is the WWE, which says they're "saddened" by the loss of "one of pop culture's most recognizable figures." As you know, the legendary athlete brought WWE into the mainstream back in 1985 during the first WrestleMania.

Sylvester Stallone -- who starred in 'Rocky III" alongside HH -- posted on IG Thursday, saying, "He was absolutely wonderful and his amazing skill made Rocky three incredibly special. My heart breaks."

Ric Flair spoke with TMZ about Hulk Hogan in the minutes after the wrestling legend's death ... and he got super emotional remembering his good friend.

The Nature Boy sat down with Harvey Levin shortly after Hulk died of cardiac arrest in Florida ... and he immediately broke down in tears.

Flair told us he had just talked with Hulk's former manager, Jimmy Hart, on Wednesday ... and Hart ensured Hogan "was fine."

Nikki Bella is putting herself back out there after her split from Artem Chigvintsev ... revealing she's on a popular celebrity dating app -- but not necessarily looking to get cuffed just yet.

Bella opened up on the "What Do You Wanna Talk About With Cody Rhodes" podcast ... saying lucky individuals shouldn't be surprised if they come across her profile on Raya, a platform for celebrities and high-profile individuals in the entertainment industry.

She told Rhodes she never had any intention of getting on one of those apps ... but said being back on the road reminded her how it can get lonely -- especially in hotel rooms.

7/23 9:55 AM PT -- Ric Flair just gave fans a closer look at the damage ... revealing the large scar on his forehead.

Naitch also shared another apology to the ATL Comic Convention for missing his planned fan event ... but based on the image, we take it his supporters will understand.

Ric Flair just knocked out skin cancer once again -- the wrestling legend revealed he underwent successful treatment for melanoma.

The 76-year-old shared the news Tuesday morning via social media ... featuring a photo of himself in a medical facility. In the image, Flair has bandages on his left arm and above his left eye.

He thanked his doctors at the Academic Alliance in Dermatology for helping him get through his second bout of skin cancer in three years ... finishing it off with his classic "WOOOOO" catchphrase.

WWE SummerSlam just got a whole lot bigger ... 'cause Paul Heyman has accepted Roman Reigns' challenge for a tag team match at next week's big event -- saying the only thing left to decide is the date!

Adam Glyn caught up with the Wiseman in NYC, and asked him about the video put out by Reigns yesterday calling for a match between himself and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.

"Roman Reigns has picked his poison, now Roman Reigns can pick the date," he said. "Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed  accept the challenge for Roman Reigns and Jey Uso at Summerslam."

Can you imagine a world where Kurt Angle never joined WWE?? Well, the Hall of Famer tells TMZ Sports if a league like Hulk Hogan's Real American Freestyle existed back in his day ... his life might have looked drastically different!!

We caught up with the American Hero ahead of the organization's debut next month in Cleveland ... and he couldn't be more excited to join in on the fun as an analyst.

"There have been other people who have tried professional wrestling leagues before with Olympic-style wrestling, freestyle wrestling, it didn't work out," Angle said.

Wrestling legend Buff Bagwell had a significant portion of his right leg amputated on Thursday.

The former WCW star's good friend, Steve Stasiak, announced the news on Friday morning ... writing in a Facebook post complications from a car crash five years ago led to the serious surgery.

"The injuries from his 2020 accident never fully healed," Stasiak wrote. "He gave it everything he had to avoid this outcome -- but that fight led him here."

Logan Paul found out the hard way not to call Jelly Roll a "greasy, redneck prison rat" ... 'cause the WWE Superstar ended up chokeslammed through a freakin' desk as a result -- right on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

The 40-year-old singer was tapped to guest host the late-night show during Kimmel's yearly summer vacation ... and it was only right to interview his upcoming tag team partner, Randy Orton, ahead of "SummerSlam" in New Jersey next month -- where the two will face off against Paul and Drew McIntyre.

McIntyre apparently couldn't wait until the showdown at MetLife Stadium, 'cause he actually ended up crashing the Q&A ... and after directing some trash talk toward JR, Orton and the Scottish Warrior got into a scrap that wound up backstage.

It's been over two years since Bad Bunny stepped foot in a WWE ring ... but even the guy he whooped on in a match can't wait for his return -- with Damian Priest telling TMZ Sports he's got an open invite to come back anytime!!

We caught up with Priest out in NYC ... where we asked him when he hoped to see the singer put down the mic and lace up the wrestling boots again.

"Whenever he's ready," Priest said. "That's up to him, as far as like when he's ready physically and mentally. Easy for me to say next week, but he has to be actually ready."

Love is in the air for NFL offensive lineman Drew Moss and Brock Lesnar's daughter, Mya ... the two just confirmed they're in a serious relationship!!!

Moss hard launched the romance on his Instagram this week ... sharing two photos of them at a recent wedding with the caption, "Forever wedding date❤️."

In one of the pics, they can be seen flashing big grins as they pose next to each other for a camera. In the other, Moss planted a big kiss on his boo's cheek.

Seth Rollins' knee injury might be as bad as it looked ... as Triple H provided an update on the WWE Superstar's status on Sunday -- and it's not giving much hope for fans.

Rollins suffered the ailment Saturday night in Atlanta during his match with LA Knight ... and roughly 24 hours later, the promotion's COO admitted it "doesn't look good."

Triple H opened up on the incident while meeting with the media after Sunday's all-women's "Evolution" event ... and he said early tests were inconclusive about the full extent of the injury.

A Southern California beach house belonging to Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch was burglarized on Tuesday morning, TMZ Sports has learned.

Cops tell us ... the WWE Superstars' Playa Del Rey pad was hit at around 3 AM, just hours after Lynch and Rollins performed at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. for Monday Night RAW.

We're told no one was inside the home at the time of the break-in.