Before SmackDown on Friday night, the WWE honored Hogan in a moving memorial before hosting his first live event since his passing. Jimmy Hart, his former manager, was seen shedding his tears.
WWE stars have paid tribute to wrestling legend Hulk Hogan who died suddenly aged 71 this week.
Hulk Hogan spent his final weeks battling severe health issues and making peace with estranged loved ones before dying of cardiac arrest. The wrestling icon,whose real name is Terry Bollea, died on Thursday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Clearwater mansion in Florida.
Major Nate Burnside of the Clearwater Police Department stated in a press conference on Thursday that “the Clearwater Police Department is conducting a medical investigation, which is standard in these types of cases. At this time, this call for service has no indications of foul play or suspicious behavior.
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In addition to hospital stays, Hogan had several occasions before passing away. He underwent a four-level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, a challenging neck procedure, in June. His wife, 45-year-old Sky Daily, reported to followers on Instagram that he was recovering from “intensive surgery with a lengthy and layered healing process.”
In the first live event since his death, the WWE remembered Hogan in a poignant memorial before kicking off SmackDown on Friday night. Wrestling great Triple H, who now works as the company’s chief content officer, paid homage to his former colleague before a traditional 10-bell salute was held in his memory.
Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, said: “Ladies and gentleman, yesterday we lost one of the biggest and most globally recognized icons in the world.”
A number of WWE figures looked visibly emotional during the 10-bell salute, including his former manager Jimmy Hart, who was seen wiping away tears. The likes of Randy Orton, Logan Paul, Charlotte Flair and Cody Rhodes were also seen paying their respects to Hogan on the stage, reports MailOnline.
Hogan’s greatest WWE moments were then sung in a heartwarming montage that SmackDown then ran, with some heartfelt words from a number of his fellow wrestlers.
At the time of his death, Hogan’s career was thought to have cost around £18 million. His legacy included wrestling becoming a well-known sport in the 1980s.
Brooke, his third wife, Sky, and his 34-year-old son Nick, who were also married to Linda Claridge, and two grandchildren, all survive him. Hogan’s turbulent personal life frequently appeared in media alongside his stardom in wrestling. After a divorcing in public in 2009, he split from Claridge and wed Jennifer McDaniel in 2010. In 2021, that union came to an end.
Source: Mirror
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