Hulk Hogan‘s son Nick Hogan paid tribute to the late WWE icon on the launch of his father’s wrestling promotion Actual American Freestyle.
Nick, 35, and Hulk’s spouse, Sky Each day, had been each in attendance on Saturday, August 30, on the Wolstein Middle in Cleveland, Ohio for RAF 01 — a Fox Nation wrestling particular that Hulk was producing earlier than his dying at age 71 in July. (Us Weekly reported in July that Hogan died from an acute myocardial infarction — generally generally known as a coronary heart assault — but in addition had a historical past of leukemia CLL. Hulk’s daughter, Brooke Hogan, has raised questions in regards to the official explanation for dying.)
Talking at RAF 01, Nick took a second to handle Hulk’s legacy as a father and his influence on the skilled wrestling trade.
“Hulk, to me, is an icon, a mentor, my father, and my greatest good friend,” Nick instructed viewers. “[He was] a pressure within the sports activities leisure trade that may stay perpetually.”
Hulk and former World Championship Wrestling govt Eric Bischoff introduced in April that they had been forming knowledgeable freestyle wrestling league to advertise Olympic-style wrestling. Fox Nation got here on board to air Saturday’s launch particular, as effectively one other occasion to air later this 12 months.
The community confirmed earlier this week that RAF 01 was devoted to Hulk’s reminiscence and would function members of his household making an look.
Nick and his spouse, Tana Lea, had been beforehand concerned when WWE — which isn’t affiliated with Actual American Freestyle — aired a number of tributes to Hulk at stay occasions earlier in the summertime. WWE gathered a few of Hulk’s rivals and buddies— together with Sgt. Slaughter, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart — for a number of ten-bell salutes in his honor within the week after his dying.
In August, Nick visited the location of the deliberate Hulk Hogan’s Slam Sports activities Bar in New York Metropolis to pose for some photographs with Hulk’s enterprise accomplice Wealthy Rosen. Rosen confirmed to PageSix that he was urgent ahead with development on the Slam Sports activities Bar and anticipated it to open later this 12 months.
Hulk Hogan in November 2024. Wesley Hitt/Getty Photos
“Hulk Hogan wasn’t only a accomplice. He was an expensive good friend and a legend whose influence on sports activities and leisure is immeasurable. From the very starting, Hulk poured his coronary heart into this challenge,” Rosen mentioned. “He formed the spirit of what Slam was meant to be, a spot the place followers from world wide might collect on the very nook the place his legend started, to rejoice his legacy and the unforgettable moments that outlined his profession.”
Hulk Hogan’s Slam Sports activities Bar will probably be positioned throughout the road from the famed Madison Sq. Backyard, the place Hulk received his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship from The Iron Sheik on January 23, 1984. Hulk would go on to develop into a 12-time World Champion in each WWE and its one-time competitor WCW. (WWE bought WCW in March 2001.)
A supply instructed Us that between 800 and 1,000 folks confirmed up for a 90-minute funeral service on the Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida on August 5. Hulk’s widow, Each day, and his ex-wife, Linda Hogan, had been each in attendance with Nick, although Brooke declined to attend. ‘
Each day later referred to the funeral as “some of the stunning and transferring days [she had] ever skilled.”
“In the identical church the place we had been married and baptized collectively, we gathered with household, buddies, and family members to honor a life that touched thousands and thousands,” she wrote through Instagram on August 6. “The church was crammed with tales… some that introduced tears, others that made us chuckle by these tears… and with each reminiscence shared, you could possibly really feel the love that surrounded him.”
