Tributes rolled in on Thursday for Terry Gene Bollea, better known to the world as Hulk Hogan, the face of professional wrestling in the 1980s — the era considered the “golden age” of what was then called the World Wrestling Federation (the WWF became the WWE in 2002).
The tributes included one from the vice-president of the United States who made a candid admission about his childhood feelings toward Hogan.
Bollea aka Hogan was found dead Thursday at his home in Clearwater, Florida. The cause of the pro wrestling legend’s death was reported as “cardiac arrest.” Hogan was 71 years old.
President Donald Trump also weighed in, calling Hogan “a great friend,” according to a Fox News report.
Trump also described Hogan as “MAGA all the way,” referring to the acronym for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan which as since come to be used as catch-all term for Trump’s voter base.
Hogan Previously Endorsed Obama For President
Hogan was not always a Trump supporter. In the 2008 presidential election, he endorsed Barack Obama who went on to defeat Republican John McCain. But the wrestling icon renounced his support for Obama in 2011, saying he was bothered by Obama’s use of the song “Real American” at a White House Correspondents’ dinner.
“Real American,” a song written and largely performed by guitarist and songwriter Rick Derringer — better known for the hit singles “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” and “Hang on Sloopy” — became Hogan’s entrance music at WWF events.
“I kinda was a little upset that he didn’t ask me permission to use my music,” Hogan said in a 2011 interview.
Hogan came to fully embrace Trump, speaking at the then-candidate’s rallies and at the Republican National Convention last year.
Vance Says He Admired Hogan ‘As a Kid’
Trump’s running mate and now vice-president of the United States, J.D. Vance, also paid tribute to Hogan on Thursday, admitting that the boisterous pro wrestler was “one of the first people I ever truly admired as a kid.”
The last time I saw him we promised we’d get beers together next time we saw each other.
The next time will have to be on the other side, my friend! Rest in peace.
The connection between Vance Hogan ran deeper than the current vice-president’s childhood memories, however. Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is largely responsible for Vance’s political career, first hiring the then-33-year-old at his global financial firm in 2017.
Then in 2022, Thiel bankrolled Vance’s Ohio Senate campaign to the tune of $15 million, according to CBS News, making him Vance’s largest benefactor. Without winning that senate seat, Vance would not have been on Trump’s radar as a 2024 VP pick.
Tech Billionaire Links Hogan and Vance
But Thiel was also deeply connected to Hogan. In 2012 Hogan sued the news-and-gossip website Gawker after the site published a “sex tape” of Hogan with the wife of a friend.
The publication had earlier outed Thiel as gay. Though Thiel has since proudly embraced his LGBTQ+ identity, at the time he saw Hogan’s lawsuit as a means of revenge on Gawker, bankrolling the case until it reached a settlement in 2016.
Hogan received $31 million, a fraction of the $140 million awarded to him by a jury. But because Gawker could not match the seemingly unlimited funds poured into the suit by Thiel, the site was forced into bankruptcy.
Vance Born 3 Years Before Hogan’s Signature Moment
Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio, on August 2, 1984, meaning he was not yet three years old when Hogan scored his signature star-making moment at the Pontiac Silverdome outside of Detroit, Michigan.
At that event, in a match pitting Hogan against another pro wrestling legend, the 7-foot-4, 520 pound Andre the Giant, Hogan managed the seemingly impossible by lifting the Giant and body-slamming him to the mat.
Vice President of United States Makes Admission on Hulk Hogan Relationship