WWE wrestler Mick Foley reacts to death of Hulk Hogan

Mick Foley, a professional wrestler and author, shares memories of Hulk Hogan - just a few hours after it was announced the wrestler had died at the age of 71.
Posted 7/24/2025, 8:42:50 PM Updated 7/24/2025, 9:00:08 PM

You just learned that Hulk Hogan passed away

I mean when you heard the news what was your

first thought Well it was almost shock because he was

one of those guys who was larger than life

You just a suit and he and he didn't appear

to age so you never thought that the last time

you saw Hulk Hogan would be the final time you

saw Hulk Hogan

Um and you guys obviously had your your quarrels over

the years um but from what I have read I

mean you guys made up

Yeah it was a really nice moment

Uh I mean it was a show but I believe

he was 100% sincere because he not only apologized to

me for something that was said

At least 25 years earlier but he insisted on apologizing

to me a second time and I mean I accepted

it and I considered him I considered him a friend

before that but I definitely helped

It was a nice bonding moment for us

I know everybody's going to ask you

Hulk Hogan and obviously he has a legacy but is

there you know a moment that you guys shared outside

of the apology and like the mending but maybe professionally

if you guys in the ring that you know that's

what you think of when you think you know the

two things I think of is that I had a

really nice talk with his daughter at one of these

conventions and got to know her dad through her daughter

and also from reading his book where I was like

you know we're actually quite a bit alike

And the second memory is not something I saw but

it's something that a friend of mine who worked with

Hulk and WWE before I got there saw and I

told Terry or Hulk that this was the one thing

that mattered to me like anything else it's just commentary

but that Hulk Hogan my friend said those kids from

Make A Wish and other organizations they'd go in there

and they'd just be beaming

And you know you can't feign the type of joy

that hope brought to those kids

Like that was real in his heart which is why

it seems so effortless but he was he was great

at it

He made a lot of people happy above and beyond

what he did in the ring and for wrestling in

general

He was he was great to those children

That's to me that's his legacy

It begins and ends

What has he meant to

He spent so much that we actually use him in

setting our examples when I was talking about Caitlin Clark

and don't they realize she's the goose that lays the

golden eggs It's like I know not everyone liked it

when Hulk came into town but it was a sense

of like hold on because we're going to greater heights

than we ever imagined and this is the guy doing

it

That's what he did for us and I think everybody

if they grudgingly accepted it at first they were really

grateful for him when they saw the way the business

had exploded

Obviously a little bit of controversy over the last 1015

years roughly do you see a separation between Hulk Hogan

and Terry in that regard or are they one and

how does that affect Well that's up to each individual

you know

I mean I got some heat at the time for

sending out a message saying I know he's a good

man who made a mistake

I think we all make mistakes you know

I don't think anyone should be filmed in the inner

confines

I thought he was a good man an imperfect man

who did a lot of good in the world and

and that's like that's how I choose to look at

Obviously the news is all fresh but once this really

sets in

settles it what are you going to be I'll be

thinking about the times that I went to Madison Square

Garden not as a hulk of maniac per se

I was going to see a couple of the other

matches but when that music hit I was all in

I was a Hulk a maniac for those few minutes

but he electrified a crowd like no other and the

lessons that we learned from him we've passed down to

the next generations and so his legacy is alive and

well in wrestling and beyond

Do you remember the last time you talked to

It was like every time I talked to him hey

brother we're going to get together for that dinner yes

we are we never did get together for that dinner

but we were always thinking about it that's something we

can send to people if you haven't talked to somebody

in a while make sure you do it

All right thanks for your time