Hulk Hogan, icon in professional wrestling, dies at age 71

CLEARWATER Fla AP Hulk Hogan the mustachioed headscarf-wearing icon in the world of professional wrestling has died at the age of Florida police and WWE declared Thursday In Clearwater Florida personnel responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital police noted in a message on Facebook Hogan whose real name was Terry Bollea was perhaps the biggest star in WWE s long history He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in and was a fixture for years facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon He won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in In a Florida jury awarded Hogan million in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media and then added million in punitive damages Hogan sued after Gawker in posted a video of him having sex with his former best friend s wife He contended the post violated his privacy Hogan smiled and wore black throughout the three-week trial Everywhere I show up people treat me like I m still the champ he commented of the sponsorship from fans WWE posted a note on X saying it was saddened to learn about Hogan s death One of pop way of life s majority of recognizable figures Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the s WWE extends its condolences to Hogan s family friends and fans it explained