New details about Hulk Hogan’s private health struggles are emerging months after the wrestling icon’s death. A former wrestling executive has now revealed just how severe Hogan’s reported fentanyl use became while dealing with chronic pain, injuries, and personal turmoil.
The claims were discussed in the Netflix documentary “Hulk Hogan: Real American,” which explored the WWE legend’s physical decline before his death in July 2025.
Former exec Eric Bischoff said Hulk Hogan allegedly relied on fentanyl for pain relief
According to RadarOnline.com, Hogan admitted in the documentary that he began heavily relying on fentanyl around 2009 while wrestling for TNA and navigating his highly public divorce from ex-wife Linda Hogan.
At the time, Hogan claimed he was physically broken down and financially overwhelmed after their split. “I was broke,” Hogan reportedly said in the documentary. He even discussed why he continued wrestling despite his condition.
Former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff described that period as one of the darkest moments of Hogan’s life. “Your wife’s divorcing you, your doctors are giving you fistfuls of pills that would kill a horse, and you’re chasing it down with a quart of vodka a day,” Bischoff said.
The documentary detailed the staggering amount of fentanyl Hogan claimed he was taking daily for pain management. According to Hogan, he used multiple fentanyl patches, fentanyl lollipops, and high-dose pills simultaneously while trying to manage constant pain throughout his body.
At one point, Hogan recalled a pharmacist reacting with alarm after seeing the prescriptions. “He goes, ‘You should be dead,’” he’d claimed. “We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl.”
The wrestling legend also described struggling with basic movement because of his injuries. “I couldn’t sleep in my bed,” Hogan had reportedly said. “I had to sleep in a chair.”
Bischoff admitted Hogan was barely functioning physically during portions of his TNA run and claimed he sometimes had to help him out of bed and into the shower before appearances.
Hogan died in July 2025 at age 71 from an acute myocardial infarction. Medical reports later revealed he also had a history of leukaemia.
TELL US — WERE YOU SURPRISED TO LEARN HOW SERIOUS HULK HOGAN’S HEALTH STRUGGLES HAD BECOME BEFORE?
