Hulk Hogan was “doing great” the night before he died.
The 71-year-old wrestler passed away on Thursday (24.07.25) in Florida and his close pal Jimmy Hart, 81, revealed he called Hogan’s house and spoke to his assistant the previous night and was assured that he was fine.
WWE Hall of Famer Hart told PEOPLE: “I called [Hogan] on Wednesday night, and then Thursday morning is when everything took place. So just … just overnight it all happened, but it was so positive the day before.”
After being told Hogan was “doing great,” Hart told the assistant: “Well, tell him I love him.”
He went on: “It just hits so fast. It was like, ‘Oh my God.’ We thought he was doing so well, you know? We didn't go to see him at the house and didn't go to see him at the hospital, because we wanted to make sure that he didn't get any infections or anything else, like if anybody had a cold or brought anything in. So, that's what we all did.”
Hogan had been in and out of hospital in the months before his death. In June, he underwent a four-level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion – a complex neck surgery.
And, Hart gave some more information about the surgery and why it was needed.
He explained: “He loved wrestling. He loved it. And he missed being able to do it because his body had been broken up so badly through the years. He had a shoulder replaced. His hip was replaced. He had two knee replacements, just so much stuff. And that's why, when he went in the hospital, he was feeling numbness in his fingers, and that's why he went to get that little neck surgery to help him out.”
