THE BLOG OF DRU: THE LAST LEG DROP (RE-ISSUED)

(This article was written on 08-25-2025)

“Conflicted.”

“Sad.”

“Celebrating.”

“Regretful.”

“Indifferent.”

“I’m not crying, but I’m not doing cartwheels.”

Those were the thoughts I’ve been reading online since two weeks ago on July 24th when Terry Bollea, better known across the globe as the iconic “Hulk Hogan”, passed away at 71 years old. Again, the thoughts above are the ones I’ve read from all readers, fans, non-fans, etc etc. But, what are my thoughts and feelings about his passing and his overall legacy?

Honestly, nearly a mixture of all those same thoughts as well.

I’m sad because a son, a daughter, a wife and countless of others in his close and extended family lost a member of theirs.

I’m regretful because he didn’t get the chance to attempt to clean up what was left of his legacy after his so called apology from his comments on a recorded tape that were made infamous across the world. More on that later.

I’m also feeling nostalgic, because of all the memories I had of him as a younger wrestling fan, to my adult years. For 40 years or so, we were told to say our prayers and take your vitamins. Also, for those in the age range to remember, when The Leg Drop Heard Around The World on that fateful summer night in 1996, when he once again turned the wrestling scene upside down when he turned heel for the first time, EVER. And thus, the New World Order of wrestling was born (and the Monday Night Wars versus the WWF)

Let’s get these two points out the way: Hulk Hogan put pro wrestling on the map locally, nationwide and globally. Outside of Vince McMahon and Ted Turner, Hulk Hogan is the biggest name, persona and presence in the history of pro wrestling (and to think, there’s other names like Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, John Cena, Lou Thesz, Harley Race, The Rock and some guy named Stone Cold Steve Austin, just to name a few).

Here’s point number two: Hulk Hogan thinks black people are or should be 8 foot “niggers” in his eyes for him to respect them (and to date his daughter). And he was racist, to a point. He said all of this on that tape that was released to the world on July 24th, 2015.

Oh, wait. You thought this was going to be a fluff piece? Or just me shitting on the man? You would be WRONG on both ends. And that’s the issue I have with Hogan’s passing: there’s too much one sidedness going on in terms of his legacy and who he was behind the persona. This isn’t me co-signing or excusing what he said on that tape. As a black man, a writer, I could and would never condone or co-sign the verbal sins he committed on that July day.

You can’t talk about the Fall without talking about the Rise. Even if you weren’t a wrestling fan like I was growing up (and still is), you KNEW who Hogan was. He was truly THE household name in the 80’s and into the 90’s. The look. The yellow and red. The “Brothers”. The arm flexing. The action figures. The merchandise. All the WWF and WCW title wins. His jump to WCW in 1994. The rivalries with the Ultimate Warrior, Earthquake, Randy Savage, Sid Justice and the U.S. Government (aka The Steroid Trial with Vince McMahon in the mid 1990’s) Hogan had pop culture by the throat for about 2-3 decades. Hogan was quite simply, the man, brother.

But then something happened along the way.

We discovered that some of the people we look at as idols or superheroes are human and have flaws and issues, just like the next personal. Then we started to hear about how who he was behind the wresting curtain (ratting out Jesse Ventura to Vince McMahon before Wrestlemania 2 in 1986 about creating a union for the wrestlers, always using his creative stroke to not put over certain wrestlers, Wrestlemania 9 debacle with Bret Hart, his 2010-2012 TNA run, etc, etc). You can also throw in his controversial siding with Donald Trump during the latter’s presidential run in 2024, but this isn’t a political article and your thoughts on that may vary.

Bottom line is this: I wished Hogan was more regretful about his racist tirade. I wished Hogan said a real apology, instead of being sorry for being caught.
That’s all I wanted from him, as a black wrestling fan. And now he’s gone, the emotion of regret weighs more heavy more than any other emotion.

Terry Bollea died on July 24th, 2025.

But Hulk Hogan, or the idea of him, died ten years ago.