Hulk Hogan warned fentanyl could 'kill' him
Hulk Hogan was taking enough fentanyl to kill him to help cope with the pain he was in towards the end of his wrestling career.
Hulk Hogan was taking enough fentanyl to kill him to help cope with pain towards the end of his wrestling career.
The sporting legend - who died in July 2025 after suffering a heart attack - became reliant on the prescription medication during his time with TNA (Total Nonstop Wrestling) because it had quickly become apparent he wasn't in the right physical shape to compete in the ring at the highest level.
Hulk had signed up to fight with the organisation at the age of 58 when he "hit rock-bottom" after he gave "everything" to first wife Linda Hogan when they divorced in 2009 and he needed the cash, but he soon turned to the opiod to get by.
Speaking in new Netflix docuseries Hulk Hogan: Real American - in what was his final interview before his death - Hulk said: “I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums here ... I had two 300mg patches of fentanyl on my legs and they gave me six 1500mg fentanyl lollipops to eat.
"I went to the pharmacy, he goes, 'You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl.'"
Hulk was struggling with so much pain, he resorted to sleeping in a chair.
He said: "If I just twitched my finger like that, my whole back would spasm and torque."
Elsewhere in the documentary, former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff admitted he was the one who had "put together" a deal for Hulk to perform with TNA, and noted the grappler was "in the darkest, most devasting" time of his life in the months before he signed up.
He said: "Hulk was reluctant to go, but he needed the money...
"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."
He admitted it was "hard to see" his old friend struggling with substance abuse amid the requirements of his contract.
He said: "There were times I felt really s***** about myself for making him do that.
"I would literally have to go to his hotel and help him get out of bed and get into the shower to get ready to go to the shoot."
Elsewhere in the series, Hulk admitted he contemplated suicide following a public backlash after his divorce.
He said: "I went home, I started drinking and started eating pills, and I just went down this rabbit hole for a couple of days.
"Next thing I know, I'm sitting in front of my bathroom with a gun in my mouth and not knowing what I was doing, you know?"
