WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart has revealed that he called Hulk Hogan just hours before the wrestling legend died aged 71.
Hart was Hogan’s manager and a close friend. Until recently, they would watch wrestling together several nights a week and they last met up around a month ago.
On Wednesday, Hart rang Hogan but spoke only to his assistant. The 81-year-old was told that the wrestling legend was ‘doing great’. ‘Well, tell him I love him,’ he told Hogan’s assistant.
‘And then Thursday morning is when everything took place,’ Hart told PEOPLE. ‘So just overnight it all happened, but it was so positive the day before.’
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, passed away following a cardiac arrest. The 71-year-old was the most iconic figure in professional wrestling.
Hogan and Hart also used to do karaoke with Hogan’s son, Nick, on Monday nights at the family’s bar, Hogan’s Hangout, in Clearwater, Florida.
Jimmy Hart has revealed that he called Hulk Hogan just hours before the wrestling legend died
Remembering their last meeting, Hart said: ‘He was great… he had great food to eat that night. He was talking with the fans. He was just phenomenal.’
But they did not see each other between Hogan’s neck surgery and his death on Thursday.
‘It just hits so fast,’ Hart told People. ‘It was like, “Oh my God.” We thought he was doing so well.
‘We didn’t go to see him at the house and at the hospital, because we wanted to make sure that he didn’t get any infections or anything else.’
During Hogan’s career, Hart helped spread ‘Hulkamania’ and he compared the late wrestler’s ‘insane’ support to ‘traveling with Elvis Presley.’
‘Now he’s happy because he’s free of pain where he’s going,’ Hart added.
