The new Netflix docuseries on Hulk Hogan was released on the streaming service today, April 22. It reveals startling new details about the wrestling legend. It also includes what would be Hogan's final interview before his death in July 2025.
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In one segment of Hulk Hogan: Real American, the WWE star shared that he was taking more fentanyl than his doctors had ever seen a human consume.
Hulk Hogan Was in a Dark Time in His Life
The year was 2009. Hogan has just divorced his ex-wife, Linda Hogan, giving her his fortune in the process "to get rid of her."
Reflecting on this period, Eric Bischoff, a former wrestling executive and Hogan's friend, told the wrestler, "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."
Now "broke," Bischoff put together a deal for Hogan to join the second-largest wrestling entertainment group, Total Nonstop Wrestling, also known as TNA.
However, Jeremy Borash, a former TNA producer, soon noticed "it became apparent very quickly he was in no shape" to be "an active member" of the league's roster.
Hogan's Said His Body Had "Had Enough"
Despite Hogan's condition, he still needed a paycheck. According to Bischoff, he was also "contractually obligated to do it, and he wanted to do it." That did not make it any easier for Bischoff to put Hogan's body through the wringer.
He said, "There were times I felt really s****y about myself for making him do that."
Hogan's body "had had enough" of the pain. The effects were so severe that he said he "couldn't sleep" in his bed anymore. In order to perform, Hogan had to take a large amount of painkillers.
"I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums here," he said.
He added, "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.'"
Bischoff said that on some days, Hogan needed his help getting ready for matches.
He explained, "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."
