Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea) passed away on Thursday, July 24 in Clearwater, Florida. He was 71 years old. Hulk Hogan was and remains one of the most important figures in American and global popular culture. Hulk Hogan/Terry Bollea also leaves behind a very complicated legacy.

Brian R. Solomon is a leading professional wrestling journalist, historian, and author. He is the host of the popular Shut up and Wrestle podcast. His new book is Irresistible Force: The Life and Times of Gorilla Monsoon.

Solomon reflects on why the death of Hulk Hogan has caused so much emotional pain and tumult for those of us who came of age in the 1980s and directly experienced the rise of the global cultural phenomenon that was the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) and Hulkamania. Solomon details why Hulk Hogan and the WWF’s meteoric rise, his decades-long career (including reinventing himself as the leader of the New World Order faction in World Championship Wrestling), and marriage of personality and cultural moment will never be repeated again in professional wrestling, and likely sports more broadly.

Solomon and Chauncey discuss their love of professional wrestling and why Hulk Hogan was so central to it – and also try to process how Terry Bollea’s foul behavior and values such as his racism, hostility to labor unions, and public alliance with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement complicates that relationship and nostalgia.

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