WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair revealed the cause of death for Hulk Hogan, stating that the former champion succumbed to “street drugs” after pain medication prescriptions were stopped.
Flair, who was close to Hogan and his inner circle, disclosed the details of Hogan’s long battle with pain stemming from numerous back and joint surgeries.
“I talked to him the day before he died,” Flair confessed. Later in the interview, Flair elaborated: “I shouldn’t say this, but what killed him was street drugs. When the doctor wouldn’t prescribe anymore. He was in so much pain”.
Flair explained that Hogan had endured extensive physical damage over his career. “He was in so much pain, then he had that neck surgery and it got infected, so back in the hospital, mentioned 10 back surgeries, two knees, two hips, all this,” Flair stated.
When doctors decided they could no longer prescribe pain medication, Hogan turned to illegal means. “When the doctor would not prescribe any more pain medicine. They just couldn’t do it all due conscious, right? Yeah, so they went and got their drugs off the street, his body just said, You know what? Bingo, I can’t do it anymore,” Flair concluded, calling the situation “sad” and “terrible”.
“You know what? You know what caused the back surgeries? Dropping the leg,” Flair said. “Dropping the legs, jabbed his bones. That’s what did it”.
Flair pointed out the devastating cumulative effect of the move over decades. “I mean, 50, but yeah,” he said.
The long-term effects of Hogan’s injuries were apparent. Flair recalled seeing Hogan in his final years: “I would tell him how much taller I’m getting, not telling him, you’re shrinking, I’m growing. And the last time we were together in LA and he looked at me goes, I know what you’re doing here, brother”.
Flair spoke candidly about the physical toll the business takes and his concerns for other veterans.
“I just hope to live another day. Pray for your friends that are suffering now, because a lot of people are,” Flair said. He mentioned that his friend, fellow wrestler Mike Rotunda (IRS), is “real sick right now” and his best friend, Joe Gomez, just had a stroke.
Flair also offered a perspective on the dangers of modern athletic training, specifically the misuse of steroids and growth hormones.
“What happens when you take these steroids? You got to remember that steroids make the muscle grow, but they don’t make the ligament grow,” Flair warned. He explained that this discrepancy is what causes so many modern injuries. “You can’t put too much on the ligaments, because the steroids don’t link. I mean that ligaments are one size. You put too much beef on them. That’s why all those guys were… tearing everything up because they were gassed to the gills”.
Flair said he used a very minimal amount of steroids, such as DECA and Anavar, and never took testosterone or Anadrol 50.
He stressed that wrestling is not a game, noting the high number of serious injuries. “I can think of it in the last three years. Last three years, two broken necks, Big E and Yeah, he’ll never wrestle again, and somebody else broke his neck. But I mean in the last 10 years, people. I mean, we’ve had seven broken necks, yeah, so it’s not a game,” he stated.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Doubl3 Coverage podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
