Dave Meltzer Offers Details On WWE HOFer Hulk Hogan's Health Leading Up To His Death

The wrestling world is still reeling from the shocking death of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, who died of a cardiac arrest on July 24 at the age of 71. Despite leaving a complicated legacy behind, Hogan is perhaps the most famous wrestler to ever come out of North America, and the state of the business itself wouldn't be what it is without his contributions. His final weeks were subject of discussion amongst many people as no one really knew the full story, but in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has broken down what happened to the man many people knew as "The Hulkster."

It was already known that Hogan had been having problems with his health due to complications stemming from an operation he had on his neck back on May 14. His close friend, radio host Bubba The Love Sponge, had claimed that Hogan was in a bad way, but those claims were quickly shot down by various news outlets, as well as people also close to Hogan. However, Meltzer stated that Hogan had taken a turn for the worst a week before his passing and lost his ability to speak, and that one person close to Hogan had claimed that after not being seen in public for some time, he was a lot worse than everyone had made him out to be, while Bubba's claims may have been exaggerated to a certain extent.

With that said, another person close to the situation told Meltzer that Bubba was the person with the most legit information, and that the idea was to keep Hogan's condition quiet so they didn't alarm anyone. As far as what happened with his neck surgery, another person close to the situation stated that Hogan had a number of other medical issues and complications after the surgery, and that after leaving Tampa General Hospital, a makeshift hospital was essentially built in his home to keep him comfortable, but at that point, it wasn't looking good. In the end, Hogan had been intubated, was having renal failure, and fluid overload, while also suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD for short), a leading cause of death in the United States which makes it difficult to breathe, and ultimately led to the cardiac arrest that killed him.