Hulk Hogan Dies at 71

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71, according to TMZ Sports and multiple reports.

Medics were dispatched to the professional wrestling great's Clearwater, Florida home early Thursday morning, July 24, and operators said that he experienced a "cardiac arrest," according to TMZ.

"We're told a slew of police cars and EMTs were parked outside Hogan's home," TMZ adds, "and the icon was carried on a stretcher and into an ambulance."

The WWE legend's official cause of death, according to the U.K.'s Sun, has not been revealed. The Sun adds that "Hogan's ailing health had been widely reported in the weeks leading up to his death, including rumors that he was on his "deathbed" and in a coma." But, Hogan's wife, Sky, denied those reports, according to The Sun, "stating his heart was 'strong' and he was recovering from a neck procedure."

Hogan was born Terry Eugene Bollea on August 11, 1953, Augusta, Georgia. "He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s," notes IMDb.

Hogan started his professional wrestling career in 1977 and gained worldwide popularity after becoming part of the World Wrestling Federation, at the time the WWF and now the WWE, in 1983.

He was a trendsetter in sports entertainment. In 1982, Hogan appeared in the movie Rocky III portraying the wrestler Thunderlips. "At the time wrestlers were discouraged from performing outside the ring, and Hogan was fired from the WWF," Britannica notes. "However, he returned in 1983, as the WWF took a new direction under Vince McMahon, Jr., who introduced outrageous storylines and molded wrestlers into child-friendly stars."

Hogan was an influential figure in sports entertainment for his entire life. As a professional wrestler, he won multiple titles and was inducted into several Halls of Fame. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Hogan's family during this difficult time.