The late wrestler, who died in July 2025, talked about his substance abuse in a Netflix docuseries detailing his life and career.

Hulk Hogan doc reveals the shocking amount of fentanyl he took late in his wrestling career

The late wrestler, who died in July 2025, talked about his substance abuse in a Netflix docuseries detailing his life and career.

By Leigh Blickley

April 22, 2026 12:58 p.m. ET

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- Hulk Hogan shared details of his troubling fentanyl use in 2009 amid a return to wrestling in the Netflix docuseries* Real American*..

- He appeared posthumously the doc, out now.

- He also admitted he considered suicide following his divorce from Linda Hogan.

The late Hulk Hogan opened up about his substance abuse in the new Netflix docuseries, *Hulk Hogan: Real American*, which details his life and wrestling career.

The WWE legend, whose real name is Terry Bollea, died in July 2025 at 71 of acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, * *confirmed at the time. Before his death, he participated in the Netflix doc, released on Wednesday.

In final episode of the four-part series, Hogan revealed the shocking amount of fentanyl he was consuming when he attempted to rejoin the wrestling world in 2009 following his high-profile divorce from his wife of 24 years, Linda Hogan.

In order to compete and fulfill his contractual obligations with TNA — Total Nonstop Wrestling, the second-largest wrestling entertainment group after WWE — Hulk was "taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums..." Hulk claimed a pharmacist couldn't believe he was still alive considering the amount of pills he was taking.

He continued, "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.'"

On why he returned to the ring at the age of 56, Hulk said he "hit rock-bottom" after giving Linda "70 percent" of his total assets in their divorce. "I gave her everything to get rid of her," he said, admitting the painful split left him "broke."

In the doc, former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff said he was the one who "put together" a deal for Hulk to perform in TNA.

"Hulk was reluctant to go, but he needed the money," Bischoff said after noting that Hulk was "in the darkest, most devastating part of his life" in the months before he signed with TNA. "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."

Hulk Hogan and Linda Hogan.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Former TNA producer Jeremy Borash also said that although the plan was for Hulk to "be an active member of the roster," it soon "became very apparent very quickly he was in no shape to do that." Bischoff added that it was "hard to see" his longtime friend struggling with substance abuse amid contract requirements.

"There were times I felt really s---ty about myself for making him do that," he said.

Hulk claimed his pain was so bad after multiple back surgeries that he could no longer sleep in a bed. "I had to sleep in a chair, and if I just twitched my finger like that, my whole back would spasm and torque," Hulk said.

Bischoff recalled, "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."

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Elsewhere in the extensive series, Hulk as well as his friends and family opened up about his drug and alcohol use, including a steroid addiction in the 1980s and early '90s and his longtime drinking habits.

Hulk even admitted that following public backlash amid his divorce from Linda, he considered suicide.

"I went home, I started drinking and started eating pills, and I just went down this rabbit hole for a couple of days," he says in Part 4 of the doc. "Next thing I know, I'm sitting in front of my bathroom with a gun in my mouth and not knowing what I was doing, you know?"

"He was down, he was hurting," Bischoff said.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter*****.**

Following his death last July, Linda released a statement on Instagram, saying "the finality" of his loss was "shocking."

"We spent every minute together for so many years. I’ve known him since he was 28 yrs old! ... It’s very sad," she continued. "I love you Hulkster. You were my man. The only man for me."

At the time of his death, Hulk was married to his third wife, Sky Daily. He divorced Jennifer McDaniel in 2021.

*Hulk Hogan: Real American* is streaming now on Netflix.

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Source: “EW Celebrity”