Hulk Hogan Reveals the Staggering Amount of Fentanyl He Was Taking Daily: ‘More Than They’d Ever Seen a Human Being Take’
Hulk Hogan Reveals the Staggering Amount of Fentanyl He Was Taking Daily: ‘More Than They’d Ever Seen a Human Being Take’
Natasha DyeWed, April 22, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC
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Hulk Hogan revealed the shocking amount of fentanyl he was consuming in 2009 while fighting in TNA Wrestling after divorcing his ex-wife Linda Hogan
Hogan said a doctor told him he "should be dead" and that he taking more fentanyl than they'd ever seen a human consume
The wrestling icon was "in so much pain" he needed a friend to help him get out of bed to get to matches
Hulk Hogan reveals the shocking of fentanyl he was taking towards the end of his wrestling career to manage his pain in the new Netflix docuseries Hulk Hogan: Real American.
Hogan, who was 71 when he died in July 2025, gave what ended up being his final interview that January for the docuseries, which began streaming on Wednesday, April 22. In it, the WWE legend revealed he was taking more fentanyl than his doctors said they had ever seen a human consume.
At the time, it was 2009 and Hogan was fresh off his divorce from ex-wife Linda Hogan, where he "gave her everything to get rid of her," he claimed. That left him "broke" and forced to return to the ring. Hogan joined TNA — Total Nonstop Wrestling, the second-largest wrestling entertainment group after WWE.
Hulk Hogan in 2009Credit: Paul Kane/Getty
Former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff says in the docuseries that he "put together" a deal for Hogan to perform in TNA. "Hulk was reluctant to go, but he needed the money," said Bischoff, noting that in the months before Hogan signed the deal to join TNA, the wrestling icon was "in the darkest, most devastating part of his life."
"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,” Bischoff said of Hogan's lifestyle at the time.
Hulk Hogan in Los Angeles on March 29, 2018Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Former TNA producer Jeremy Borash added in Hulk Hogan: Real American that the original plan was for Hogan to "be an active member of the roster" until "it became very apparent very quickly he was in no shape to do that."
Still, Hogan needed the paycheck from TNA, and he was "contractually obligated to do it, and he wanted to do it," said Bischoff, who admitted it was "hard to see" his longtime friend struggling with substance abuse.
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"There were times I felt really s---ty about myself for making him do that."
In order to fulfill his contractual obligations for TNA, Hogan, who said his body "had had enough," shared the shocking amount of fentanyl he was consuming at the time. “I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums here," he said, mimicking how he'd place the fentanyl in his mouth.
"I had two 300mg patches of fentanyl on my legs and they gave me six 1500mg fentanyl lollipops to eat," Hogan continued. "I went to the pharmacy, he goes, 'You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl.' "
Hogan said his pain was so bad that he "couldn't sleep in my bed" anymore. "I had to sleep in a chair, and if I just twitched my finger like that, my whole back would spasm and torque."
Bischoff recalled Hogan being is "so much pain" that he needed assistance just getting out of bed. "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," said Bischoff.
Hogan reflected on much of his storied career and personal life in Netflix's four-part docuseries, just months before he died of acute myocardial infarction. Days after his death, it was revealed that he had a history of leukemia CLL, a form of cancer that affects white blood cells — which was not previously known.
Hulk Hogan: Real American is now streaming on Netflix.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
