Hulk Hogan Wanted One More Match Before His Death, B. Brian Blair Says (Exclusive)

Hulk Hogan competed in more than 2,000 matches in a wrestling career spanning 35 years from 1977 to 2012. B. Brian Blair, one of The Hulkster’s closest friends, recently revealed how the WWE icon wanted to wrestle one more time.

Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, passed away on July 24 at the age of 71. The legendary wrestler was WWE’s top attraction when Vince McMahon turned the company into a global juggernaut in the 1980s. He also played a major role in WCW’s success over World Wrestling Entertainment in the mid-to-late 1990s.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Senior Editor Bill Apter, Blair said Hogan never lost the desire to step back between the ropes:

“Terry [Hulk Hogan] always had that fire in him. He still, to his last breath, dreamed about going back in the ring again. ‘One more, one more, one more.’ I have a saying, ‘You can take the wrestler out of the ring, but you’ll never take the ring out of the wrestler.’ Once you’re in the business for a while and you’ve made a living in it and you’re used to the lifestyle of the wrestling industry, it’s hard to get away from it.” [7:29 – 7:59]

Watch the video above to find out how Vince McMahon started a chant at Hulk Hogan’s funeral service on August 5.

Hulk Hogan’s last match

On January 27, 2012, Hulk Hogan teamed up with James Storm and Sting to defeat Bobby Roode, Bully Ray, and Kurt Angle. The match took place in Manchester, England, during a TNA tour and turned out to be the final in-ring contest of The Hulkster’s career.

Six years earlier, Hogan participated in his final WWE match when he beat Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2006. The two-time Hall of Famer repeatedly said he wanted to finish his in-ring career with one last WWE bout. However, his dream retirement idea never came to fruition.

Hogan’s final appearance on WWE television took place on the Netflix premiere episode of RAW on January 6. He received loud boos during a short promo in the stage area.

Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling along with an H/T for the transcription and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.