Whatcha gonna do? Well, it looks like American wrestler Hulk Hogan is speaking Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.
After retiring from wrestling in 2012, Hogan occasionally expressed political aspirations and is now joining the lineup of convention speakers in Milwaukee.
Here’s what to know about the wrestling star:
Who is Hulk Hogan?
Terry Gene Bollea, far better known by his ring name Hogan, helped propel the professional wrestling promotion and media organization World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, to fame. He won six WWE championships, starred in movies and television shows and cultivated a mass of fans he dubbed his “Hulkamaniacs,” according to his WWE bio.
In 2015, WWE cut ties with Hogan after audio was released of him repeatedly using a racial slur to describe a man his daughter was involved with at the time. Three years later, the company reinstated him into its Hall of Fame, saying he deserved a second chance after apologizing.
WWE at RNC:Why is Linda McMahon, Hulk Hogan and Kane at the convention?
How old is Hulk Hogan?
Hulk Hogan is 70 years old.
Who is Hulk Hogan’s wife?
Hulk Hogan has been married to wife Sky Daily Hogan since September 2023. She’s a yoga instructor, according to People magazine. It’s the third marriage for Hulk.
Who are Hulk Hogan’s children?
Hulk Hogan has two children — 33-year-old son Nick and 36-year-old daughter Brooke.
Why does Hulk Hogan call everyone ‘brother’?
Hogan explained why he calls everyone “brother,” telling the Times-Picayune in New Orleans in 2014:
“It kind of started after WrestleMania I. As soon as we became mainstream, I would fly into cities and do newspapers and go to radio stations and just meet kids in hospitals. Sometimes, I was meeting up to 100 to 200 people a day. If you meet 10 people a day, it’s hard to remember everyone’s name.
“So as I was meeting a couple hundred people a day, the word ‘brother’ just stuck because I couldn’t remember everybody’s names.”
What does Hulk Hogan do now?
Hogan has lived in Florida since his days as a reality star on “Hogan Knows Best.”
He’s lived in Tampa and Miami, and now resides in Clearwater, where he opened a Hulkamania shop. A second shop is located in Orlando.
He also owns “Hogan’s Hangout,” a casual restaurant that has “become a Clearwater Beach institution, brother.”
What has Hulk Hogan said about politics?
In mid-June, Hogan said in an interview with Fox News he’d be willing to enter the political arena.
“If you need a president or vice president, I’ll volunteer and take this country over, and I’ll rule with an iron fist,” he told hosts of the show “Fox and Friends.”
That wasn’t the first time he’s raised the idea. He was urged in 2018 to make a run for U.S. Senate in Florida, including by former Trump adviser Roger Stone. And in 1998, he famously announced he was stepping down from the world of professional wrestling to run for president, which later turned out to be a publicity stunt.
On Monday, Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida made a prescient remark to a reporter from The Hill — that Trump would make a heroic appearance at the first night of the convention following an attempt on his life in Pennsylvania over the weekend, saying, “It’s gonna be Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania.”
Where can I watch Hulk Hogan’s RNC speech?
The Journal Sentinel is streaming every day of the RNC.
Here’s a breakdown of the major networks and their coverage plans:
- C-SPAN will carry the entire convention uninterrupted.
- CBS will have live coverage starting at 7 p.m. CT.
- NBC News will broadcast “Decision 2024” live from 8 to 10 p.m.
- ABC News will have live coverage from 9 to 10 p.m.
- Fox News will air coverage during its regular prime-time lineup of shows, and will broadcast a nightly one-hour special starting at 9 p.m.
- CNN will feature coverage from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., culminating with a live primetime broadcast from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- MSNBC will broadcast a prime-time special from 7 to 11 p.m.
- NewsNation will provide primetime coverage titled “Decision Desk 2024: The Republican National Convention” from 6 to 11 p.m.
USA TODAY and USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida contributed to this report