WWE Legend Reveals Biggest Regret Following Hulk Hogan's Death

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Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake were longtime wrestling colleagues and friends for nearly 50 years.

In 1977, Beefcake, whose real name is Edward Harrison Leslie, made his professional wrestling debut as Ed Boulder alongside Hogan, who played his brother and went by Terry Boulder. After Beefcake joined WWF in 1984, his first major rivalry was against Hogan, who was the world champion at the time.

Over the ensuing years, the two became close, leaving Beefcake as one of the many people heartbroken by Hogan's passing last Thursday at the age of 71. In an interview with TMZ, published Saturday, Beefcake expressed regret that he wasn't able to see his friend one last time.

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He had been considering a visit, but ultimately did not make one before Hogan's death.

“I was going to try to go to his house a couple of days ago,” Beefcake said, via the New York Post. “My wife said, ‘You should just go over there.’ And I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God,’ but if I go to the house and they say, ‘No, you can’t come in,’ it would have crushed me. So I didn’t [go,] and now I wish maybe that I had tried to get in and tried to get to see him before he passed.”

Authorities were called to Hogan's Clearwater, Florida home just before 10 a.m. Thursday after being alerted to a cardiac arrest. First responders worked on the WWE Hall of Famer for more than a half hour before transporting him to Morton Plant Hospital, where Hogan was pronounced dead.

The legendary performer, born Terry Bollea, had reportedly been dealing with a number of health issues before his death.

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“I called him on Wednesday night, and then Thursday morning is when everything took place," WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart told PEOPLE. "So just…just overnight it all happened, but it was so positive the day before."

WWE Legend Reveals Biggest Regret Following Hulk Hogan's Death first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 27, 2025