Just hours after the passing of Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea), WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair appeared on TMZ Live to deliver an incredibly raw and heartfelt tribute to his longtime friend and iconic rival. The Nature Boy fought through visible emotion as he reflected on decades of shared history, personal memories, and Hogan’s enduring impact on the wrestling industry.
“People always wanted to paint us as enemies, but we were actually very, very close friends,” Flair clarified. “I just talked to Jimmy Hart yesterday, and he was fine. To have this happen, it’s just horrible.”
Flair took time to discuss the unique chemistry he shared with Hogan in the ring. While their matches were not known for technical mastery, the sheer spectacle of their bouts captivated fans across the globe.
“We had magic. I mean, it wasn’t like me and Steamboat, but we had a chemistry that was… equal to me and Steamboat, but in a different way,” he said. “He was so over. When I went to [WWF] in the ‘90s, I had never seen anything like it in my life. The music started, he came down the hallway… it was unbelievable.”
He recalled a lighthearted backstage ritual that captured the fun spirit of their dynamic: “If we were doing a dark match after TV… we’d go out, he’d throw me in, give me the boot, drop the leg. And then we’d go back to the hotel for room service. That’s how much fun we had working together.”
A Personal Bond
Flair opened up about a powerful moment of compassion that Hogan showed during one of the darkest times in his life — when his late son, Reid Flair, was battling addiction.
“My son went to six rehabs, and my insurance didn’t cover rehab. Hulk lent me money one time to keep him in rehab and keep him off life support,” Flair revealed. “I went to pay him back, and he said, ‘You never have to pay me back. I’m here for you.’”
He added, visibly shaken: “And when I was dying in the hospital, I don’t remember it, but he was the first one there. So how do you forget things like that?”
“The Biggest Star in the History of Wrestling”
Flair didn’t hold back when asked about Hogan’s legacy. “He’s arguably, along with Steve Austin, the biggest star in the history of wrestling,” he declared. “For his generation, he was light years ahead of me.”
In a moment of humility, Flair shared a quote from his own father that drove the point home: “My dad once told me, ‘Everybody knows who Hulk Hogan is. They don’t know you.’”
Flair closed his tribute with an emotional plea for people to honor Hogan’s legacy for what it was — larger than life and full of heart: “I hope everybody just stands up and says, ‘Man, Hulk, you’re the greatest.’ He made a lot of people a lot of money… he had a good heart. Too good.”
Hogan’s passing has sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world. From WWE to AEW, TNA, and beyond, tributes continue to pour in — but none perhaps more intimate and touching than that of Ric Flair, a brother in the ring and a friend outside of it.
