Why is everyone speculating online that Hulk Hogan is close to death, what is the truth?

The reason why Hulk Hogan close to death rumours are spreading like wildfire would be because of what Bubba the Love Sponge has been saying. For those of you who are curious about who Bubba the Love Sponge is (I count myself amongst you), he is an American radio personality who is known for hosting ‘The Bubba the Love Sponge Show’ on WWBA in Tampa, Florida.

James of WebIsJericho.com on his WebGuyJames X account shared an excpert from Bubba the Love Sponge’s show and captioned the post: “It’s not offically confirmed, but Bubba The Love Sponge is saying Hulk Hogan is in the hosptial, and “might not make it.”

In response to the post on X, one fan wrote@ “Damn what the hell?! That’s so random,” whilst another said: “This is actually heartbreaking, I know people hate him, but without him, none of us would be here right now talking about wrestling, it would’ve never gotten this big on a worldwide scale without him.”

TMZ has however reported that “A rep for Hogan tells us the 71-year-old isn't close to death -- he's just dealing with more of the same ailments he's had for years. In fact, we're told Hogan's back to moving around already.

“Of course, we previously reported Hogan underwent a neck surgery just last month ... but by all accounts, it was a big success.

“Hogan has had countless procedures done to try and fix what his body went through in the ring during his legendary run ... but has been able to tough it out.”

In May 2025, Hulk Hogan was forced to undergo neck surgery but according to reports, he recovered quickly from this. When he was on ‘Impaulsive’ with Logan Paul, Hulk Hogan revealed that he had undergone at least 25 operations over a ten year period, from 2014 until 2024.

Only one week ago, there were reports that Sylvester Stallone had passed away but this was only because Sly Stone, known as the ‘pioneer of early funk music,’ who just died at the age of 82. Sylvester Stallone’s nickname is ‘Sly.’ Sylvester Stallone fans had taken to social media to pay tribute to the Hollywood star after reports surfaced online that that the Rocky actor had passed away. One X user wrote: “Heard a thing today that loads of people are sad because Sylvester Stallone died,” whilst another said: "You made me think Sylvester Stallone died.”

Following the clarification that it was Sly Stone who had died and not Sylvester Stallone, one X user said: “Rocky fans, take a breath! Sylvester Stallone is alive and well-just caught in another death hoax. This is the third time!,” whilst another wrote: “My Dad just now: So Sylvester Stallone’s dead? Me: No Sly Stone. Different person.”