Netflix Docuseries Explores Hulk Hogan's Life, Pain Management, and 2025 Death

Netflix released the four-part docuseries 'Hulk Hogan: Real American' on April 22, 2026, featuring the wrestling legend's final interview about his heavy fentanyl use. In the series, Hulk Hogan described taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under his gums. He also said he had two 300mg patches of fentanyl on his legs and was given six 1500mg fentanyl lollipops to eat.

A pharmacist told Hulk Hogan, 'You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl,' according to the docuseries. Hogan linked this opioid use to managing severe pain after joining TNA following his 2009 divorce from Linda Hogan.

He stated he gave Linda Hogan 70 percent of everything in the divorce because he wanted to avoid further contact. Hogan said he was broke after the 2009 divorce and needed money from TNA, which saved him financially. Former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff stated Hulk Hogan was in the darkest, most devastating part of his life during the TNA period.

Bischoff added that Hogan's doctors gave him fistfuls of pills that would kill a horse, chased with a quart of vodka a day. Hogan last appeared in the ring in 2012 and departed TNA in 2013 when his contract expired. He could not sleep in his bed due to pain, instead sleeping in a chair, where even twitching a finger caused his whole back to spasm and torque.

Bischoff recalled helping Hogan get out of bed and into the shower to fulfill contractual obligations, noting times he felt regret for pushing him. Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in July 2025 at age 71, with the manner of death ruled natural by the Pinellas County Forensic Science Center. The forensic report stated Hogan had leukemia and atrial fibrillation.