WATCH: Ric Flair Tears Up In Heartbreaking Interview After Hulk Hogan’s Death

Wrestling legend Ric Flair shared a heartbreaking account of the moment he learned that fellow great Hulk Hogan had passed away at the age of 71.

“Rick, first of all, I am so, so sorry. This must hit you profoundly,” Flair was asked while speaking with TMZ Sports. “More than you’ll ever know,” the wrestling legend replied, already holding back tears.

“People always wanted to paint us as enemies, but we were actually very, very close friends. And we kept it up with each other on a regular basis. I just talked to Jimmy Hart yesterday and he was fine. To have this happen is just horrible,” he continued as tears began to flow. 

When asked how he got the news, Flair said that he has gotten it from “everybody.”

“My phone won’t stop. We had magic. I mean, it wasn’t like me and Steamboat, but we had, we just had a chemistry that was, I felt like, equal to me and Steamboat, but in a different way. He was so over. I mean I went when I went there in the 90s I had never seen anything like it my life. The music started and he came down the hallway. I mean I would get him down for two minutes and we’d have it’s just unbelievable relationship.”

Flair spent the early part of his career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) before joining the WWE in the early 1990’s. Hogan and Flair did have several one-on-one matches, as well as a number of tag-team pairings primarily in WCW, with one notable match at Bash at the Beach 1994. While they were heavily promoted to face each other at WrestleMania VIII, those plans were ultimately scrapped

“I mean and I’ll give you an idea of how much fun we had working together. If we were doing a dark match after TV, we would go and he’d say, room service, and throw me in, give me the boot, and drop the big leg on me. And we got back in the hotel for room service. I mean, that’s how much fun we had working together,” Flair added in the heartbreaking interview.

Hogan reportedly suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. Police and emergency vehicles were seen outside his home shortly after the incident.

Hogan, whose given name is Terry Gene Bollea, led an illustrious career in the sport of wrestling and became a key fixture on the 2024 campaign trail. He notably pumped up the Republican National Convention last July with a rowdy speech in support of President Donald Trump that went viral on the internet.

“We lost a great friend today, the ‘Hulkster.’ Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.

“He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive. To his wife, Sky, and family, we give our warmest best wishes and love. Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed!”