Hulk Hogan Opens Up About Extreme Fentanyl Use in Final Netflix Documentary Interview

Details surrounding Hulk Hogan's life before his passing at age 71 continue to surface, offering an intimate look at the wrestling legend's struggles during his later years.

In the newly released Netflix documentary Hulk Hogan: Real American, the iconic wrestler disclosed that he consumed near-lethal quantities of fentanyl while performing with Total Nonstop Wrestling (TNA). The film marks his final interview before his death and provides unprecedented insight into his personal health battles.

Hogan explained that he joined TNA following his 2009 divorce from Linda, after having invested heavily in their separation. Unprepared physically for the demands of professional wrestling, he turned to pharmaceutical intervention to manage his pain.

"I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls, two in the morning, stuffing them under my gums here … I had two 300mg patches of fentanyl on my legs and they gave me six 1500mg fentanyl lollipops to eat," Hogan revealed. A pharmacist expressed alarm at the dosage, telling him: "You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl."

For context, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a pain reliever and anesthetic. The drug is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin in its analgesic properties.

The physical toll extended beyond medication management. Hogan described sleeping in a chair rather than his bed, explaining that even minor movements would trigger severe spasms throughout his back. "If I just twitched my finger like that, my whole back would spasm and torque," he recounted.

Official documentation indicated that Hogan died from acute myocardial infarction—a heart attack. Medical records also documented a history of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm condition.

The documentary premiered on the streaming platform Wednesday, April 22.