Hulk Hogan details extreme fentanyl dependence in final documentary

Late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was warned that the level of fentanyl he was taking could be lethal as he battled severe pain and physical decline toward the end of his in-ring career, according to a new documentary.

In the Netflix docuseries Hulk Hogan: Real American, the WWE legend, who died in July 2025 following a heart attack, spoke in what would become his final on-camera interview about his reliance on prescription opioids during his time wrestling with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Hogan said his use of fentanyl escalated as he struggled with debilitating injuries, describing an extreme regimen of pain management medication prescribed during a period when he was still competing at an advanced age.

“I was taking 80-milligram fentanyls… I had two patches… and fentanyl lollipops,” he said in the documentary, recalling that a pharmacist once told him, “You should be dead. We have never seen a human being take this much fentanyl.”

The wrestling star also described living with constant pain that severely limited his mobility, saying even minor movement could trigger full-body spasms, forcing him at times to sleep while sitting upright.

Former wrestling executive Eric Bischoff, who helped arrange Hogan’s contract with TNA, said the wrestler was in one of the darkest periods of his life at the time, dealing with personal and financial turmoil following his divorce from Linda Hogan.

Bischoff admitted he felt conflicted about the situation, saying Hogan was heavily medicated and struggling to function while still being required to fulfill professional commitments, including travel and filming obligations.

The documentary also revisits Hogan’s personal struggles during that period, including his admission that he briefly contemplated suicide amid emotional distress and substance dependence following public fallout from his divorce.