Dozens of guests gathered Tuesday at a private funeral service in Largo for famed professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who died last month at 71.
The service was at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, where Hogan and his third wife, Sky Daily, were baptized in 2023.
Hogan, born Terry Bollea, died after suffering a heart attack July 24 at his home in Clearwater, according to the Pinellas-Pasco county medical examiner, who declared his death was natural. The body will be cremated.
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The service was heavily patrolled by church security and Largo police officers, including K-9s. Anyone not on the guest list was turned away near signs that read, “Private Event.”
After the service, Hogan's Clearwater Beach restaurant, Hogan’s Hangout, was closed Tuesday night for a private event, according to the venue's Facebook page.
Among the guests sighted at the funeral were longtime wrestler Rick Flair, WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque, musician Kid Rock, former basketball star Dennis Rodman and MMA star Tito Ortiz.
President Donald Trump posted a photo on his Truth Social platform showing him arm wrestling Hogan, saying, “They are having the ‘Hulkster’s’ funeral today, and I thought everybody would enjoy seeing this picture.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags flown at half-staff at the Capitol in Tallahassee and all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout Pinellas last Friday, which he declared “Hulk Hogan Day in Florida.”
Hogan, who grew up in Tampa and later moved to Clearwater Beach, was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in movies and television shows, including “Hogan Knows Best,” a reality show about his life on VH1.
Hogan was perhaps the biggest star in World Wrestling Entertainment's long history, known for his larger-than-life personality and in-ring exploits. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.
His daughter, Brooke Bollea Oleksy, memorialized her father in a recent social media post.
“I am so grateful I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens,” she wrote on Instagram.
