Hulk Hogan has revealed that he wishes he had retired earlier in his career, owing to how “wrestling has taken its toll” on his body over the years.
The WWE Hall of Famer last wrestled for TNA in 2012, while his last WWE match came against Randy Orton 2006.
He has been rumored to come out of retirement numerous times since then, but after over 20 back surgeries, it seems clear Hogan is retired for good.
The 69-year-old former WWE Champion agrees, wishing he had retired “at the 20-year mark” of his career.
However, he cites Hulkamania and his run in the NWO in the late 1990s as reasons why he postponed his retirement.
Speaking to Men’s Health, Hulk Hogan said about retirement:
“Wrestling has taken its toll. I wrestled almost 40 years, off and on, and I probably should have quit at the 20-year mark.“
“But, with Hulkamania running wild all those years, and then when I turned into a bad guy and became Hollywood Hulk Hogan, it was like jumping on another lightning bolt and I had no idea that we were going to reinvent the wrestling business.“
“So, I got hooked, I got sucked in, and I rode that thing until it dropped. Wrestling has been really tough on my body with multiple surgeries and injuries. Nobody gave me the memo that this stuff was fake.”
Hogan debuted in wrestling in 1977. 20 years on, he was facing Sting in the main event of Starrcade, and was the biggest heel in the business.
It’s easy to see why he didn’t walk away from wrestling at that point.