Brooke Hogan Defended The One Thing Hulk Never Would

In the later years of Hulk Hogan's life, he became estranged from his daughter, Brooke. Their relationship became so damaged that Brooke even asked to be removed from Hogan's will, stating that she didn't want to become involved in a drawn-out legal battle over his finances. Though Brooke has stated she still loved her father, their relationship became complicated due to a series of disagreements. One area where the two didn't see eye to eye was on the presence of unions in pro wrestling.

Unions have long been a topic of conversation in the industry, but wrestlers have never successfully formed one. In 2022, Brooke took part in an interview at a convention, sharing her belief that wrestlers need a union more than many other jobs, as they're putting their bodies on the line week after week without a safety net when their career is over.

The former reality TV star brought up a conversation she'd had with another daughter of a wrestling legend, Brittany Page, whose father is "Diamond" Dallas Page. The two women shared their surprise at the fact that wrestlers weren't unionized, leading to Brooke doing some research into why. Without wanting to get too far into the details, Brooke joked about discovering that her father played a significant role in preventing a union from forming nearly 40 years ago.

One of the most notorious moments of Hogan's career took place in 1986, just as Vince McMahon's wrestling promotion was reaching new heights with the popularity of WrestleMania. Jesse Ventura believed wrestlers would benefit from forming a union, as they weren't given health insurance, pensions, or a fair share of the industry's profits, and he believed McMahon needed the performers more than ever.

Ventura began speaking about the formation of a union in the locker room, but word got around to Hogan, who was opposed to the idea. Hogan went to McMahon and told him about what was taking place. As a result, McMahon informed the entire locker room that anyone who supported Ventura's push would be let go, and Ventura wasn't able to get a union off the ground.

Initially, Ventura didn't know that Hogan was the one responsible for getting word to McMahon. The details came out in the infamous steroid trial that took place years later, and Ventura has since relayed his dissatisfaction with Hogan's actions many times.

Though they disagreed over the matter, Brooke's opinion on unions likely stemmed from seeing what the industry did to her father's physical health. In 2023, the WWE Hall of Famer opened up about the toll wrestling took on his body, with Hogan stating that he was forced to undergo more than two dozen surgeries once he retired from the ring.