Bruce Prichard Reflects On Learning Of The Death Of Hulk Hogan

In July this year, the wrestling world mourned the sudden loss of the legendary Hulk Hogan. In the wake of his death, many of Hogan's former peers and friends shared tributes to his memory. WWE's Bruce Prichard was on hiatus from his podcast at the time, and now that he's returned, he took the time to reflect on the moment he initially found out about Hogan's death.

"I knew Hulk was having surgeries and things of that nature but...Eric [Bischoff] was keeping me up to date about what was going on with Hulk," he recalled during an episode of "Something To Wrestle," adding that several reports about Hogan were untrue. "I called Eric the night before Hulk's passing, and he was totally optimistic and in great spirits."

Unfortunately, the following morning, the update he got from Bischoff wasn't positive, as he was told that Hogan was being rushed to the ER. 

"I called Paul Levesque, and while I was on the phone with Paul, and this is all happening in real time, he says: 'Hey man, I just got a text that he's gone.' 'What do you mean, gone?" he recalled, adding that he then got confirmation from Bischoff that Hogan had, in fact, passed away.

After both Eric Bischoff and Paul Levesque confirmed Hulk Hogan's passing, Bruce Prichard could only simply accept the news. "Call my wife, call one other person, and just told them...I just was in shock. Best way to describe it," he recalled. "He was there... One day you're there, one day you're not..." The realization then hit harder when he went back into office, and Hogan's death was said out loud and confirmed by everyone. "That was the first time, you know, that it really hit me and I cried in my office..."

Prichard then explained that he has pictures of him and Hogan in his outer office and in his inner office there's a second, larger, picture of the two together and all he could do was stare at it. "It didn't seem real," he added, noting that every news outlet reported on it, making it all even more real than before. "It sucked...Now you have to go into: 'What do you do now?' You gotta figure out what is... What's the show's gonna look like, and I think business, so you gotta put that hat on and decide."

The WWE producer is still working on accepting the fact of Hogan's death.

"There are days that I forget," Prichard added. "It's surreal, you're like: 'Nah man, I just talked to him!'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.