The ‘Real American’ Hulk Hogan (Terry Gene Bollea) passed away on July 24 after suffering a cardiac arrest. The wrestler had been battling with bad health since his major four-level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) surgery. John Cena, Triple-H, The Undertaker, and many more have paid tribute to Hogan, and their social media posts are filled with fans from India expressing their sorrow. Interestingly, Hogan had a weird connection with India, and according to a now retracted report, he visited Chandigarh to watch a wrestling match and meet his ‘good friend,’ the actor and wrestler Sangram Singh.
According to a report published presumably around the early 2000s, the 6-time WWE champion, along with some other leading professional wrestlers, had come to a college in Chandigarh to watch a wrestling match. The report talks about the softer side of Hogan and his appreciation for India and reads, “Despite years of being in the ring. Terry, rechristened as Mr. Wrestling for the new league, hardly looks as ruthless in real life as he does inside the ring. With kind blue eyes he talks about falling in love with India.” The available images of the report show another interesting quote given by this impostor of Hogan.
He says, “Most of my visits to India have been on account of wrestling, just like this this time. The last fight I had was with wrestler and actor Sangram Singh, who is the only Indian I have ever fought against. He became a good friend of mine thereafter.” Sangram Singh, while not being ‘Hogan’s good friend’, is an admirer of the wrestler. “This is very sad news. @HulkHogan Ji’s demise is an irreparable loss for all of us. I learned wrestling by watching him since childhood and got inspiration. His strength, enthusiasm and passion will always be remembered. My tribute. Om Shanti. 🙏,” Sangram wrote on X.
While the date of the article is not clear, the quote given by our ‘Chandigarh Hogan’ is also factually incorrect because Hogan has fought an Indian wrestler. In an old segment from 2007 on WWE Raw, The Great Khali was planning to lay a beatdown on Hornswoggle, and just as he was about to pick him up, Hogan’s music hit and the crowd erupted.
Hogan facing Khali (left) and Hogan as Thunderlips in Rocky III (right).
Hogan came out, dressed in an all-black attire, and rushed to the ring to threaten Khali. The Punjabi giant looked down on Hogan, and it was a nice throwback to Hogan’s cameo in Rocky III, when he towered over Sylvester Stallone. He beat Khali out of the ring, saved Hornswoggle, and then cut a classic Hogan promo, congratulating the company on its success and thanking his fans for keeping ‘Hulkamania’ alive all these years.
