Update: Vince McMahon has released a statement on the death of Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan has passed away. The WWE Hall of Famer was 71 years old. According to TMZ, medics were dispatched to Hulk Hogan’s home in Clearwater,

The sports entertainment industry and wresting community was struck with some sad news on Thursday when it was revealed that former WWE legend and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan passed away at his home in Clearwater,

Encompassing a total of 36 years, the late, great Hulk Hogan portrayed characters that broke the mold. However, there was one character Vince McMahon Sr. wanted him to play that could have changed the course of his popularity.

Before The Rock morphed into movie star Dwayne Johnson, and well-before John Cena traded his jorts for a Peacemaker helmet, Terry “ Hulk Hogan ” Bollea made the leap from a professional-wrestling ring to Hollywood.

Hulk Hogan died Thursday at the age of 71. Here are the famed wrestler's biggest controversies during his story career.

Hulk Hogan, who has died of an apparent heart attack aged 71, was a wrestler widely acknowledged as one of the greatest – and certainly one of the most recognisable – in the history of his sport; standing at 6ft 7in and weighing 21 stone,

When Hogan burst onto the wrestling scene, it was a collection of fly-by-night regional promotions. By the time he was done, it had become a multibillion-dollar global business.

A dispatch call obtained by PEOPLE revealed that police were called to Hulk Hogan's house for a cardiac arrest when they went to his home on Thursday, July 24. The wrestler is dead at age 71.