Former professional wrestler, reality television star and actor Hulk Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, has announced that he was baptized at a church in Florida.
The 70-year-old took to socialmedia on Wednesday to announce that he, along with his third wife Sky Daily Hogan, had been baptized at a special ceremony held at Indian Rocks Baptist Church.
“Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life. No worries, no hate, no judgment … only love,” he wrote in his post, showing videos and photos of the ceremony.
Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life. No worries, no hate, no judgment… only love! pic.twitter.com/gB43hTcLU6
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) December 20, 2023
According to a tweet posted by Hogan in April, the former World Wrestling Entertainment star had originally accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior when he was a teenager.
“I accepted Christ as my savior at 14yrs old, and the training, prayers and vitamins kept me in the game but now that I am one with God, the main event theme of surrender, service and love makes me the Real Main Event that can slam any giant of any size through the power of my Lord and Savior and so it is, even now brother, AMEN!” he posted.
Hogan was a popular pro-wrestler in the 1980s and 1990s for the WWE, then known as the World Wrestling Federation, where he held the world title multiple times and was pushed as a powerful and wholesome heroic character.
Hogan attained mainstream success, starring in several movies and television shows, including a children’s cartoon and a short-lived action-adventure series called “Thunder in Paradise.”
During the 1990s, Hogan jumped ship to WWF rival World Championship Wrestling, where he eventually changed his onscreen persona to a villainous role, serving as the leader of a faction known as the New World Order.
After WWF purchased WCW in 2001, Hogan eventually returned to the Federation, and wrestled on and off for the company for several years, later returning in a non-wrestling capacity due to a series of injuries and overall wear and tear on his body.
Over the years, the popular pro-wrestler has often talked about his religious beliefs, telling Oprah in a 2013 interview that, amid personal trials, he “realized all that stuff – the peace, love, the joy, that still, small voice, the energy, that God presence – is part of who I’m meant to be.”
In 2015, Hogan garnered widespread outrage after a sex tape of him with the wife of another man recorded in 2012 was leaked to the press, showing him using racist language.
The controversy led to WWE temporarily cutting ties with Hogan, terminating the contract they had with the former world champion and removing most on-air references to the superstar.
“In the storm I release control, God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be, one love,” tweeted Hogan in 2015, in response to the backlash.
Hogan returned to WWE to host Wrestlemania, its most important annual event, in 2021 when it took place in Tampa Bay, alongside professional wrestler and Florida native Titus O’Neil.
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