On August 5, 2025, Hulk Hogan was laid to rest near his home in Clearwater, Florida.
Sitting down to talk in part about his relationship with the “Hulkamaniac” with Johnny Manziel on his Glory Daze podcast, Rick Flair recalled the ceremony and revealed that some of the wrestlers he expected to see at the WWE legend's funeral weren't there for one reason or another.
“I was just watching everybody, does that make sense? I think there was a lot of wrestlers that should’ve been there that didn’t come, but you know, everybody makes their own choices,” Flair noted via Fightful. “He wrestled at a time when it was very political, and you had to stand up for yourself. It wasn’t like now, where it’s, ‘Hey, it’s this way or the highway.' You had to fight for your position, and he did, and he made some enemies along the way, and I think those guys didn’t show up. Aside from that, I thought it was nice, but I was kind of people-watching to see what was going on. I was surprised at some people that didn’t come and surprised at some that did come. I don’t know, it was different. I certainly didn’t stay for the celebration.”
Flair also reflected on his personal relationship with the “Hulkster,” revealing that he was actually incredibly supportive when his son passed away in 2013.
“We were always depicted as enemies, right? Hogan and Ric Flair, right? But he really was a great guy for me,” Flair recalled. “When my son was in rehab in the hospital, dying on life support, I needed some money, and he lent it to me. He went to five different rehab centers, or six, at 40 grand a whack, and I didn’t have insurance. Insurance doesn’t cover that, they take the money in advance. So I was going through money like water back then, plus I was getting a divorce.”
On screen, Hogan and Flair were rivals, two of the brightest stars in the business in a time when Kayfabe was in full swing. But behind the scenes, it's nice to know that they didn't hold that against each other and were there for one another during key moments of their lives.
