Dwayne Johnson pays tribute to Hulk Hogan, remembers their iconic 2002 WWE match: 'Never felt any...

The Rock has shared moving memories of his &34;childhood hero&34; after the wrestler's death this week from cardiac arrest. Dwayne Johnson pays tribute to Hulk

The Rock has shared moving memories of his "childhood hero" after the wrestler's death this week from cardiac arrest.

Dwayne Johnson pays tribute to Hulk Hogan, remembers their iconic 2002 WWE match: 'Never felt anything like that'

The Rock has shared moving memories of his "childhood hero" after the wrestler's death this week from cardiac arrest.

By Jessica Wang

Jessica is a staff writer at , where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog.

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Published on July 25, 2025 12:19PM EDT

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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Hulk Hogan in the ring at Wrestlemania X8. Credit:

George Pimentel/WireImage

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is remembering Hulk Hogan in the wake of his death.

Hogan, a wrestling superstar credited with propelling the sport into the mainstream in the 1980s, died July 24 from cardiac arrest at the age of 71.

Johnson, who famously defeated Hogan in the momentous WrestleMania X8 event in 2002, eulogized his "childhood hero" in a social media post he shared Friday, saying his admiration for the late Hogan dates back to his days as an obsessed young fan.

"To millions of little kids you were a childhood hero — myself included," Johnson wrote. "In 1984, I gave you your 'Hulkster' headband back in the locker room in Madison Square Garden — I was the lucky kid [who] caught it when you threw it in the crowd."**

Hulk Hogan and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson square off for the infamous Wrestlemania X8.

George Pimentel/WireImage

That was after Hogan's match with Paul Orndorff (ring name: Mr. Wonderful), Johnson recalled. "You were shocked and so happy after the match because you told me that was your very last headband and if it weren't for me, you'd have no way of getting that exact one made again. You promised me that you would get more made and give me a Hulkster headband of my own as a thank-you gift."

A month later, at a match at Madison Square Garden, Hogan made good on that promise — "and that meant the world to that little 12-year-old boy," Johnson wrote. "Just 17 years later, and still a kid at the age of 29 years old, I'm standing in the middle of the ring and facing you — one of my wrestling heroes — in the main event of WrestleMania."**

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"I've never felt anything like that in my entire wrestling career," Johnson said of that day, calling Hogan "the greatest of all time."

Johnson added, "From deep in my bones, and on behalf of this wild and crazy world of professional wrestling that we love, I say to you now, and forever... thank you for the house, brother."**

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Johnson shared the heartfelt remembrance alongside footage of his storied 2002 match against Hogan airing on a retro television set, a scene he punctuated with some sentimental music.

Like Hogan, Johnson rose to prominence as a professional wrestler in the WWE and competed under the persona The Rock in the 1990s. These days he's known more for his Hollywood roles in the *Fast & Furious* franchise, *Black Adam, Moana*, and *Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,* though he is set to return to his wrestling roots to play former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the upcoming Benny Safdie biopic *The Smashing Machine.*

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