Brooke Hogan & Bubba The Love Sponge Express Doubts About Hulk Hogan Leukemia Story

A week after his death, medical reports indicated that WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) died from an acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. They also showed that the late wrestler had a secret history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer that affects white blood cells. On Tuesday, Hulk's daughter Brooke Hogan called into the "Bubba the Love Sponge Show" to discuss her father's recent passing alongside his former friend and the show's host Bubba the Love Sponge, whose real name is Todd Clem.

"I think I was maybe the only person that was going on a limb and not necessarily the most popular guy in the media by saying at least fairly accurately what your dad was going through," Bubba said in reference to his previous claims that Hulk seemed to be on his "deathbed" in June due to heart failure.

Bubba added that Brooke, more than anybody else, had been up to date on her father's health throughout the years, as evidenced by her "copious" notes about his various medical procedures. Despite that, Brooke admittedly remains perplexed by his CLL diagnosis.

"That's what has me puzzled because they're saying, 'Oh, he had leukemia,'" Brooke said. "I saw his blood work every time. One doctor, I quote, said his blood is like a 25-year-old's. I mean, he took the most care of his body. He was going to an anti-aging specialist. Also, just being through all the surgeries, you have to do a blood panel before any major surgery. How did nobody catch a high white blood cell count? That's what bothers me the most. We don't have cancer that runs in our family. It seems weird."

Aside from leukemia, medical records from the Pinellas County Forensic Science Center showed that Hulk Hogan also suffered from atrial fibrillation (AFib), a heart condition characterized by an irregular and rapid heart rate. Ultimately, his death was ruled as a natural one, with his body cremated shortly thereafter, and per Brooke, without an official autopsy.

"For me, the no autopsy and the leukemia out of nowhere hits me as BS," Brooke said, "because [I never heard that diagnosis before]. I would be surprised that a surgeon would work on somebody with leukemia or somebody that would see a high white blood cell count and not do further investigation first. The first option is treat the leukemia." Prior to his death, knowledge of Hulk's reported battle with leukemia had not been public.

In the days following Hulk's death on July 24, figures from around the professional wrestling world, including Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff, issued tributes to the former WWE Champion. WWE themselves delivered multiple ten-bell salutes and video packages on "WWE Raw," WWE NXT," and "WWE SmackDown" programming. His last appearance on WWE television came back alongside Jimmy Hart on the Netflix premiere of "Raw," where he cut a promo about his Real American Beer campaign.

According to Brooke, she had been mostly out of her father's life for the last two years, though not by choice. In the same two years, Hogan married Sky Daily, a yoga instructor who later penned her own emotional farewell to Hulk, whom she referred to as her life partner.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Bubba the Love Sponge Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.