Hulk Hogan Says He’s Had Time to Learn From His Past Mistakes, Discusses How the Loss of Gene Okerlund Puts Things Into Perspective for Him, and How He’s Too Old to Wrestle Now

– People Magazine recently interviewed WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. Hogan recently returned to Monday Night Raw last week to pay tribute to the late Mean Gene Okerlund. Below are some highlights.

Hulk Hogan on having time to reflect and his mistakes: “People are all human and they make mistakes, so it’s about forgiving people and learning and growing. I’m definitely not in the same place I was 12 or 13 years ago, you know, when I said such stupid words, what came out of my head. That’s not who I am.”

Hogan on what he’s been doing lately in Florida: “I’ve been down here enjoying the beach but staying real busy.”

Hogan on being too old to wrestle: “I’m too old to wrestle. I embarrassed myself enough out there by moving too slow, so I don’t want to get back in there again. I don’t think I could. I could probably wrestle somebody like John Cena or Vince McMahon, but as soon as I’d be done they’d be taking me straight to the hospital to fix something … the body’s too worn out for that.”

Hulk Hogan on finding out about Gene Okerlund: “It felt like my Adam’s apple went backward or something, I couldn’t catch my breath. I guess my wife thought I was having a heart attack. It hit me so hard cause I just talked to him a couple weeks before about getting together the weekend when I came back from New Years.”

Hogan on the reception of his return: “The reception from the crowd was unbelievable. All of the talent in the back were really, really cool and nice. Everybody expressed their sympathy.”

Hogan on the deaths of his close friends putting things into perspective for him: “You get to a certain place in life where you have … I don’t know what you’d call it … a come-to-Jesus moment, where you finally get it, what this is all about. You realize how you treat people, and that helping and serving people are more important than anything that you could possibly be doing. …. For me and my career and the whole Hulkamania thing, it really wasn’t the heartbeat of why I was here. I’m here to help people and serve people.”

Hogan on learning from his mistakes: “People learn from their mistakes, and people generally have a good heart. There’s a lot of good people in this world. You’ve gotta learn to forgive, and move forward.”