Representatives of WWE legend Hulk Hogan have denied claims the star has no feeling in his lower body following back surgery.
The 69-year-old is recognised as one of wrestling's biggest global superstars, and is widely credited for elevating sports entertainment in the 1980s. The six time WWE champion also excelled during a stint in the now defunct WCW, where he also worse the heavyweight belt on six occasions.
He has continued to appear sporadically on wrestling programming over the years, and on January 23 featured on the RAW 30th anniversary show in Philadelphia. Appearing alongside former manager Jimmy Hart, he stood on the entrance ramp and addressed the crowd, signing off with his signature line of "What you gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?"
But also on the show was fellow WWE hall of famer Kurt Angle, who later claimed his fellow American "can’t feel his lower body." Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist said: "Hogan had his back surgery again.
“He had the nerves cut from his lower body. He can’t feel his lower body. So [he] uses his cane to walk around "I thought he was using the cane because he had pain in his back. He doesn’t have any pain. He has nothing at all. He can’t feel anything."
However, representatives of 'The Hulkster' have denied Angle's claims, telling Entertainment Tonight: “Everything is OK with him. Hulk is someone with a lot of humour.” It was also claimed the star is “doing well and is not paralysed."
Since retiring from active wrestling, Hogan has suffered numerous physical problems, following a career that ran in tandem with his extreme weightlifting. In 2010, he underwent traditional spinal fusion surgery, which enabled him to return to the ring.
But three years later, he filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute for £40 million, arguing the surgery had actually exacerbated his back problems. The two parties eventually settled out of court.
Hogan's most famous moment in a ring came at Wrestlemania III in 1987, in front of 93,000 people at the Silverdome in Michigan. He bodyslammed Andre the Giant en route to defending his world title.
