‘Total surrender and dedication to Jesus,’ says Hulk Hogan of baptism

Perhaps the most influential professional wrestler of all time, Hulk Hogan, has made a public profession of Christ, posting a video of his baptism just before Christmas.

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, was accompanied by his wife Sky Daily and baptized at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida, not far from where He grew up in Tampa. The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Famer posted the video to X with a straightforward caption expressing exactly what the baptism meant to him:

“Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life. No worries, no hate, no judgment… only love!”

To date, the baptism post has amassed over 6 million views worldwide. While responses to Hogan’s bold declaration of faith have spanned from hatred to elation and hearty endorsement, the sheer range of reactions demonstrates the profound influence the wrestler has wielded in American society. 

“You can’t possibly overrate his significance in the history of the business, and he sold more tickets to wrestling shows than any man who ever lived and I don’t expect anyone to ever sell more tickets than he did,” sports historian Dave Meltzer wrote on X a few years ago. 

Hogan’s iconic persona rose to fame in the 1980s as professional wrestling grew in popularity. Though he officially retired from the sport in 2012, he’s remained an icon decades after his initial rise to fame.  

His public profession of faith is the latest in a recent series of bold statements by the star, who has come back to the faith in the last few years. In August, Hogan appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, the most popular on Spotify, donning a T-shirt with the famous John 3:16 passage across the chest. 

Hogan, 70, explained in the podcast how he came to faith at 14 but strayed from God as he entered adulthood. After reaching unprecedented fame in the world of wrestling, the cultural icon realized that even reaching the absolute peak of his profession didn’t satisfy the true longing of his heart.  

Witnessing the vanity of having everything the world has to offer led Hogan to be “locked back in” to the faith he came to know as a boy. 

“As the years went by, I started seeing how things went. It’s got me to the point now where I’m locked back in. … Everything else is a distant second to what happens around me,” Hogan said, after quoting John 3:16 on Rogan’s podcast and plainly stating that Jesus was his Lord and Savior. 

On Easter last year, Hogan posted a picture of an empty tomb and a caption about the power of Jesus and being one with Him.

Last week, the day after Christmas, Hogan expressed amazement at how many have reached out after his baptism.

“It’s amazing how many emails and messages I’m getting from around the world now that everyone knows I am one with and am living my life for Christ! All is well even now, joyful, happy, life is good, thank you God Amen!  HH”