One of Hulk Hogan’s most infamous matches in Kansas City was vs. dude in hotel bar
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hulk Hogan won his final WWF championship in Kansas City in April 2002.
- A 2019 viral hotel bar altercation became one of Hogan’s most infamous moments.
- Hogan died at 71 in Florida; tributes poured in from fans and peer Ric Flair.
Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who died Thursday, won his last WWF championship in Kansas City in April 2002 at Backlash, a World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
It was the last Backlash before the WWF became the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment.
And, it was the first PPV wrestling event at Kemper since May 1999, when 34-year-old wrestler Owen Hart, aka the Blue Blazer and one of wrestling’s biggest stars, plunged 78 feet to his death when the quick-release mechanism on his harness opened as he was lowered from a catwalk into the ring.
Hogan, who died in Florida Thursday at the age of 71, wrestled just a handful of times in Kansas City.
But one of his most infamous matches here didn’t happen in the ring.
In October 2019, Hogan got into a verbal altercation with a fan at a Kansas City hotel that went viral. Two days after the incident the WWE Hall of Famer made a video explaining his side of the story.
Clearly, that fan didn’t know who he was messing with.
Hogan was in town for the “Smackdown Live” TV show filmed at the former Sprint Center.
According to Hogan, fellow wrestling buddy Ric Flair invited him to their hotel bar “for one drink” after the matches.
Flair assured him that it was really calm in the bar and nobody would mess with them, Hogan said in his video.
“So, we hit the front of the hotel. The bar and the lobby was right there. And it was the TV hotel, so it was packed with fans,” Hogan said.
“I go in there and respectfully say hello to Flair, and he goes, ‘Oh, sit down. It’s real calm.’ All of the sudden, everybody’s iPhones getting ready to want pictures, you know, the normal stuff, the good stuff.
“And Flair goes, ‘No, we’re gonna relax for a minute.’ And he just wanted to have one drink, before the chaos started. So, we went to a little booth, and we were sitting back there, and the people kept coming up. And Flair, of course, is a heel in the ring, so he was acting like a heel and running everybody off so he could have at least one drink.”
Then, said Hogan, “this one guy came over, and he was drunk on his a**. He was really drunk on his a**. He had about four guys with him. They all looked like 40-, 45-year-old guys. They’re all over six feet tall. You know, just a bunch of rangy looking spoons, you know? So Flair runs him off.”
But it didn’t stop there.
The next thing they know, the drunk guy sent two Shirley Temple non-alcoholic drinks to their table and called them the p-word that also describes a cat.
Flair got “all lit up,” said Hogan.
And Flair said to Hogan, while sitting in their booth, that “the last time I had a Shirley Temple was when I was you-know-whatting your wife.’ So I said, ‘Oh my god. Please Flair, stop. But he said it at the table with me, and it was just funny.
“So, long story short, Flair takes off. And, heads up, I’m regrouping, getting my crutch and all the other crap I’ve got with me, my bags, because we didn’t go to the room. We went straight to the lobby bar.”
He said the viral video didn’t show that the drunk guy started yelling at him, calling him the d-word for penis.
“And usually, I just keep going but for some reason I just stopped dead in my tracks, and I turned around and look at him,” Hogan said. “And the only thing I could think to say was the line that Flair dropped because he sent us two Shirley Temples, and we wouldn’t drink ’em ...”
Hogan looked at the guy and said: “Hey brother. The last time I had a Shirley Temple was when I was hangin’ with your wife.’ And man that lit him up.”
And while the guy’s buddies acted like they were holding him back from charging at the champion wrestler, Hogan said he warned him: “Well brother, I dare you, I dare you ... to come outside and say this to my face.”
Hogan explained that if you get into a fight with a wrestler you’d better make sure there are no other wrestlers around because they are a tight and loyal bunch.
“So, I didn’t realize it, but as I’m arguing with the guy, I looked and I see (wrestler) Brian Kendrick circling the wagons, I see all the other guys, you know, just in position. I’m like ‘Oh my God, this could get crazy.’ But that’s all that happened,” he insisted.
“And then I went up to the room.”
A fan video of the end of the altercation showed Hogan flashing a peace sign at the guy and telling him, “be cool. Eat fruit.”
Shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday, police and fire department personnel were called to Hogan’s home on Clearwater Beach where he was treated for cardiac arrest, according to a police Facebook post.
He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Flair joined wrestling fans in mourning his friend on social media.
“I Am Absolutely Shocked To Hear About The Passing Of My Close Friend,” he wrote on X. “Hulk Has Been By My Side Since We Started In The Wrestling Business.
“An Incredible Athlete, Talent, Friend, And Father! Our Friendship Has Meant The World To Me. He Was Always There For Me Even When I Didn’t Ask For Him To Be. He Was One Of The First To Visit Me When I Was In The Hospital With A 2% Chance Of Living, And He Prayed By My Bedside ... Hulkster, No One Will Ever Compare To You! Rest In Peace My Friend!”
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM.
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