Hulk Hogan’s monumental contributions to professional wrestling and pop culture made him one of the world’s most beloved and recognizable human beings.

Unfortunately, it didn’t all stay that way for Terry Bollea, as life outside the larger-than-life world of pro wrestling catches up to some, as it did with him.

Bollea died Thursday at the age of 71 from cardiac arrest as a more polarizing figure than his Hulk Hogan persona ever was.

WWE and pro wrestling would be nowhere near their current heights without Hogan. Without Hogan, the then-WWF wouldn’t have gotten the Rock n’ Wrestling crossover with MTV that brought it greater mainstream visibility in 1984. It was the catalyst for WrestleMania I, into which Vince McMahon put everything he had, a year later.