WWE icon Ric Flair has made staggering new claims about the death of his fellow wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
Hogan - real name Terry Bollea - died at the age of 71 on July 24. It was initially ruled that he had suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida before passing away at a local hospital.
However, even more than two months on, police were still investigating Hogan's tragic death in October.
The wrestler's phrenic nerve was said to have been severed during a surgical procedure in the months prior to his passing, and his health had reportedly declined in the aftermath.
Now, Flair has dropped bombshell claims, suggesting that 'street drugs' killed his fellow wrestling hero.
The two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, 76, alleged on the Double Coverage podcast that Hogan had turned to unprescribed medication to help him cope with the pain of his injury-ravaged body, which ultimately had fatal consequences.
'I talked to him the day before he died. I shouldn't say this, but what killed him was street drugs,' the 'Nature Boy' claimed.
'When the doctor wouldn't prescribe anymore - he was in so much pain. Then he had a neck surgery and got infected.
'So back in the hospital... imagine 10 back surgeries, two knees, two hips, all this. And then when the doctor would not prescribe any more pain medicine - they just couldn't do it, all due conscience, right? Yeah.
'So they went and got the drugs off the street. His body just said, "You know what? Bingo. I can't do it anymore".'
A month before his death, a source revealed to The Daily Mail that Hogan - who was embroiled in a shocking family feud with his ex-wife Linda and estranged daughter Brooke earlier this year - was trying to work his way back to '100 percent' after neck and back operations.
'Hulk has a body ravaged by wrestling; his body is the body of a 140-year-old man with all the bumps and bruises through the years, and his recent neck and back surgeries have been harder to come back from,' a source close to Hogan said.
His wife Sky had denied rumors he was on his deathbed in a coma - and claimed his heart was 'strong' after he underwent a routine neck surgery.
Hogan had also previously opened up about undergoing '25 surgeries in the past decade.'
The WWE star collapsed at his Florida home before being pronounced dead at the hospital
Flair, pictured with his daughter Charlotte, claimed Hogan was using 'street drugs'
Hogan collapsed at his five-bedroom, seven-bath, mansion on Clearwater Beach on the morning of July 24. He later died in hospital of natural causes.
According to a medical examiner's certificate obtained by the Daily Mail, he suffered an acute myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack.
It also said he had a history of atrial fibrillation - an irregular heartbeat - and leukemia. Police have previously admitted there is no evidence of foul play in Hogan's death.
Yet at the same time they added 'the unique nature that has required us to interview multiple witnesses and seek medical records from a variety of providers... all this takes time'.