Jim Ross Compares 'Irreplaceable' WWE HOFer Hulk Hogan To Wayne Gretzky & Babe Ruth

Many hockey fans associate their beloved sport with former center Wayne Gretzky. In baseball, the same can be said for former New York Yankee Babe Ruth. In the world of professional wrestling, AEW commentator Jim Ross believes it is synonymous with former WWE Champion Hulk Hogan, who died on Thursday at the age of 71.

"Someone asked me earlier today my thoughts, and I said, it's like hockey losing Gretzky. It's like baseball losing back in the day, the great Babe Ruth. [Hogan] was unrreplaceable," Ross told "Off The Ropes." "He worked awful hard for 71 years old.

"I'm 73, I'm still working for AEW, but I don't have the pressure on me that I had when you and I worked together. Not because of you [Jonathan Coachman], because of my job description. When you got to manage a roster of 107 wrestlers, that can be taxing. But he's just irreplaceable. People will talk about Hulk Hogan forever. He will never go out of public consciousness because of the impact that he made for so long. He's going to be missed, and that's an understatement."

For many long-time fans and current performers, such as Tommy Dreamer, Hogan defined their childhood memories of wrestling. Moreover, he helped WWE gain global recognition through the wildly popular "Hulkamania" movement and his crossover work with pop culture figures such as Mr. T in the 1980s.

Between WWE and WCW, Hogan enjoyed 12 world championships. In his later years, he also worked with TNA Wrestling, which hosted his final in-ring performance in 2012. WWE fans last saw Hogan in person at the Netflix premiere of "WWE Raw" this past January.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Off The Ropes" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.