Brutus Beefcake -- a WWE legend and one of Hulk Hogan's closest friends -- sat down with TMZ Sports this week to share his memories of the late wrestling superstar ... and it got emotional.
BB -- who's known Hulk for roughly 50 years -- told us Hogan was actually the reason he got into the squared circle ... explaining Hulk recruited him to the sport when he was just a high schooler.
The two went on to wrestle together in the 1970s as the "Boulder Brothers" .