Hulk Hogan believes the wrestling world has been ''reeducated'' about sexuality.

The 61-year-old professional wrestler is pleased the industry has moved forward from the ''barbaric mindset'' that meant athletes struggled to be openly gay.

He said: ''I think everybody's been reeducated, so it's not that big a deal.

''At least for me - and I can only speak from my heart - I've got people all around me who are gay, so it's not an issue with me. I think the whole world feels like that now.''

Hulk - real name Terry Gene Bollea - has revealed how he always knew his friend, and legendary wrestler, Pat Patterson was gay.

Pat, 73 - who has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame - made the decision to come out in June this year.

Hulk continued to The Huffington Post: ''I knew Pat was gay back in 1976, when he helped me start wrestling.

''Whenever I see Pat, I give him a big hug and kiss. He's my guy! There are several wrestlers in Japan who are gay. I've just never looked at it as anything weird. It was normal.''

Meanwhile, Hulk recently revealed that he'd love to star in 'The Expendables 4'.

He said previously: ''I've heard that I'm going to be in every 'Expendables' film, from the first one up until now. Stallone makes all the decisions and it's up to him but it would be great to be in 'The Expendables', that would be a lot of fun, especially working with Stallone.''