(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Hulk Hogan's ex-wife Linda has claimed in her new book that she feared the former WWE wrestler would kill her.

Linda told US talk show host Matt Lauer on The Today Show that she suffered abuse at the hands of the 80s icon during their 24-year marriage.

She is promoting her new book, Wrestling The Hulk: My Life Against The Ropes, where she opens up about her troubled marriage which ended in divorce in 2007.

"I did not want to end up a statistic like Nicole Simpson," she stated referring to O.J. Simpson's wife who was murdered.

In the new tome, Linda describes an incident where the professional wrestler tore her shirt and held her down on a bed with her hands around her throat.

"[He] did not feel remorse and to this day he's never apologised for any of his actions but that is something that scared me," she revealed.

"I was always afraid he would kill me in one of his rages."

Linda said that she did not speak out before for fear of repercussions.

She also makes claims that Hulk used steroids at the time when he was encouraging young fans to "train, say your prayers and take your vitamins".

Hogan, real name Terry Gene Bollea, remarried last December to Jennifer McDaniel who is more than 20 years his junior. (C) Cover Media