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What’s the story?
On the very first episode of The Apter Chat, legendary professional wrestling journalist Bill Apter addressed several burning issues in the industry.
Former WWE Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was a guest on The Apter Chat, and for the very first time since his backstage meeting with the WWE talent at Extreme Rules 2018; Hogan opened up on said meeting.
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In case you didn’t know…
Hulk Hogan is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Hogan—a veteran of promotions such as WWE, WCW, NJPW and TNA (now—Impact Wrestling)—was fired from the WWE and suspended from its Hall of Fame back in 2015.
Hogan’s firing came in light of the emergence of a few leaked tapes, which featured him mouthing racist profanities.
The heart of the matter
One ought to note that Hulk Hogan was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, and was invited backstage at WWE’s Extreme Rules PPV in July of this year, so as to address his racist comments and apologize to the WWE talent for the same.
While the vast majority of professional wrestling fans and experts seemingly accepted Hogan’s apology as a sincere effort by The Hulkster, a few fans, experts and performers claimed that Hogan’s apology seemed somewhat disingenuous.
In fact, current WWE Superstars such as The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) and Titus O’Neil indicated that Hogan’s apology didn’t seem truly remorseful.
Hogan addressed the fact, noting how a few sections of the professional wrestling community seem to opine that his apology backstage at Extreme Rules wasn’t sincere. Hogan elucidated that certain people including members of the media like to go with the negative narrative on things.
Additionally, Hogan then claimed that the people who found his apology insincere, don’t really understand the pro-wrestling bond and brotherhood. He stated—
“I said those words. It was totally unacceptable, and I just really wanted to get in front of all the talent, and apologize. Because I know I hurt this business and I just want to move forward…”
“I just hope the brotherhood can get back to the way it was. Because when you’re in the ring and somebody’s body-slamming somebody or pile-driving somebody, you protect your brother and you make sure physically they’re safe. And outside the ring (too), you’re supposed to protect your brother.”
“In this case, it’s a situation where 75, 80, 90 percent of the wrestlers are protecting me. And they’re giving me another chance to move forward.”
“There’s just a few wrestlers that kind of like don’t understand the bond and the brotherhood of wrestling. And hey, if someone makes a mistake, you need to forgive them and move on and try to let them prove themselves. I just feel that I wish I could have one-on-one conversations with people who really don’t know me and try to maybe explain myself better.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
What’s next?
The WWE confirmed earlier this year; that Hulk Hogan has been roped in, so as to help others learn from his mistakes.
However, WWE added that Hogan is not presently scheduled to perform at any future WWE events…for now.
What are your thoughts on Hulk Hogan’s statements? Sound off in the comments!
