What’s the story?
The first Raw of 2017 also brought us the first controversial moment of 2017 when the WWE moved a fan to a different seat for dressing as Hulk Hogan.
His appearance on Raw incited fans to chant “Hogan” during the match between Titus O’Neil and Xavier Woods of The New Day until the fan was placed in a seat away from the hard cam.
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Hogan was working under a Legends deal when he returned to the product in 2014 but was fired in 2015 when the transcript of his sex tape was released by Gawker. The transcript revealed racially charged language being used by Hogan and he was recorded saying the n-word and the words “I am a racist to a point.”
WWE not only fired Hogan after the transcript was released, but they removed all his matches from the WWE Network and erased all mention of him, similar to how they removed all mentions of Chris Benoit following his murder-suicide in 2007.
The heart of the matter
Though the WWE has slowly, but surely started incorporating Hogan’s likeness back into the network, they have yet to bring him back to the WWE.
Many have speculated that the WWE has held off on bringing Hogan back to the company because they fear backlash from their fans, African-American and otherwise, who were offended by Hogan’s racist remarks.
Paul Heyman and JBL spoke about WWE possibly bringing back Hogan on an episode of the new WWE Network series, Bring it to the Table with Peter Rosenberg, but they didn’t post that clip.
What next?
This situation may be the WWE’s way of showing that they aren’t about to incorporate Hogan back into the product just yet or that they want it to look like they aren’t ready to bring him back, only for it to be a surprise later.
Rumours have been circulating for the past two years that Hogan was going to make a return, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Hogan’s return is going to be a controversial issue no matter what the WWE does. Before any of his racist tirades came out, Hogan was viewed as one of the all-time greats. His fan base was made up of people from all walks of life.
When this racist rant came out, Hogan hurt a lot of his fans and has yet to genuinely apologise for it. While he did say he was sorry, some of his media appearances and subsequent responses caused many to believe that he was just saying whatever he needed to say to get himself off the hook.
WrestleMania 33 would mark 30 years since his match with Andre the Giant, so if it was likely that WWE would bring him back, it would probably happen soon.
Whatever reaction Hogan gets and whatever backlash the company faces, it’s ultimately up to Vince McMahon if he wants to take that risk.
Tweet Speak
The fan goes by the name of Tye Dye Guy and claims to have sat ringside for over 500 wrestling shows between WWE, WCW, and ECW. He explained why he was moved and Hulk Hogan responded to him.
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