Chris Jericho: Y2J On What He Thinks Of WWE’s Decision To Erase Hulk Hogan

Chris Jericho is one of the most well-liked guys in WWE history, as evidenced from the steady stream of guests you’ll see on his podcast each week and the unlikely friendships that he’s been able to forge with guys as different as “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the man who still calls himself Y2J 15 years into the new century had plenty to say about each.

Of particular interest were his thoughts on the Hulk Hogan racism scandal and the subsequent fallout that occurred between Hogan and WWE.

WWE effectively erased Hulk Hogan from its Hall of Fame and its Tough Enough reality television competition. The company also no longer mentions his extensive body of work on any of its programming.

On WWE Network, you can still find plenty of Hogan material in the archives, but the sports entertainment company is effectively done promoting him, which is unusual since Hogan helped bring the company to national prominence in the 1980s.

It’s hard to blame WWE for the decision given how incendiary Hogan’s racist remarks were, but Chris Jericho doesn’t exactly see it that way.

When asked about the matter by SI, Jericho had this to say.

“I’m nobody to judge anybody. I’ve had just as many issues as anybody else. But you stand by your friends in good times and bad times, and Hulk’s my friend. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Except that wasn’t really all Y2J had to say about it. He also noted that there was “no excuse” for what Hogan said, but that he’d also seen Hogan’s kindnesses on display “multiple” times over the years, so he didn’t really buy into the whole idea of forever condemning the man.

On the question of whether WWE did the right thing scrubbing Hogan from the HOF, the website, and just about everywhere else where there was once a reference?

“It’s not my call. It’s not my company.”

Jericho also shared some of his thoughts on this Sunday’s SummerSlam event. The interview is well worth the read if you want to look through it here.

You do have to hand it to Y2J. It’s a difficult situation to be in when you have loyalties on both sides of such a divisive issue. Do you think Chris Jericho is right not to condemn Hogan for those racist remarks? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image of Chris Jericho via WWE c/o SB Nation]