WWE News: WWE Still Attempting To Test The Waters Of Hulk Hogan Return, ‘WrestleMania 33’ Bound?
It seems that the WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan could make a return to the WWE, even as soon as next year. We all know what happened that resulted in WWE having to release Hulk Hogan last year. Years ago, Hulk Hogan was caught on audio tape saying some racial things about a black man that his daughter Brooke happened to be dating. This tape was released by Gawker Media, who happened to also be in a court battle with Hogan at the exact same time.
Strangely enough, that very tape that they released might have been put out to hurt Hulk Hogan, but it ended up making him very rich. They would go on to lose the case, and it was because the judge felt that they were intentionally trying to take down Hogan. I don’t know how a judge could come to that conclusion right? I mean, did they release something during the trial just out of spite that resulted in a job loss for Hogan….oh wait.
The problem at the end of the day was that things might have worked out for Hulk Hogan in the end with the win, but that did not mean he could return to the WWE. He said even after the win that he would love to go back to the WWE, so we know the interest is there despite now having millions to sit out and enjoy the rest of his life. This now makes fans want him more because they know he’s not in it for the money as we assumed for years when he would show up somewhere.
WWE has been throwing out hints and teases for a possible return. They have put out some material involving Hogan or mentioned him in passing with things they were doing. This has been done to see how the WWE fans react to Hulk Hogan, which seems to be going over quite well at this point. Cageside Seats reports that WWE did this sort of thing again when they name-dropped Hulk Hogan’s name during the WWE Roadblock: End of the Line PPV this past Sunday.
They mentioned him during the WWE Women’s Title match when talking about Charlotte Flair’s PPV accomplishments. They have been doing this for a while, and this was the latest test to see what would occur. The only people who talk about it are reporters or analysts while the average fan has no issue hearing the name of Hulk Hogan or even seeing him back.
Many have come to the conclusion that although he said something bad, it was nearly a decade ago and in private. There have been times people say racial things whether that person was white, black, or really tan. It never mattered to those people then, but now it somehow did when a public figure said something in private? Hogan is not running for office saying something terrible about minorities hoping to catch votes from the majority of white people. Eh, it worked for the new U.S. President.
Regardless, Hulk Hogan’s private tape was the issue here, and while WWE released him, they never wanted to. WWE stock plummeted to lose the company over $50 million within hours. They had no choice but to release Hulk Hogan so that the company did not lose more money. Obviously, Vince McMahon always planned to bring Hogan back whenever possible.
The heat had to settle, and ever since the trial win for Hulk, people have been talking about the possibility of seeing him back. Many of those who were offended by the comments have seemed to forgive him for what he said, which worked out well for the WWE, who would love to see Hulk Hogan return for WrestleMania 33. The show will take place in a few months, so if the company does get Hogan back, it may not be until that exact time, and he won’t make any random appearance before.
[Featured Image By WWE]
