That Time Hulk Hogan Got Booed At RAW

WWE and Monday Night Raw celebrated a huge milestone this past week. The flagship wrestling program of the WWE made its debut on streaming giant Netflix, marking the beginning of what should be a massively successful partnership for both companies. The night should have been primarily about this new partnership and celebrating new beginnings. Instead, it was marred by the appearance of one of its biggest legends, a return that made the crowd in LA boo him straight out of the building.

The legend in question was none other than Hulk Hogan. A pioneer in the wrestling industry and a man largely responsible for WWE’s insane popularity in the 80s and early 90s. Ironically enough, he also ended up contributing to the near destruction of WWE when he jumped ship to WCW in the mid-90s. He’s often been a polarizing character due to his frequent manipulation of the creative control clause in his contracts, but nothing divided fans’ opinion of him more than leaked audio of a phone call from 2015.

In the audio Hogan, (real name Terry Bollea) admitted to being “racist to a point” and using the n-word several times. The audio was so damning that WWE terminated his contract a few days after the audio leaked. Hogan went on an apology tour, claiming to have learned from his mistakes, and promised to be a better man. WWE welcomed him back into the fold (because of course they would), and Hogan appeared to have learned to toe the line.

That is, until recently, when he made his support for president-elect Donald Trump in the most Hulk Hoganish ways possible. Hogan appeared at the Republican National Convention fully in support of Trump and his (concepts of) policies, and in addition to that, he was even more brazen about his beliefs. He “joked” about body-slamming Kamala Harris, while also questioning her race and making an odd gesture about her Indian heritage. At that moment, the crowd at the RNC and people around the world got to see exactly who Hogan is, and what he’s always believed in.

It was the culmination of all these things that got Hogan booed during the inaugural episode of Monday Night Raw on Netflix. It was the LA crowd, who let Hogan know that despite WWE ignoring his previous indiscretions, the majority of the wrestling world was perfectly capable of separating the art from the artist. They let him know that although WWE forgives and forgets, the fans are not as forgiving, and not as forgetful.