When mentioning Charlotte Flair’s Pay-Per-View undefeated streak, Raw commentator Michael Cole compared the streak to a list of top legends, and the first legend named was Hulk Hogan. This sent fans into a frenzy over a potential return.
The mention of Hogan came as a big shock because WWE has generally avoided using his name or making any mention of him for the past one and a half years. However, it should be noted that WWE has, in fact, been mentioning Hogan very subtly and rarely in 2016.
For example, on The Edge & Christian Show That Totally Reeks Of Awesomeness, there was a joke about Hulk Hogan. Back in May, JBL subtly mentioned Hulk Hogan’s name on Raw.
Some more examples can be in two episodes of The Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network; Edge & Christian also made mention of Hogan as their favourite wrestler, and in 2016, Big Show had a long conversation about him during his WCW days.
Also, it should be noted that Hogan’s voice was heard a month ago in a WWE Network voiceover. It was reported by All Wrestling News that all of the above examples were no coincidence. Hogan was apparently in New York City over a month ago, and it was rumoured that he was filming content for the WWE Network.
At this point, it is not an if, but when WWE decides to bring Hogan back. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that the dilemma for WWE is in dealing with their sponsors. The issue here is that Hogan has been on a burning stove the past year and a half due to not only the Gawker case/sex scandal but also his racial remarks that were leaked to the world.
These sponsors have a reputation to worry about, and Meltzer stated that WWE would have to consult with its sponsors before getting the signal to let him back in. Hogan's daughter Brooke Hogan revealed in a TMZ interview that Hogan and WWE were working on a deal for a Wrestlemania 33 comeback.
Hogan vehemently denied this on Eric Bischoff’s podcast Bischoff On Wrestling.
When interviewed by TMZ again, Brooke Hogan said she got into a lot of trouble for mentioning talks between Hulk Hogan and WWE. However, she did not deny her previous claims either, which leads to more speculation as to whether The Hulkster will make a comeback in Orlando this year.
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