What’s the story?
As per the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is being reported that Hulk Hogan is in negotiations with Vince McMahon for a potential WWE return.
In case you didn’t know...
Hulk Hogan had been suspended by the WWE in 2015, following Hogan’s racist remarks being leaked in public as part of a larger sex tape scandal. WWE had since gone out of their way to remove all references to Hulk Hogan from their website, archives and programming, going as far as confiscating Hulk Hogan signs as well.
Hulk Hogan sued Bubba The Love Sponge, who had recorded the tape. The lawsuit subsequently ended up including the website responsible for the distribution, Gawker, as well.
While the court awarded Hulk Hogan damages to the tune of $115 Million as a result of the lawsuit, Gawker eventually settled with Hogan for $31 Million in November 2016, while Bubba made peace with Hulk out of court.
Ever since the lawsuit came to an end, WWE has been slowly reinstating references to Hulk Hogan in their programming, with sporadic mentions of his name on the commentary coming through every once in a while.
The heart of the matter
It has been reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Hulk Hogan has spoken to Vince McMahon about returning to the company, although no corroborations to this story have been made by any other sources.
As previously reported by us, however, it appears that the WWE and Hulk Hogan are back to being on good terms, as Hulk Hogan’s “Hogan’s beach shop” in Orlando, Florida has been stocking a lot of WWE merchandise.
Even though Hulk Hogan was recently quoted as saying that he wanted to join NJPW’s Bullet Club stable, he might actually be getting closer to a WWE return, if the recent rumours are to be believed.
Also read: WWE News: Kevin Sullivan thinks that WWE should not approach Hulk Hogan for a return
Hogan has previously stated that he would like to execute his signature “leg-drop” on Vince McMahon for one last time
While nothing has been said about Hulk Hogan’s return to the WWE officially at this point, the company have certainly been liberal with their references to the WWE Hall of Famer in recent times, which might be a hint towards his return being a distinct possibility.
What’s next?
Hulk Hogan is currently keeping himself busy with the promotion of his “Hogan’s Beach Shop”, and his social media activity reflects the same. Unlike his peers, Hulk Hogan doesn’t perform on the independent circuit and mostly keeps himself limited to big payday appearances.
As far as the WWE are concerned, they do like cashing in on nostalgia and it remains to be seen if these rumours hold any weight.
Author’s take
I feel indifferent about Hulk Hogan potentially coming back to the WWE, and this I’m sure will be the case with a lot of the new generation of WWE fans. Hulk Hogan’s prime happened at a time when most modern-day wrestling fans weren’t even born.
But then again, if Goldberg could pull big numbers for Pay Per Views, then so can Hogan, as he has certainly kept himself a lot more relevant in the WWE than Goldberg did. I trust Vince McMahon to do what’s best for business, even if that means getting Hogan back!
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