A new rumor concerning Hulk Hogan’s return seems to emerge every week, but WWE Hall of Famer Booker T says it’s time to stop tip-toeing around Hogan’s controversy and bring the icon back to the company.
On a recent episode of Heated Conversations, Booker T opened up on the matter.
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“I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘no he should be blackballed, blacklisted from the game forevermore for saying something that a lot of us say on a daily basis. I don’t myself, but a lot of us do. So, I say let this man, who has done so much for the wrestling business, truly take his rightful place, and that’s back in the WWE,” he said.
To Booker, Hogan went out of his way to help him when his career first began. Without Hogan’s early endorsement, Booker says his life would be much different.
“The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward. You know everyone deserves a second chance, that’s just the way I am. I talk about Hulk Hogan being in my corner, you know back in the day. Lot of the boys may look at me and say what is Booker T talking about? Back in day, if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, I don’t know if Booker T and Stevie Ray would’ve gotten the push that we got. Back in the day, Sister Sherri was an intricate detail, she was an intricate part of Harlem Heat and our success, and it was all because of Hulk Hogan saying, ‘ hey man, those are the guys you should be putting your money behind’ I don’t know if Hulk Hogan made any money off that,” said Booker.
It’s been over two and half years since WWE excommunicated Hulk Hogan after his racially charged tirade in 2015. Hogan was unknowingly recorded tossing around the n-word during a pillow talk segment of a sex tape. When the footage went public, WWE fired and subsequently deleted Hulk Hogan from their history. Their swift justice felt like Christianity hitting backspace on the New Testament but as a publicly traded company, WWE had no other choice than to execute Hulkamania.
However, the Hulkster has been implicated in several rumors as of late, and it appears WWE is warming up to the idea of Hulkamania making a prodigal return.
WWE has released several statements regarding Hogan’s exile, but a recent official comment left room for Hogan to wiggle his way back into the company:
“We have had discussions with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) about how he can help others learn from his mistakes, however, he is not under any contract with WWE,” WWE said in a statement.
2018 Hall of Fame inductee, Mark Henry, discussed the possibility of having Hogan come back into the fold in an interview on Busted Open Radio.
“He’s a public figure,” Henry said, discussing Hogan’s involvement in the upcoming Andre The Giant HBO documentary. “It doesn’t mean that everything that he’s done is forgiven, you just gotta take the good with the bad and see how you could help the situation. I’m sitting on the chair of the delegation and they’re not ready. I’ve had many talks, with dozens of guys, and the consensus is there’s a lot of work to be done to heal that wound and to fix that wall.”
By delegation, Henry was referring to African American wrestlers who compete in wrestling promotions across the world. Henry said more has to be done on Hogan’s end if he and other wrestlers are willing to accept him back.
[H/T Cagesideseats]
