Anyone who is a wrestling fan will have heard the news by now; the story has been all over the Internet and reported by news outlets worldwide for more than 24 hours now. Hulk Hogan has been fired by WWE, and almost all references to him have been almost completely erased from WWE's website, due to his use of offensive racist language in an audio tape.
That Hulk used the language in question cannot be denied, or defended. Hogan has since put out an apology for what he had said, and is hoping to move on by trying to rebuild his reputation. Except, it won't be that easy since his now-former employer has taken the drastic decision of almost wiping away the memory of arguably its biggest ever star.
Whilst one has to commend WWE for distancing itself from Hogan, and whilst one cannot defend what Hulk had said, something doesn't quite add up as I will now explain. It's a bit long, but it's worth the read, I promise you ...
To give some background: Hogan is in the midst of a legal battle with the gossip website Gawker. The conflict, which will be reaching court imminently, centres around the site posting excerpts in 2012 of a sex tape involving Hogan, which had been filmed several years beforehand. Hogan is suing the site for $100 million for publicly broadcasting the video in which Hogan allegedly has sex with the wife of his then-best friend, American radio host Bubba The Love Sponge. (I say allegedly because I have never seen the sex tape, nor do I want to; hey, why would I want to see Hulk Hogan having sex? My childhood memories were of Hogan clanging and banging in the gym, not banging in the bedroom.)
The initial fall-out to the revelation of a Hogan sex tape and its elements in 2012 was negative, but more embarrassing than career-threatening. Plus, Hogan was working for TNA Wrestling at the time rather than WWE. I mention that because it has relevance to a point I will make later on.
Anyway, the sex tape was leaked, Hogan wasn't happy, and so the nine-figure lawsuit was filed by the Hulkster, which as I said earlier is soon reaching court. In the meantime, Hogan has spent almost 18 months as a WWE company ambassador (his early 60s age and his physical condition, including a serious back injury, has limited Hulk to working in a promotional capacity), with rumours that Hogan was training to have one final match at next year's WrestleMania, probably against John Cena.
But all that changed within the space of a few hours.
During the late hours of Thursday evening (US time), many noticed that Hogan's likeness had been removed from key areas of WWE's website, such as Alumni, Tough Enough (where he had been a judge as recently as this past Tuesday for the ongoing reality series) and even the Hall Of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2005. Considering that Hogan was still employed, and not in a wrestling capacity, this was all very strange. There had to be a reason to give him treatment previously seen only with one other former wrestler (who I will mention later).
Initial reports suggested that it stemmed from a 2012 radio interview wherein Hogan complained about black rappers being able to use the N-word but with others, such as himself, being unable to do so. This had been in the public domain for years, and whilst questionable, didn't come across to me as something to produce this reaction.
Then came the real reason: Hogan, during the aforementioned sex tape, had been discussing the fact that his daughter Brooke was dating a black man, and his conversation included several uses of the N-word, in a very negative fashion, as well as stating "I am racist." I am not publishing the details of said conversation here; it is easily accessible online if you wish to read it. But this discussion, which took place during what Hogan believed to be a private conversation, led to the abandonment of Hulk by WWE, and has subsequently led to widespread condemnation of Hogan by fans across the globe. The audio was revealed by The National Enquirer, which stated that the transcript had indeed stemmed from the sex tape, with Hogan's lawyer since suggesting there will be a further lawsuit and hell to pay if Gawker were responsible for the audio leak (which seems probable, but is unconfirmed). Hogan has since put out a public apology, but the WWE cleansing continues with all Hulk merchandise taken offline and with Hogan publicly removed from the upcoming WWE 2K16 videogame. TNA has since removed Hogan from its own online Alumni, and taken offline an upcoming Hogan DVD it was planning to release (why TNA were releasing it anyway since Hogan had left in late 2013 and only wrestled a few times during his TNA run was an unanswered question in itself, but that's another story).
Now, here's where my opinion on the story has complications. Well, what is the story? Is the story that Hulk Hogan used racist language, and has effectively admitted on tape to being a racist? Or is the story that WWE has fired Hulk Hogan as a result, and subsequently treated him as if he never existed? Or is it a combination?
Let's dissect the issue here. Firstly, Hogan has used racist language in such a way that it paints him as a racist. That's not an accusation; that is a fact. It is on audio and officially on the public record. Hulk has acknowledged this and has apologised for his language, and stated that this does not represent his real views. He has essentially owned up to it, and has apologised in an attempt to fan the flames and to take the first step towards trying to rebuild a damaged reputation. There is no justifying what he said, and he has admitted to it. So let's move on.
The first aspect of this saga to debate is the timing of the audio, in more ways than one. Depending on whose story you believe, the conversation in question took place in 2006, 2007 or 2008. But even if you call it 2008, that is still seven years ago. Seven years after Hogan made the racist comments, they have been revealed and he has been taken to task for them. Is it fair that Hulk has been punished for comments made almost a decade ago? I think yes, because had this been published at the time and Hogan been punished then and served his time, so to speak, then as we reach the modern day the issue perhaps could have been a thing of the past that he had, by now, rebounded from. I can understand some saying "but that was years ago", but realistically could you have seen Hogan appearing on Raw in, say, three weeks time or even three months time with WWE having not done a single thing to response to Hogan's comments from the 2000s being made public now? Had it been a more serious crime which only got revealed today, we would expect a reaction from the company, so I cannot fault WWE acting upon this, even if it were many years ago. I do wonder if WWE would have gone as far as to banish his memory if he were still at TNA, and the fact that Hogan was not an active performer made the decision easier to let him go, but they're besides the point.
Where I do ever-so-slightly sympathise with Hogan is that the conversation was in a private setting. What I mean is that Hogan was unaware that his sexual activity was even being recorded, hence the lawsuit when Gawker posted it online in 2012. But this also meant that the conversation where Hulk was being racist was included in the video. Therefore, not only was Hulk's bedroom exploits on tape, but so were his racist slurs. Now, it's debatable as to whether Hogan knew this at the time and was a reason behind the $100 million lawsuit, or if Hogan had only been reminded of it earlier this week when word came out that the audio transcript was to be published. But regardless: Hogan's comments, as negative and discriminatory as they were, were made in a private setting. Had Hulk knew that he was being recorded, even if not for public use, do you think he would have made those comments? I doubt it. Hogan made comments behind closed doors that he never intended to enter the public domain. That they did has sparked this controversy. Hogan was wrong to use the language that he did; I have no problem saying that. But I strongly suspect that there are many, many people out there, including a lot of those who have bashed Hogan, who have also used inappropriate and downright discriminatory language in the comfort of their own homes or in a non-public setting, knowing that nobody with an audio recorder will hear them and subsequently publish them for the world to hear. In Hulk's case, the problem was that his private comments have gone public.
Is Hulk Hogan a racist? He said himself that he was. Does that mean that he actually is? I don't know, because if Hulk said what he did from a point of anger and rage, then he may have said some things that he normally would not have said. If he made the comments because that's just what he does in a private setting, and that on this occasion they were publicly released, then I believe yes, he is racist. But we don't have access to Hulk's private life on a regular basis (excluding the awkward Hogan Knows Best series which used to be on VH1), we don't know whether the man himself truly is a racist. " Hulk Hogan makes racist slurs" and "Hulk Hogan is a racist" are not one and the same, despite what some would have you believe.
Hulk's current dilemma actually began not with the audio transcript being published, but with WWE removing all traces of Hulk from its website. That the company's biggest icon in history was suddenly absent from key website sections, whilst still under contract to the company, made it obvious that something had happened, and that it must have been serious because, if it were just a "normal" parting of the ways, Hogan would still be there somewhere. CM Punk still has his face on WWE's website if you look in the right sections. So does Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio and every other key performer no longer with the company, even those who left on bad terms. There's only one ex-WWE wrestler, besides Hogan, who no longer has any form of promotion on the WWE site. And that is Chris Benoit.
For the benefit of those who have only followed WWE since late 2007 or since then, Benoit was a highly respected wrestler - one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all-time - and a former World Heavyweight Champion in WWE. In mid-2007, he had reached a status where a future Hall Of Fame induction was virtually guaranteed. But in June 2007, everything changed.
I want to say "allegedly" because to this day it remains something I try not to think about. But from June 23-25 2007, Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and his son Daniel and then hung himself. This is not the place to delve into what was the biggest tragedy in the history of wrestling, but I must mention that initially WWE had paid tribute to Benoit on Raw, believing that something like a house fire had claimed the three lives, but when the grisly details came out, WWE chose to completely disassociate itself from the former Crippler: all traces of Benoit were removed from WWE.com, from his profile to stories about his in-ring exploits to any references whatsoever of him, actually. You can watch old Benoit matches on the WWE Network, if you so choose, but you will not find Chris Benoit anywhere else in relation to a WWE product or service (besides the odd Anthology-style DVD), and you probably never will.
I totally agree with WWE for doing this. Once the truth about the Benoit tragedy came out, I personally felt uncomfortable ever watching another Benoit match, or reading a Benoit story in an old wrestling magazine, or playing in a match that in any way involved Benoit on an old WWE videogame. That is more than eight years ago now, but my stance on Benoit hasn't changed.
Now, here's where I do feel for Hogan. Yes, his racist tirade reflects very badly on him. And yes I believe WWE was right to fire him as a result. But can Hulk's ill-advised language be treated the same as the actions of a man who killed his wife and son? I don't believe so. Has Hulk Hogan murdered anybody? No. Some say that Hogan's all-time legend status should give him some leeway too, but that's besides the point; Benoit was a World Champ himself. My point here is this: fire Hulk Hogan, disassociate from Hulk Hogan, but do not try to make out that Hulk Hogan did not exist, nor that he was such a vital part of wrestling history, because he was. And unlike Benoit, Hogan is still alive, so he can experience first-hand how WWE has basically tried to make out like he never existed.
WWE was commended for firing Hogan before the story went public, and rightly so. But in doing so, WWE confirmed that the story was true before its details even emerged, and by trying to suggest that Hogan never worked for the company due to his racist rant, WWE has now found itself heavily criticised by many (WWE lost $50 million in the stock market during the hours after Hogan's firing, although it's debatable whether this was because of Hulk's language or because of WWE's stance). And not just because of its treatment of Hogan.
The real issue here should be the use of racist language. Forget the context; use of racist language in any context. Private or public. Now, I have been a WWE fan since 1991 and, during the company's darkest times, I have occasionally felt that the company was treated unfairly. But during this current scandal, I have the point out flaws in WWE's thinking - because if Hogan's rant has seen him banished from the WWE history books, how do you explain the following:
Vince McMahon using the N-word in a comedy sketch at Survivor Series 2005, with the cameras getting "reactions" from black performers Booker T and Sharmell; Triple H in 2003 saying to Booker that "guys like you (meaning, black) don't get to be World Champion; guys like you are here to make me laugh"; Theodore Long recruiting D-Lo Brown and Rodney Mack that same year to essentially fight for blacks against whites, even having Mack in a "White Boy Challenge"; the Nation Of Domination faction from 1996-1998 being cast as an angry black militant group (who received a supposedly racist graffiti attack on Raw in 1997, with D-Generation X trying to make out that it was the Hart Foundation who had done it); DX having a parody of the Nation which included at least one performer "blacking up" to imitate a Nation member; Mark Henry being nicknamed Sexual Chocolate (so wrong for several reasons; the sexual bit was bad enough); Virgil as Ted DiBiase's man-servant; Roddy Piper unforgettably painting himself half-black against Bad News Brown at WrestleMania VI; and in an incident that I forgot until I went to write this article, a George Bush impersonator half-dropping the N-Word in a December 2006 skit with Cryme Tyme, who themselves had a gimmick based on a stereotype of black people being bandana-wearing robbers and hooligans? The above instances were scripted forms of "entertainment", so for example Rodney Mack didn't really go out onto the streets wanting a "White Boy Challenge". But they still happened. And the fact remains that WWE felt these were suitable forms of entertainment. And now they want to remove Hogan's name from history for his rant?
There are examples from other wrestling companies, most notably Booker T accidentally using the N-word about Hogan on live WCW television in 1995. Booker has admitted this was a mistake that could have potentially destroyed his career. Actually, a YouTube video somehow surfaced of Booker accidentally using the N-word again shortly after he became a SmackDown colour commentator in 2011, which didn't make it to broadcast (and rightly so). A group called The Gangstas were a featured act in SMW and ECW in the 1990s, and their sole purpose was to exploit racial tensions by portraying an angry black stable who wanted to attack white opponents. In SMW, this caused a major backlash, and this was back in 1994. These weren't in WWE, but others that were which stereotyped other groups or tried to cash in on racial tensions included Los Boricuas (a Puerto Rican fight clan); John Bradshaw Layfield targeting Mexicans with racist language and even stopping Mexicans from crossing the border in 2004; and Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter talking about Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez "sneaking across our borders" in 2013 and essentially telling them that they shouldn't be allowed in America. Oh, and I almost forgot Muhammad Hassan; he and Daivari were cast as Arab-Americans, rejected and insulted due to events in 2001, who seemingly tried to choke and seemingly slash the throat of The Undertaker in 2005 with the help of masked men. This was so terrible that the Hassan character had to be axed shortly afterwards (partly because the incident was taped right before the London Bombings in 2005, but the beat-down of Undertaker still aired that evening in the United States).
When it comes to controversy, WWE hasn't limited itself to races and cultures; sex is a hot topic, from Hot Lesbian Action to necrophilia (for the love of God don't look this skit up) to Edge and Lita's Live Sex Celebration in 2006 (which began a short-lived run of very high Raw ratings, by the way). Plus, we can't forget the multitude of Bra and Panties or Gravy/Mud/Chocolate/Egg Nog or similar matches, the lesbian stalker gimmick for Mickie James; and especially Trish Stratus being made to "bark like a dog" (again, don't look this up, especially if you're female). How about 77-year-old Mae Young humping Mark Henry (there's the Sexual aspect of Sexual Chocolate again)? Or Sable, The Kat and Mae Young going topless (and please don't watch Mae Young's topless routine at Royal Rumble 2000; they weren't her real breasts, but the prosthetic ones used looked like two drooping sausage rolls. It scarred my memory; that's how I can still remember the visual). And remember Extreme Strip Poker on ECW in 2006 when a few girls supposedly went topless? (Actually, you might not because WWE's version of ECW was horrid.)
Sexuality has been handled carelessly too, with Adrian Adonis and Goldust being effeminate characters seemingly booed as a result (although in the latter case, sexuality became less of an issue as time went on). Billy and Chuck, and their camp stylist Rico, almost had a gay wedding in 2002, praised by many, but it wasn't praised when they stopped short and revealed it was a publicity stunt (that aside, the revelation that Eric Bischoff was disguised as the priest was fantastic). Vito the transvestite was handled slightly better, but it didn't last long. And while Darren Young came out that he was gay in 2013 and had WWE's public support as a result, it has never been revealed on air for unknown reasons. He's never been booed since coming out, so what's the problem?
Then there's disabilities, from the one-legged Zach Gowen being thrown down a flight of stairs by Brock Lesnar in 2003 to Jim Ross being openly mocked by Hornswoggle and Vince McMahon for suffering from Bells Palsy in 2012 (WCW's Oklahoma also did this, to far more criticism, in 1999). Plus, Goldust supposedly had Tourette's Syndrome in 2003, which was played for laughs (although I have to admit that some moments involving Goldust having Tourettes were funny. Extreme Rules 2009 had my favourite instance; just watch Goldust speaking to Vickie Guerrero and enjoy.) And there's also religion, the best example being Vince McMahon trying to fight God in 2006, which included Vince going into a church and doing an impression of Triple H using holy water. (One could also use the example of Undertaker and his Ministry taking on satanic elements during the Attitude Era and using a symbol to seemingly crucify opponents, as well as characters like The Mad Monk which had to be scrapped because of complaints).
There's other controversial moments on WWE TV over the years too, from attempted rape storylines to child custody clashes (actually the last two were within months of each other on SmackDown! in 2005) to hints at rape, sex without consent or some form of abuse involving HHH marrying a drugged Stephanie McMahon at a drive-thru and, in 2004, Heidenreich and Michael Cole (I could never work out what Heidenreich was meant to have done or trying to do, but it freaked me out nonetheless). And who can forget Big Boss Man mocking Big Show when his dad had supposedly died of cancer in 1999 (to me, the most unsettling storyline ever in wrestling), and Randy Orton telling Rey Mysterio that the recently-deceased Eddie Guerrero was "down there, in Hell"? There's other escapades, such as the whole Sgt Slaughter/Iraqi sympathiser tale in 1991. I swear that at least one wrestler called Yokozuna a term which would be deemed racist, and I also recall Jesse Ventura and Roddy Piper using racist language in the mid-1980s. But I've given enough examples, so let's move on.
My point is this: there have been a lot of moments where the WWF/WWE used questionable content (I didn't even mention the saga involving Sammy the transvestite and, yes, Sexual Chocolate again Mark Henry; for Pete's sake don't look this up either. Actually, there was the whole "Mark Henry lost his virginity at 8 to his sister" thing, too ... you know what? That whole Sexual Chocolate character warrants an article of its own. Thank goodness Mark Henry doesn't have to do that stuff any more.) I'm not even talking about blood or violence or swearing; I've outlined many instances of content that has been controversial, risqué or downright offensive (and I actually didn't even realise how many moments there had been until I wrote them down. Damn, that's a long list. And they were off the top of my head; if I did some research, I could probably find more). Yes, WWE went PG in 2008, and since then the number of such instances has reduced. But we still had Paul Bearer's memory being mocked in 2013, and Jerry Lawler's heart attack (after which Lawler was legally dead for 10 minutes) being mocked a few months before that. How about John Cena using homophobic language in 2011, whereby GLAD stepped in and told WWE to put a stop to it (he had done so in the past too, but it wasn't considered a big issue at the time)? And remember the backstage skit at Survivor Series 2009 where Christian noted that he stood out because he wasn't black?
I guess what I am saying is that, given the WWF/WWE's track record, can they really purge Hulk Hogan from memory solely for this racist tirade?
Now, the argument would be "ah, but they were all examples of performers, characters or scripted entertainment. They weren't real-life statements or instances, unlike Hulk Hogan's comments". And that's true. But we're not talking about Hogan attacking a black man or even arguing with a black man here. We're talking about comments Hogan made about him in a private setting. And we haven't even heard them yet; we've only read transcribes. All the above examples from wrestling television were performed so that we could see and hear every single moment, and performed to try and elicit the strongest possible reaction from us. Is it really fair to banish Hogan from memory given the evidence of WWE's chequered past?
And I'm a huge WWE fan; I love WWE and have done for nearly 25 years, and I'll always be a fan. But the company does screw up sometimes, and whilst I agree with WWE for firing Hulk and distancing itself from him, trying to give him "the Chris Benoit treatment" is awful. Hulk's comments were tasteless and regrettable. But to categorise him in the same group as a murderer, for making those comments, by an organisation which has churned out all of the above examples of questionable and occasionally offensive content, was a terrible move and if anything makes people feel like Hulk Hogan actually has killed someone, if you're gonna treat him and his legacy that way.
I feel that WWE could at least own up that it has also served up content which would be deemed as racist, or offensive in other ways. This is the perfect time to do so, in order to cleanse WWE's image even more. But whilst WWE can dismiss scripted confrontations and dialogue as "entertainment", it can't say the same for the following.
Michael Hayes, a WWE writer, was suspended for two months in 2008 for using the N-word in front of Mark Henry, apparently whilst under the influence of alcohol. Reports suggested that he hadn't meant to offend Henry, but Hayes was also alleged to have used discriminatory language in reference to Bobby Lashley, a crucial reason for Lashley leaving WWE in 2008 (I can't confirm this one; there were other reasons but issues with writers was one of them, and racist language has been cited as a possible reason, with Hayes rumoured to be the source). Hayes remains with WWE today. I mentioned the racist characters before: did Jim Cornette leave SMW due to the backlash against the Gangstas, or Vince McMahon (or indeed anyone) leave WWE due to complaints over racist content? Of course not. If anything, Vince remains behind-the-times in that regard today; look at the way in which The New Day were initially presented in late 2014 (their gimmick has since been modified and is now very entertaining).
Bill Watts was dismissed as WCW booker in 1993 after a 1991 interview was made public of him apparently siding with the ideology of a man who wouldn't serve black people at his restaurant because he felt it was his right to feel that way. Watts claims that the interview had already been discussed before he joined WCW and that it was used as an excuse to let him go; still, his tenure ended, officially due to complaints over racist comments, just like Hogan. That was 1993. In 1995, Watts joined the WWF as a booker (for a short time, admittedly), and in 2009 he was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Bret Hart and Ric Flair both cite examples in their autobiographies of co-workers or even family members or ex-family members who were downright racist in their thinking. And many black performers will tell you that they encountered racism behind the scenes in wrestling, either from colleagues or fans, especially in the territory days. Some have noted that The Rock is the only black man to ever win the WWE Title (if you don't count King Booker as World Champ in 2006); whether this has been deliberate or not, I don't know (I think not).
Racism hasn't got a massive amount of attention when it comes to wrestling, largely because so few examples are reported (the Hogan issue is by far the biggest race story relating to wrestling). But whilst wrestlers being tarnished due to racism aren't great in number, at least in the public eye, there is a far greater number of performers whose names have been tarnished for other reasons. Drug-taking, steroid use, drug trafficking, homophobia, alcohol abuse, adultery, domestic violence, violence on the streets, kidnapping (in this case, admittedly it was years beforehand if you know who I'm talking about), shoplifting, bank robberies, and even accusations of murder. Not every wrestler has been involved with something controversial, of course; it is unfair to label them all as a group of scallywags. But there haven't half been a lot of wrestlers who have been in the news for the wrong reasons over the years. I hate how this happens, and wish that wrestlers would receive more publicity for their positive actions, not least for their charity work - but that's another story. The point here is that many wrestlers have done some questionable and, at times, very illegal, dangerous and downright awful things. But whilst some careers were never the same and others faded into obscurity, most have rebounded, eventually, And amongst high-profile, big-name performers who touched the lives of many fans and had built for themselves a legacy in the wrestling business, there is only one man who I can think of who did something so bad that his reputation has never recovered - and he is no longer with us. And that is Chris Benoit.
(And by the way, I attended the 2008 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony where Ric Flair mentioned Benoit's name in passing, nine months after the double-murder suicide, and I noticed that fans ... cheered. Just thought I'd throw that in.)
Which brings us back to Hulk Hogan as I begin to wrap this up. When I heard the news, I immediately wondered what planet Hulk was on to come out with those comments, and felt WWE had taken quick and decisive action. But as the negativity came in and all I read was how Hogan's legacy is now dead and that he'll always be remembered basically as a scumbag, I couldn't help but feel that whilst his comments were out of order and he warranted a firing from WWE as a result, the overall reaction was a bit of an over-reaction. And when you look at all of the aforementioned instances of naughty behaviour from offensive comments to controversial segments to real-life instances of appalling conduct, I had to ask myself: do Hulk Hogan's comments really top that list?
In my opinion, no.
Hulk Hogan is the most famous wrestler of all-time and, therefore, when a news story involves Hulk, it will get a lot more publicity than for virtually every other wrestler in existence. I feel that some of the criticism has been over-the-top because it's Hogan, not because of what Hogan has said. And I couldn't but notice that some of those gleefully ripping Hogan apart were people who already didn't like him in the first place, so this gives them another reason to dislike the man. Of course, there were many who were offended and no longer like him purely due to these comments, and that's fine; completely understandable.
But as the number of people who, whilst not defending Hogan, were at least showing some support as he looks to rebuild his image continued to grow, from fans to wrestlers to celebrities, I realised that I wasn't alone in my thinking. Hulkamania has a stain on its legacy right now, but the big question is: can Hulk Hogan rebound?
This is a man who has overcome a ton of bad press in the early 1990s relating to steroid use. A man who carved out a reputation behind the scenes as someone who ensured that he was always pushed above anybody else, allegedly damaging career prospects for many as a result. A man who was essentially thrown out of WCW in 2000 like a piece of garbage. A man who has fallen out with Vince McMahon and WWE many times, only to find a way to return later on. And a man who had also been heavily criticised in 2008 when it came out that he had apparently blamed John Graziano for a car accident which permanently injured Graziano when it was his own son Nick that caused it. Can the man who rebounded from all that make a comeback from this latest damaging saga?
Over time, I think yes.
I think it comes down to whether or not people are willing to give Hogan a chance to rebuild his image, and it's understandable if many do not. Hulk Hogan made more than a mistake with his comments; he made a grave error which will result in months of negative press, especially as the Gawker lawsuit enters the courtroom. And if more negative comments arise due to the sex tape, it could be that he really does have no way back.
But I truly believe that whilst Hogan made some horrible comments and that he deserved to be fired as a result, I do not believe that he cannot resurrect his image. It will take time, it will take months if not years, and he will have to bear a whole ton of bad publicity, negative stories and mocking comments. However, if he can prove with his actions that he truly is sorry and that he is not a figure of racial hatred, as he claimed in his apology, then in a few years time I can see Hogan finding a way to make a return. His wrestling days are over, unquestionably; he'll be in his mid-60s by the time the saga has died down long enough to give him a chance. But when the time is right and Hogan has hopefully done enough to prove that he is truly sorry, I believe he can make a comeback, at least in terms of him re-establishing his legacy and ensuring that WWE will not erase him from memory forever. A long, hard battle awaits, one far tougher than his WrestleMania III showdown with Andre The Giant. But if he can find a way to make sure that he will be remembered as the Real American icon once again, then Hulk Hogan will have proven one thing: Hulkamania really is immortal.
