Read on for my coverage and thoughts on the Hulk Hogan controversy.
Hulk Hogan has been removed from virtually anything and everything WWE related, including his profile from their website and WWEShop.com. He has also been dropped from his hosting duties of Tough Enough. The only other times I remember that level of distancing are C.M. Punk and Chris Benoit. So, this is a really big deal.
Hogan tweeted shortly after the decision was made official. Cryptic...
Audio from Hulk Hogan's sex tape included racial remarks has been uncovered. I can't say I blame WWE for distancing themselves from him as a publicly-traded company. In today's political climate, they don't have much choice. I do feel bad for Hulk's private life being spilled out for the whole world to see, but that doesn't mean I condone the actions of his private life.
Curtis Axel will no longer be using the Axelmania gimmick as a result of this, and all related merchandise has been pulled from WWE's website. So, he's getting boned by the situation, too. Hulk better cut him a check for the lost revenue.
TNA pulled The Hulkster from their Alumni section and ShopTNA.com, brother. Talk about a situation that's totally building an anti-Hogan sentiment. Even a company as broke as TNA pulled their brand-new Hogan DVD.
I find this whole situation really sad, more than anything. A man who
was a pop culture icon in the '80s and an important part of the Monday
Night War will now be known at least partially for a sex tape and racial
slurs instead of his amazing legacy as a wrestler. That doesn't excuse
what he did, but it really hurts his legend to have done these things.
Hulk Hogan's attorney claims Hulk resigned from WWE rather than being fired. It doesn't matter much either way given how they've basically eliminated his very existence from WWE history.
Ric Flair is a top candidate to replace Hogan on Tough Enough and WWE's tour of Australia. Hopefully he doesn't end up in a similar situation as Hulk.
Hogan issued a statement to People magazine. I hope we see him really turn things around from this, so he can become a hero again. He can use this to become a voice to help bring races closer together
WWE is in the process of informing its licensees and partners to drop all references to and images of Hogan. Any future Hogan projects are to be terminated. So, no new action figures or anything of that sort. I don't even think they did that when Punk left. This is serious territory for the company's treatment of the icon.
Booker T. commented on the issue. I think the fallout is JUST getting started for Hulk.
Mark Henry also commented. I'm not surprised people are coming out of the woodwork to find any "scoop" they can to damn Hogan and WWE.
Hogan has officially been dropped from WWE 2K16. Again, I haven't seen a wrestling company go to this distance to disassociate themselves with a talent since the Chris Benoit incident. It's pretty telling how big of a deal this is.
Hogan's restaurant is distancing itself, too. Will they change the name?
Brooke Hogan defended her dad, as did George Foreman, Virgil, and Dennis Rodman. I think the person Hogan was when around them was different from the person who made those remarks. It's entirely possible they never saw this side of him.
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Day 2:
Hogan's status in the Hall of Fame is up in the air. I think removing him would be too much. They've done enough to separate themselves from his actions. I personally think it's OK to celebrate the wrestler while condemning his actions, but obviously WWE is doing everything they can to distance themselves to avoid going down with that ship.
WWE has pulled a lot of Hogan-centric material from the Network, including his cartoon. I think that's really a shame, since there are still fans who want to see that stuff.
The company is also seeking to re-shoot a WWE Studios film that featured Hogan. That's pretty intense, too. Chris Benoit I can understand. I don't think this situation is at that level.
TMZ brought up the Vince McMahon skit from 2005. I agree there's a difference between the character of an out-of-touch old man using that word and Hogan's real-life rant.
Hulk Hogan's former driver of 25 years weighed in. The person Hogan was around his driver was probably different from the person in the tape in a psychological sense. We put on different masks depending on the context we're in and whom we're around.
Scott Steiner weighed in in true Steiner fashion. He doesn't mince words in more recent tweets about Hogan.
USA Network has pulled all reruns of Tough Enough from their on-demand section. This is insane.
Iron Sheik has had plenty to say about his old rival on Twitter, none of it flattering.
Hogan thanked those who still support him on Twitter. I can only imagine how much this will hurt him financially.
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Day 3:
Roddy Piper commented on the situation. I don't think this really helped Hogan. Piper was rambling and borderline incoherent.
Episodes from this season's Tough Enough have been pulled from YouTube. There's "we want to distance ourselves from what Hogan said" and there's "Hogan never existed." Think how much money Hogan has made Vince, from working for him directly and from the tape library from WCW (and AWA?). Hulkamania took WWF national. The man's an icon. I think they're kicking the dog while he's down here.
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