Hulk Hogan to Make WWE Return on Monday’s Raw

65-year-old Hulk Hogan has not been on the Monday Night Raw show for almost four years. That will all change this Monday night. On January 7, the WWE Hall of Famer and legend will make his return to Monday Night Raw.

In 2005, Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Sylvester Stallone. The Hulkster joined “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Cowboy” Bob Orton Jr., Jimmy Hart, Nikolai Volkoff, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, and Iron Sheik as inductees that year.

In 2015 Hogan was fired from his position as a WWE ambassador. This was due to the racist remarkes he made on a sex tape that was leaked. In addition, he was removed from the WWE Hall of Fame and the WWE website.

After the suspension, Hogan tried to clean up his image. He made multiple public apologies and worked as a volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs and was subsequently inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

The WWE thought that Hogan was remorseful and learned from his mistakes. Therefore, after a three-year suspension, the Hulkster was reinstated back into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The WWE issued a statement, at the time, telling people why they were reinstating him. They stated, in a press release, that the three-year suspension of Hulk Hogan is now over and he is now reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan is getting a second chance because he has shown remorse, made multiple apologies and volunteered to help children, teaching them not to make the same mistakes he did.

Despite being permitted to return to the WWE, some of the newer wrestlers in the organization did not agree with the WWE’s change of heart.

The wrestling trio The New Day, which consists of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E, was not as accepting of Hogan returning. They tweeted, when somebody makes a hateful or racist comment about a particular race to the extent that Hogan did, it is not easy to forget, even if it happened a long time ago. We choose not to associate with people like this. In this case, we will not associate with Hogan.

After being reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame, Hogan made his return to a WWE event in November 2018 at the WWE Crown Jewel 2018, in Saudi Arabia. Hogan made an unexpected, unannounced, surprise appearance.

The WWE recently lost “Mean” Gene Okerlund, who was considered by many to be one of the greatest interviewers in the history of the WWE. He died at the age of 76.

The WWE will be paying tribute to Okerlund this week on “Monday Night Raw.” The WWE announced the wrestler who Okerlund was associated with the most will be making a special appearance. That person is the Hulkster, Hulk Hogan.

The last time Hogan appeared on “Monday Night Raw” was March 23, 2015. At that time, he appeared with Curtis Axel and the rapper Snoop Dogg.

Okerlund and Hogan’s working relationship has spanned more than 10 years. The two have worked together in different wrestling companies such as WCW, AWA, and finally the WWE.

“Let Me tell you something ‘Mean Gene…'” was a phrase that is still associated with Hogan.  In the 1980s when Hulkamania was running rampant, “Mean” Gene Okerlund was a major part of it. Many people have stated that there never would have been a Hulkamania if it was for the chemistry of Hogan and Okerlund.

At the time of Okerlund’s death, Hogan took to Twitter. He stated that they never rehearsed anything and how much he loved his friend.

Monday Night Raw is on the USA Network at 8 pm est.

Written By Barbara Sobel

Sources:

WWE Website: Hulk Hogan set for WWE Raw return this Monday to honor late friend ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund
Bleacher Report: Hulk Hogan to Return to WWE Raw on Monday to Honor Mean Gene Okerlund
Wrestling News: Hulk Hogan Inducted Into Boys & Girls Clubs Alumni Hall Of Fame
TMZ: HULK HOGAN Returning to WWE Raw TO HONOR ‘MEAN’ GENE OKERLUND

Featured and Top Image Courtesy Of Mike Kalanik’s Flickr