This evening, I reflected on the passing of Hulk Hogan by watching two videos online.
The first was his match with The Rock at Wrestlemania XVIII in Toronto in March 2002. Although a heel aligned with the NWO at the time, Hogan was wildly cheered by the Canadian crowd while simultaneously chanting "Rocky Sucks!!!" towards the supposed babyface. In his late 40s at the time, Hogan was at his best even if he ended up on the losing end of the match. Hulkamania had been reborn.
The second was from January 2025 - just over six months ago. In what proved to be his final WWE appearance when RAW debuted on Netflix, Hogan was booed out of the building. It wasn't the sort of heat he got when he turned heel in the mid-1990s with the NWO. This was go-away heat. The fans never wanted to see him again and now they got their wish.
There was a myriad of reasons why Hogan got that reaction. For starters, there were his racist rants. His support for Trump's re-election campaign when he spoke at the Republican National Convention last year. Throw in his efforts to quash a wrestlers' union decades ago, his balderdash and backstage politicking and you had a wrestling fandom that was done with him.
Much of Hogan's wrestling persona was borrowed from the late "Superstar" Billy Graham. Very recently, VICE TV aired a Dark Side of the Ring episode on Graham and featured an interview Hogan conducted on The Arsenio Hall Show blasting Graham as a steroids user while falsely claiming to be squeaky clean.
In light of his passing this morning no doubt some of those who jeered him in January will acknowledge that Hogan brought professional wrestling into the mainstream more than anyone else in the industry. Hogan will get his 10-bell salute and a moment of silence. Inside the squared circle, Hulk Hogan will be remembered as a hero to millions. Outside of it, he will be remembered for qualities other than heroism. R.I.P.
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