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When Hulk Hogan made his big appearance on RAW's debut on Netflix, it sent the entire sporting world, not just WWE fans, into a frenzy.
The crowd in Los Angeles booed the former WWE Champion relentlessly, with the former “Hollywood” star seemingly cutting his segment short because the crowd simply wouldn't let him get a word out either way.
How did this feel for Hogan? Well, in an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the “Hulkamaniac” broke down the situation with a little bit of space from the situation, noting that he remains a person fans engage with to this day.
“Well, you know, they're still nipping at my heels. I can go out there and get booed. That was the last time I was in LA, I was Hollywood Hogan with a black beard and doing the bad guy thing. I can go out there and get booed in LA, or The Rock can get booed in LA, or John Cena gets booed in LA,” Hulk Hogan said via Fightful.
“When I get booed, there's a whole different reaction media-wise. For some reason, I've laid some type of groundwork that people are still interested in what I'm doing. For those that are on the team and that are riding with the train to the station, that's great. For those that are haters and that still have a problem with me, there's nothing I can do to fix that except keep proving by my actions that I'm still in the game, I'm still pushing hard… For me, it's just part of the territory. It's like, you know, when you get booed and you get 3.2 billion engagements and you rock that whole world in LA with how much interaction there was on the internet, I'll take it.”
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Pressed on the situation further, with Helwani asking Hogan if the fans were booing his character instead of himself, the hawker of Real American Beer said no, noting that he has made some mistakes that have rubbed fans the wrong way over his career, even if that has made some fans like him more as a result.
“No, no, no, no, all the above. All of the above. There are certain people that boo the character, there are certain WWE superstars that had an opinion and advice for me, but I'd like to ask those same guys when I go to New York or Chicago and the people cheer out of the rooftops. I'd like to know what their advice is, then, and what their opinion is. It's a double-edged sword with me, and it's always been that way. It's a part of the character, it's part of me personally, it's part of my professional life, and it's part of my personal life. It's all of the above,” Hulk Hogan said.
“At the end of the day, I'm just like an old scarred up seal with a bunch of scars on me, and I'm really relatable to most normal people because a lot of people have been through the stuff I have professionally. A lot of people have made the same — not the same mistakes, but have personally made mistakes, and I'm still relatable to so many people. If they boo me, fine. If they're on the team lead, that's great too. Not hating on anybody, brother. I'm still just here. I'm still moving forward.”
Unfortunately for Hogan, the boos were mostly, if not exclusievely about his personal choices, not his character, which has only appeared on a few dozen WWE shows since retiring from TNA over 20 years ago. While some fans may appreciate his resilience, the crowd in Los Angeles spoke loudly in the other direction, which is why it remains a topic of conversation five months later.
