Not every WWE icon got a hero’s welcome during the premiere of Monday Night Raw on Netflix.
While returning stars including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena and The Undertaker received huge ovations inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Monday, January 6, Hulk Hogan got a very different reaction.
Hogan, 71, was booed by the 17,000-strong crowd as he hyped WWE’s deal with Netflix to air Raw, which moves over from the USA Network, as well as his own partnership with WWE to promote his Real American Beer brand.
“In the past, I’ve had a whole bunch of partners down the line,” the WWE Hall of Famer said over a chorus of jeers, per Variety. “I had incredible partners, like the Macho Man Randy Savage. I’ve had giant-sized partners like Andre the Giant. But the greatest partner the WWE has ever had, is the fact that tonight, we’re making history, and the WWE has tag teamed up with Netflix, the greatest tag team partner of all time.”
Clips of the moment went viral on X soon after it aired Monday. One person wrote, “Hulk Hogan trying to appeal to wrestling fans and getting booed relentlessly. A beautiful thing.” Another shared, “Watching Hulk Hogan get annihilated with boos while trying to sell his ripoff Bud Light beer was effing IN-CREDIBLE. And I grew up a Hulkamaniac.”
Once the face of professional wrestling, Hogan has been seen as an increasingly polarizing figure among wrestling fans over the past decade. In 2015, his contract with the company was terminated and he was suspended from the WWE Hall of Fame after a leaked recording emerged of him using a racial slur.
Hogan apologized for his comments, telling Us Weekly in a statement at the time that there was “no excuse” for his offensive language. “I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs. It is not who I am. I continue to work every day to improve as a person, and this matter is an important learning experience for me in that regard,” he told Us.
Hogan was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame in July 2018. “This second chance follows Hogan’s numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake,” WWE told Us in a statement at the time. “These efforts led to a recent induction into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.”
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Earlier Monday, WWE announced a multi-year deal to promote Hogan’s beer brand on Raw and social media, including branding on the ring mat. WWE also said it would become a minority owner in the company.
Monday’s Raw debut on Netflix also featured guest appearances from Nikki Garcia (formerly known as Nikki Bella) and rapper Travis Scott, while celebrities including Vanessa Hudgens, Richard Gadd and Tiffany Haddish were spotted in the audience.
