WWE has had discussions with Hulk Hogan about a potential return to the company, according to PWInsider. The discussions began several weeks ago and PWInsider implied that discussions are ongoing, saying that “conversations are underway” to bring Hogan back.
WWE released this statement to PWInsider:
“We have had discussions with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) about how he can help others learn from his mistakes, however, he is not under any contract with WWE.”
There’s no word on what role Hogan could potentially have if he does actually come back, but PWInsider speculated that he could possibly end up as an authority figure on SmackDown now that Daniel Bryan is returning to the ring and Shane McMahon is taking a “leave of absence” from his role. They could also just bring Hogan back in his former role as a brand ambassador and not regularly have him on TV.
It’s been rumored for a while that WWE has wanted to bring Hogan back, but it has always depended on whether or not they felt that there would be backlash from fans and more importantly to them, sponsors. The recent backlash to the Fabulous Moolah and WWE sponsor Snickers expressing their “concern” has been said to be very much on WWE’s minds when it comes to bringing back Hogan. WWE has continued to stand behind the Ultimate Warrior’s legacy though, despite him saying arguably “worse” things than Hogan in the past. The negative stories about Warrior did not get anywhere close to the amount of mainstream press that Hogan’s situation got, obviously.
Hogan was fired and basically erased by WWE in July 2015 after a video of him was leaked where he made racial slurs against black people.
Hogan posted this after the “Ultimate Deletion” aired on Raw on Monday.
I’m deleted. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) March 20, 2018