Hulk Hogan Breaks Silence on Negative Public Image

When Monday Night Raw made the official transition to Netflix, media were surprised when pro wrestling icon and WWE legend Hulk Hogan was met with unanimous boos from the crowd.

Many online fans and even current WWE Superstars would give their reasons for the reaction, citing his behavior behind the scenes as well as an infamous video leaked of the Hulkster.

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Despite this, Hogan doesn’t seem disheartened by the reaction. In fact, he says he expects it.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hogan spoke to the fans booing him and said that it is something that comes with the territory of being in “that top spot.”

“Well, you know, they’re still nipping at my heels,” Hogan said. “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.

“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.

“I took a lot of time off because I had like 25 surgeries and I was down for a long time. I’ve always loved the hunt, I’ve always loved to get back in the game, but it’s always been that way with me because my whole career, I had that top spot no matter what it was, even through the 80s, it was the fastest draw.

“During the 80s, it was a situation where everybody was knocking me, everybody was trying to knock me off that top spot. I’ll trade that for not being on the bottom of the card, if you know what I’m saying, or being on the bottom of the pile of life. 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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Hogan went on to address that the fan reactions were due to a combination of his Hollywood Hogan character as well as his personality, while acknowledging the “mistakes” he made in the past.

“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.

“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.”

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