{"id":79451,"date":"2025-08-13T11:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/79451\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T11:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:11:09","slug":"vince-mcmahon-defends-bringing-hulk-hogan-back-to-wwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/79451\/","title":{"rendered":"Vince McMahon defends bringing Hulk Hogan back to WWE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vince McMahon defended his decision to bring Hulk Hogan back to WWE in 2018, three years after the company severed ties with him once it was revealed that the pro wrestling icon had used a racial slur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McMahon, who resigned from WWE and parent company TKO<\/a> in January 2024 after a sexual misconduct lawsuit was filed against him by a former company employee, addressed his reaction to comments Hogan made during a sex tape and what happened in the aftermath during an interview for TMZ\u2019s special on the Hulkster that aired Tuesday night on Fox.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McMahon had no issues bringing Hogan, who died at 71 in July<\/a>,\u00a0back to the WWE Hall of Fame and the company\u2019s programming in 2018 after the multi-time world champion had paid a price in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he wasn\u2019t racist. I\u2019ve been with him for so many years. He wasn\u2019t a racist. He said some racist things. He should pay for that, and he did,\u201d McMahon said on \u201cTMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan.\u201d \u201cIn the end, I think everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea, and they felt, \u2018Wait a minute, this guy doesn\u2019t act like a racist. He\u2019s not a racist.\u2019 We all make mistakes. That was a big one, but he wasn\u2019t a racist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vince McMahon defended bringing Hulk Hogan back to WWE. Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Vince McMahon said the reason he brought Hulk Hogan back to WWE was because he knew Hogan wasn\u2019t racist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he wasn\u2019t a racist. I\u2019d been with him for so many years. He wasn\u2019t a racist. He said some racist things, and he should pay for that, and he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

(TMZ) pic.twitter.com\/ne5tVasL9N<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 EliteRockerz \ud835\udd4f (@EliteClubS0B) August 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

In the 2007 sex tape that leaked in 2015, Hogan can be heard using the N-word multiple times and saying: \u201cI guess we\u2019re all a little racist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is also audio of a 2008 conversation with his son Nick in prison, during which Hogan used racist language.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan Starworld Fotos 2003<\/p>\n

Hogan\u2019s good friend Jimmy Hart also stated to TMZ that he did not believe Hogan was a racist. McMahon, who, along with Hogan, built WWE into a global wrestling power in the 1980s, could not believe the comments he heard from Hogan on the sex tape.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unforgivable and I was aghast, \u2018What happened?\u2019\u201d McMahon said. \u201cWhen those things occurred, that\u2019s not like him. \u2018What in God\u2019s name is going on?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It left WWE no choice but to shun Hogan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as it happened, obviously, the company didn\u2019t have anything to do with him anymore,\u201d McMahon said. \u201cWe took him out of the Hall of Fame. You just don\u2019t do those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hogan had called it a \u201cglitch\u201d and made attempts to apologize for his comments, but some, like former WWE star Mark Henry, have felt the legend did not go far enough to make things right. Henry refused to defend what Hogan said, but added that he offered Hogan and McMahon the idea of the Hulkster appearing at black colleges to help fix the situation at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hulk Hogan appears at WrestleMania 30 at the Superdome on April 6, 2014 in New Orleans. MediaPunch\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cGo and talk to them and be honest with your apology. He [Hogan] was like, \u2018I\u2019ve been advised not to talk about it no more.\u2019 I said, \u2018I think that\u2019s bad advice,\u201d Henry told TMZ.<\/p>\n

McMahon, who has been persona non grata around WWE and its new parent company TKO after the lawsuit against him, was also asked if he had mixed emotions about not being invited to take part in any of the tributes WWE had for Hogan after his passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt struck me that way as well,\u201d McMahon said.<\/p>\n

He called Hogan\u2019s death a blow to my heart and was angry that his friend was booed<\/a> during his last WWE appearance.<\/p>\n

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