AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
The deification of Hulk Hogan on WWE television and on
social media over the last week has been overdone and
overwhelming.
No one questions his influence on the professional wrestling
business...even to this day. But if you looked at social
media this past week, you'd think the founding father of all
professional wrestling had died.
Anyone with a basic understanding of wrestling history knows
that it didn't begin with Hogan's entrance into the WWF in
1983. But even stating that fact was controversial for far
too many with a keyboard or a smartphone, who then attacked
Dave Meltzer and others who dared to acknowledge wrestling's
considerable past. The insanity of the attacks online at
anyone suggesting Hogan was anything short of St. Francis
was up there with attacking a family member.
Then, there's the painful legacy of Terry Bollea:
As the result of a lawsuit against Gawker in July 2015,
audio of a private 2007 conversation was leaked, revealing
explicitly racist remarks made by Bollea.
In 2012, the Gawker published a sex tape featuring Hogan
with Heather Clem, the then-wife of Hogan's friend Bubba the
Love Sponge. Hogan sued Gawker for invasion of privacy.
During the lawsuit, a transcript from this tape, which had
been sealed by a Florida court, was somehow leaked to other
publications, including The National Enquirer and Radar
Online.
The recording had Hogan being disgusted at the idea of his
daughter dating a Black man and using (the n word) over and
over. It also contained other racist and stereotypical
comments from 2008 jailhouse phone calls with his son Nick.
Bollea reportedly stated he was "a racist, to a point" and
repeatedly used the (n word).
Specifically, Hogan was also reported to have said he'd
"rather if she was going to f$#k some (n word), I'd
rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall (n word) worth a
hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player!" . He
also apparently joked with his son about hoping they don't
reincarnate as "blizz-ack gizz-uys". Hogan stated
that he believed everyone was "a little racist". Another
report suggests he mentioned Jamie Foxx in a racist rant.
While Bollea publicly apologized for this rant, his
apologies we seen more as spin control...and to get back in
WWE's good graces. Mark Henry expressed the belief that
Hogan "never wanted to go forward and fix it". When
Hogan was reinstated to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018, he
addressed the WWE locker room, claiming WWE initially wanted
him to apologize only to the Black talent, but he insisted
on speaking to everyone. In this meeting, he apologized and
said that his past comments were made in anger (as if that
somehow made his comments acceptable).
Hogan's reputation never completely recovered. His final WWE
appearance in January 2025 on the RAW is Netflix premiere
saw him audibly booed by the crowd. His political alignment
with Donald Trump didn't help, leading many to question any
apologies related to racial issue.
Since he publicly declared as a born-again Christian, his
supporters implied the past should be forgiven. Perhaps,
since they assumed he repented from his behavior, they could
explain why a year ago Bollea fired Essence Jenai, a social
media influencer who was hired to be a brand ambassador for
Real American Beer, but was fired after only one day because
of her race, following her first in-person meeting with
Hogan. Real American Beer denied the accusations, blaming
the third-party marketing agency that hired her. But they've
never explained why her firing only happened after an in-
person meeting with Bollea.
So...back to Hulk Hogan. There were 10 bell counts as well
as career retrospective videos on Smackdown, RAW...AND NXT,
in front of the locker room (one wonders what the black
talent thought...especially in NXT). One ten-bell count
would have been understandable. Three was overdone. It was
suggested by one fan who was there live at RAW who later
watched the telecast that sound sweetening was done for the
crowd reaction. On top of that, memorial segments were done
each night of SummerSlam.
In a moment that was even parts of irony, disgust, and
greed.....after the version of the Hogan memorial that
appeared on RAW is Netflix: a commercial for Real American
Beer appeared...featuring Hogan. So much for reverence for
Hogan's memory. There was beer to be sold...and money to be
made by WWE (who are part-owners of Real American Beer).
Hogan's body was barely cold...and WWE was selling beer with
it.
Condolences to friends, loved ones, and those who knew him
for who he was and still cared for him. But for the rest...I
hope their eyes are opened so they can judge Terry Bollea
more accurately and fairly.
AEW Worlds End has been announced for Saturday, December 27,
at the Now Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL (outside Chicago).
VIP Pre-Sale is September 2 AEW Pre-Sale is September 4.
with tickets going on general sale on Monday, September 8th.
AEW has yet to announce the location for November's Full
Gear PPV.
HBO MAX has now uploaded every AEW PPV from 2019 to 2024,
from the original Double or Nothing in 2019 all the way to
World's End 2024 for HBO MAX subscribers in the AEW Special
Events category. These include:
Double or Nothing 2019
Fyter Fest 2019
Fight for the Fallen 2019
All Out 2019
Full Gear 2019
Revolution 2020
Double or Nothing 2020
All Out 2020
Full Gear 2020
Revolution 2021
Double or Nothing 2021
All Out 2021
Full Gear 2021
Revolution 2022
Double or Nothing 2022
Forbidden Door 2022
All Out 2022
Full Gear 2022
Revolution 2022
Double or Nothing 2022
Forbidden Door 2022
All Out 2022
Full Gear 2022
Revolution 2023
Double or Nothing 2023
Forbidden Door 2023
All In 2023
All Out 2023
WrestleDream 2023
Full Gear 2023
World's End 2023
Revolution 2024
Dynasty 2024
Double or Nothing 2024
Forbidden Door 2024
All In 2024
All Out 2024
WrestleDream 2023
Full Gear 2023
World's End 2023
There are hot days to come, but summer is in the homestretch
and fall is on the horizon with NFL exhibition games, Back-
To-School sales are online and all over TV, and schools
getting ready to open in parts of the South. That means that
wrestling indies will soon be thinking about the season of
giving.
In 2024, independent wrestling promotions helped their
communities during the Holiday season through wrestling
shows, Comic-Cons, playing video games,10-day marathons
sitting on top of a trailer, bowling parties, online trivia
contests, chicken BBQ's, portrait sittings, Twitch streams,
and a dozen other means. Fans in 31 states and
provinces gave and gave and gave at 170 charity
shows/events/efforts that took place to help their
communities for the Holidays with that came to
369,707.70 in cash donations, 18,081
pounds (that's OVER NINE TONS) of canned and non-
perishable food, 26,843 toys; at least 60 winter
jackets, at least 70 pairs of socks and underwear,
250 backpacks, "bags full of winter clothes" and "tons of
school supplies", 40 blankets, 8 pairs of gloves, a dozen
pair of wool socks, 4 knit hats, over 200assorted
"personal care items"; as well as animal blankets, cat
litter, indoor dry/wet food, cat/dog toys, and unscented
baby wipes for animal rescue groups.
It may be a sweltering August day as you read this, but it's
not too soon for local independent wrestling promotions to
think about what efforts they can undertake to help their
communities during 2025's Holiday season. Given the
political environment, more help will be needed from every
private source possible to help the hungry, the sick, the
cold, the homeless, sexual/domestic violence victims, animal
welfare, and too many more. Indies, start thinking about
what you can do now.
If you'd like to contact me, you can do so at my
bobmagee1@hotmail.com account or to through Facebook
Messenger at https://www.facebook.com/bob.magee.180, direct
message me at https://twitter.com/BobMage70323520, or
contact me at BlueSky at
https://bsky.app/profile/bobmagee940.bsky.social
