Hulk Hogan was ‘devastated' by reaction in last WWE appearance
Hulk Hogan's longtime manager and friend, Jimmy Hart, revealed that the fans viciously booing the late wrestler during his final appearance on WWE television on Jan. 6, 2025 'devastated' Hogan.
The larger-than-life superstar — real name Terry Bollea — died on July 24 at the age of 71 after suffering a heart attack at his Clearwater, Fla. home.
'That devastated him,' Hart said of the jeers on an episode of 'Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw' published Thursday, while noting the political undertones. 'That always bothered him, it sure did.'
4 Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt alongside Jimmy Hart during his 'Raw' promo.
WWE via Getty Images
Hogan often drew massive cheers from the crowd during his career — even at times during his days in the villainous NWO stable — but the fans treated him like a true heel earlier this year.
To usher in the new era of 'Raw' on Netflix, WWE turned to Hogan for an appearance at the live taping in Los Angeles.
Normally, this would result in a huge pop.
But the fans at the Intuit Dome didn't have Hulkamania flowing through their veins and booed Hogan in a development that surely neither WWE nor Hogan expected.
WWE is usually not in the business of bringing back storyline heroes to get showered in boos, and it seemed that the fans rebelled against Hogan's off-screen actions.
Hogan made racist remarks in 2007 that came to light in 2015, and he championed for President Trump during the Republican National Convention, among other endorsements.
Hart said he mentioned to Hogan before the appearance how they would be venturing into a liberal-leaning state, adding that Hogan did publicity wearing a Trump/J.D. Vance t-shirt.
'I'm going, 'Oh, my God. This is going to be good,'' Hart said.
Here is the latest on wrestler Hulk Hogan's death
Hart noticed 'something didn't feel right' when fans started chirping at Hogan after landing in Los Angeles, mentioning Trump and Vance.
While Hart described the reaction as 'mixed,' most would remember the night for the boos.
Hogan asked Hart what he think happened upon returning to the bowels of the arena, and his friend told him politics came into play.
4 Hulk Hogan (l) and Jimmy Hart (r) on 'Raw' in January 2025.
WWE via Getty Images
'I said, 'Hulk, it's simple. Blue state, red state. Trump, Vance. I mean, really?'' said Hart, who noted Hogan received cheers the next week during an event in Texas.
Hogan later said during a Feb. 4 appearance on 'The Pat McAfee Show' that he expected that reaction, acknowledged his politics and unspecified past controversies factored into the reaction.
He curiously also believed the crowd booed him because of his time in the NWO.
4 Jimmy Hart (bottom right) speaking about Hogan.
@johnlayfieldshow/YouTube
'I think the politics had a whole lot to do with it, as you said,' Hogan said.
He added: 'You got to realize, last time I ran hard in L.A. I was a bad guy, I Hollywood Hogan, man. I was riding dirty with the boys, (Kevin) Nash and (Scott) Hall, we were spray-painting people and crotch-shotting everybody and started out the 'Too Sweet' stuff. So, the last time I was there as a heel.'
Hogan, though, in contrast to Hart's comment, said he didn't mind the harsh reception since it generated massive internet engagement.
4 Hart and Hogan in 2009.
FilmMagic
He added that he would have leaned into the jeers and cut a heel — bad guy — promo, but had to be a babyface — good guy — since WWE is a partner for his 'Real American Beer.'
'But anyway, at the end of the day, we kind of looked at it the next day because I had like 11 billion impressions,' Hogan said of a video of his return, 'and some of the other guys, some of the big stars that were on that card that night, only had like 3 billion. Don't want to name names.'
WWE honored Hogan on both 'SmackDown' and 'Raw' since his death.
Hart, who made countless appearances alongside Hogan throughout the years, spanning multiple promotions, was stunned after learning of his friend's death.
'It just hits so fast,' Hart told People. 'It was like, 'Oh my God.' We thought he was doing so well, you know? We didn't go to see him at the house and didn't go to see him at the hospital, because we wanted to make sure that he didn't get any infections or anything else, like if anybody had a cold or brought anything in. So, that's what we all did.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
39 minutes ago
- New York Post
Jelly Roll gives credit to WWE stars ahead of SummerSlam: ‘That wrestling-is-fake stuff gotta go out the door'
Country music star Jelly Roll is set for a tag-team match at SummerSlam with WWE star Randy Orton against Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul this weekend. Jelly Roll appeared at WrestleMania 41 back in April, and as of late he was mixing it up in the ring as he tried to save Orton from McIntyre and Paul's assaults. The 6-foot-1 music star also took a dropkick to the face from McIntyre at Saturday Night's Main Event. On the penultimate 'Friday Night SmackDown' before SummerSlam, Jelly Roll delivered a Black Hole Slam to Paul. It was one of the last licks to get in before his match. Make no mistake, Jelly Roll said, pro wrestling is as real as it gets. 'These men and women put their bodies through hell … I really understand it now that I went in there. . . . Listen man, that wrestling-is-fake stuff gotta go out the door,' he said Friday on ESPN's 'Get Up.' 'There's no fake way to land on a piece of plywood in-front of 60,000 people. There's no fake way to go over a cable rope.' 'I broke my pinkie week one of training by accident. It's a constant collision.' Jelly Roll added that he wouldn't have had 'any courage' to perform at SummerSlam if he didn't have Orton in his corner. 3 Country music star Jelly Roll will appear in a tag-team match at SummerSlam this weekend. WWE / YouTube 3 Jelly Roll and Randy Orton brawled with Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre one night before their SummerSlam battle. WWE / YouTube 3 Jelly Roll credited WWE star Randy Orton for giving him 'courage' to enter the ring. WWE / YouTube Orton also gave Jelly Roll massive praise for how he's handled the increased spotlight in the last few weeks. 'I think it's pretty much common knowledge that Jelly Roll is an amazing human being. He makes time for everybody no matter who you are. He met my wife while he was hosting the 'Jimmy Kimmel Show' a few weeks ago,' Orton said. 'He was doing rehearsal, he was being pulled every which way, everyone needed a piece of Jelly Roll for rehearsal, but he made five minutes of time to meet my wife and gave her his time. 'He's just an amazing human being and he's working as hard as anyone if not harder as anyone who's come into our world.' SummerSlam is set for Saturday and Sunday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
WWE SummerSlam Night 1 live results: Full card, start time, winners and losers, updates and highlights
WWE's second-biggest event of the year, WWE SummerSlam 2025, kicks off on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This year's installment marks the first time in history the annual premium live event will be spread across two nights, adopting the WrestleMania format WWE began in 2020. Saturday's card features six matches, headlined by a World Heavyweight Championship clash between defending champion Gunther and CM Punk, who is challenging for his second major title this summer. The two other championship bouts on the show involve WWE's women's division, with Tiffany Stratton defending her WWE Women's Championship against Queen of the Ring winner Jade Cargill, as well as Judgment Day's Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez putting their Women's Tag Team Championships on the line against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. In terms of non-title matches, two tag-team contests will also take place. WWE is injecting some celebrity star power into SummerSlam, having musician Jelly Roll team up with Randy Orton to take on Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre, paying off a feud that began last month on "SmackDown" and on Saturday Night's Main Event. The other tag-team match pits cousins Roman Reigns and Jey Uso against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed — members of Seth Rollins' heel faction on "Raw." Finally, Sami Zayn and Karrion Kross meet once again in a singles bout, continuing an ongoing angle that has simmered on WWE programming. Here's a look at Saturday's full WWE SummerSlam Night 1 match card, which kicks off at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock: World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c.) vs. CM Punk WWE Women's Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c.) vs. Jade Cargill WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Raquel and Roxanne Perez (c.) vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed Randy Orton and Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross Follow all of the action from SummerSlam Night 1 with Uncrowned's live coverage below:
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Fitness influencer Joey Swoll fires back at critics, returns to social media after Hulk Hogan tribute backlash: ‘Not going to cancel me'
Renowned fitness influencer Joey Swoll vowed not to be canceled by critics in his return to social media following backlash over his tribute to late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan. Swoll, the 'CEO of Gym Positivity,' was back online on Friday — four days after he was run off his platform — as he called out gym bullies, but not before he lashed out against critics over his now-viral post. 'Love me or hate me, I am not going anywhere and you are not going to cancel me,' Swoll told his 8 million TikTok followers. Advertisement 'I am not quitting and I am done apologizing,' he declared, ending the short-lived social hiatus. 5 Fitness influencer Joey Swoll addresses his followers in his return to social media on Aug. 1, 2025. Joey Swoll/X Swoll, whose real name is Joey Sergo, said some of his followers confronted him for dressing up as the mustachioed wrestling icon in an old video he reposted in tribute to Hogan, who died on July 24. Advertisement The costume was an apparent gift from the Hulkster, born Terry Bollea, to Swoll. Hogan died of a heart attack, according to the Pinellas County Forensic Science Center records obtained by Page Six. Online critics were appalled by the fitness influencer for honoring the WWE legend, not realizing the scope of his various scandals. 5 Swoll wears a Hulk Hogan costume in a tribute video posted on July 25, 2025, a day after the WWE legend's death. on Joey Swoll/X Advertisement 5 Hulk Hogan riles up the crowd during a WWE event at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on April 27, 2007. George Napolitano / Swoll, 42, deleted the video and apologized to the mob for not knowing all of the 'horrible, horrible things that man has done,' he said in an apology video to his various accounts. He had said he was 'done' with his internet persona in a goodbye message posted on July 29. 'All the good I've done, all the people I've helped, all for nothing. I truly hope all the people I've inspired do great things in their life and pay it forward to help others and carry on my message,' he wrote. 'But no matter how much good you do, people just wait for a reason to hate you and tear you down. You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the villain. Thank you for your support. I am done.' Advertisement My message is do better, NOT be perfect. — Joey Swoll (@TheJoeySwoll) August 1, 2025 The influencer's various social media platforms, which boast nearly 17 million combined followers, were silent until he returned Friday afternoon to call out another gym bully who mocked a woman working out behind her. 'Don't you wish we had someone to call out bullies in the gym?' a text bubble asked inside Swoll's empty car, which served a familiar backdrop for his videos. Swoll appeared in frame and proclaimed he was the one to call out the bullies and was not going anywhere. 'I just needed a few days to step back, to breathe, to get my mind right,' he said. 5 Joey Swoll addresses his social media followers following backlash to his tribute to Hulk Hogan in a video posted on July 28, 2025. Joey Swoll/X 5 The New York Post front cover on July 25, 2025. csuarez Advertisement The influencer said he received thousands of messages from people telling him not to quit, as others told him he was an inspiration to them. 'Messages giving me the good kick in the a– that I needed to get back up,' Swoll said. Swoll warned his haters that he would continue to call out 'bullies,' being a voice for the defenseless and advocating for the gym community and the world to be a better place. 'My message is do better, NOT be perfect,' Swoll captioned the post.
