WWE fans at the first episode of “Monday Night Raw” on Netflix cheered loudly for many of the wrestlers who made special guest appearances… but were apparently not happy at all when Hulk Hogan showed up.
The sport’s first pop culture superstar showed up at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles to promote his Real American Beer, a new beer brand named after Hogan’s famed entrance theme by Rick Derringer. Earlier on Monday, WWE announced a multi-year partnership with Hogan for the new beer, adding its logo to the ads placed on the ring mats and even buying an ownership stake.
But when Hogan walked out at “Raw” alongside fellow ’80s WWE star Jimmy Hart, the initial cheers for his entrance theme from a portion of the crowd quickly gave way to even louder boos and expletive-filled chants as Hogan took the mic.
“In the past, I’ve had a whole bunch of partners down the line,” Hogan said amidst the noise. “I had incredible partners, like the Macho Man Randy Savage. I’ve had giant-sized partners like Andre the Giant. But the greatest partner the WWE has ever had, is the fact that tonight, we’re making history, and the WWE has tag-teamed up with Netflix, the greatest tag-team partner of all time.”
Hogan’s image among wrestling fans first took a big hit in 2015 when Gawker published a leaked sex tape in which he said a racist slur. Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, successfully sued Gawker over the tape with the financial assistance of billionaire Peter Thiel, leading to Gawker’s shutdown.
WWE removed Hogan from their Hall of Fame in 2015 over the incident, but reinstated him in 2018. Upon his return to the company, Hogan spoke to the WWE locker room and apologized for his use of slurs
Since then, Hogan has voiced his support for Donald Trump, appearing at last year’s Republican National Convention. But if any of the wrestling fans in liberal-skewing L.A. were booing Hogan because of that, such political disdain did not extend to another WWE legend, The Undertaker, who hosted Trump on his podcast last year and also made a surprise appearance on “Raw” to congratulate newly minted Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley.
The fans also loudly cheered for The Rock, who opened the show with a shoutout to the attending Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and for John Cena, who began his year-long retirement tour from wrestling by announcing he would participate in the Royal Rumble, which WWE will hold in Indianapolis on Feb. 1.
