Hulk Hogan, one of wrestling’s most iconic figures, was met with a chorus of boos from the live crowd when WWE Raw premiered on Netflix in January 2025. Despite Hogan’s best efforts to win over fans, even bringing up Randy Savage and Andre the Giant, the crowd inside Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome made their views loud and clear on the Hulkster.

This response has renewed conversations about Hogan’s legacy in wrestling and whether he still has a role in the industry. On his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash recalled that this is hardly the first time a modern crowd has booed the Hulkster.

“He got booed at that ‘Mania in Tampa [37] when he came out there,” Nash recalled. “I think that he and Titus [O’Neil] were supposed to do something together, but I think that [the booing] was because Titus was black. I think that it just churned that whole thing back up.”

Hogan was fired from WWE in 2015 following racist remarks coming to light, but was brought back into the fold in 2018. Given O’Neil’s standing as a well respected name due to his philanthropy and community work, pairing him with Hogan in 2021 was seen by many as a blatant attempt by WWE to force fans not to boo the Hulkster.

The Undertaker Laughs At Hulk Hogan Getting Booed: “Things Come Back”

Hogan has yet to appear for WWE since his disastrous Raw appearance, which he has blamed on politics and his past in the NWO. For now, it seems Hulk Hogan’s presence in wrestling will continue to elicit mixed emotions—if not outright boos—from the WWE Universe.