‘- After several years away, Hulk Hogan is returning to RAW. WWE confirmed that Hogan will be present at Monday’s RAW to talk about the late Mean Gene Okerlund. This past Wednesday, Okerlund passed away. He had been in frail health since falling about a month ago. During Hogan’s runs in WWE and WCW, he would frequently be interviewed by Okerlund. The two even teamed together inside the ring.
Since the summer of 2015, Hogan has basically been blacklisted by WWE for making racist comments in a sex tape that was leaked online. At the time, WWE immediately fired Hogan, removed him from the Hall of Fame and the company stopped mentioning his name.
In the past 12 months, Hogan has publicly apologized and also addressed the WWE locker room. He did appear in the opening segment of Crown Jewel back in November, but WWE never followed up on the story.
Below is WWE’s announcement on Hogan returning for RAW to honor Okerlund.
“Let me tell you something, ‘Mean’ Gene …”
So began many of Hulk Hogan’s most memorable proclamations, making interviewer and backstage personality “Mean” Gene Okerlund a cornerstone of Hulkamania in the 1980s. Now, in the wake of Okerlund’s recent passing, Hogan returns to WWE programming this Monday night on Raw to honor his longtime friend.
In a Twitter post Tuesday night, Hogan called “Mean” Gene “the best partner I ever had” while describing their incredible off-the-cuff chemistry during their backstage interviews. That synchronicity even led to an unusual tag team partnership when Hogan and Okerlund battled George “The Animal” Steele and Mr. Fuji in 1984. Their training sessions before that match, which can be seen below, were perhaps even more entertaining than the bout itself.
Hogan and Okerlund’s friendship spanned the decades, from WWE to WCW and back to WWE. On Monday night, Hogan honors his brother.
Don’t miss this milestone moment on Monday Night Raw, beginning at 8/7 C on USA Network.
– It does seem that Kenny Omega is done with New Japan Pro Wrestling as his deal was set to expire this month and he dropped the title in the main even of Wrestling Kingdom 13. As for what is next, the top two choices seem to be either WWE or the newly founded All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
There has been speculation that WWE offered a contract worth several million dollars per year, but that has not been confirmed. If WWE did make such an offer, it would be to keep Omega from joining AEW. While AEW probably can’t match such a deal, Omega does know the key players very well from their time in Bullet Club and The Elite.
Omega has not addressed what is next, but he did post the following interesting tweet after his loss at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
1-1 #njwk13 pic.twitter.com/w5Y7C0UX9t
— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) January 4, 2019
