Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged:

Meltzer On Hulk Hogan WWE Return: "Expect It Sooner Than Later"

The worlds of comic books and professional wrestling have a lot in common. Beyond the obvious similarities, such as very attractive and physically fit people beating the crap out of each while wearing skimpy and colorful costumes, as well as an obsessive fanbase that seems unable to give up the mass produced products of soulless corporations no matter how much they complain about it, comics and wrestling each have their own version of Rich Johnston. In comics, our Rich Johnston is the actual Rich Johnston, Rumormonger-in-Chief of Bleeding Cool. For pro wrestling, their Rich Johnston is Dave Meltzer, the most famous of all wrestling journalists, who is the source of 99.9% of all wrestling news scoops that aren't basically regurgitated PR, which are copied and distributed by all other wrestling websites, some of which even give him credit. Of course, wrestling's Rich Johnston is fitter, more respected, more credible, less typo-prone, and has been at it longer than the actual Rich Johnston, but other than that, they are basically the same person.

So when Meltzer made the following tweet about a rumored return of disgraced WWE Hall of Famer and original Orange Goblin, Hulk Hogan, it's something to take very seriously.

We first heard rumors that Hogan might return back in November, when his daughter, Brooke Hogan, let slip to TMZ that Hogan was in talks with the company for a Wrestlemania return, and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently said it was time to forgive Hogan's transgressions. What transgressions, you ask?

Hogan was ousted from the top wrestling organization in July of 2015 after comments made in a sex tape were leaked as a result of a legal battle with website Gawker. Speaking to the wife of radio host Bubba The Love Sponge, who Hogan was having sex with as part of an arranged cuckolding that was secretly recorded on video, Hogan didn't leave much up to interpretation, saying of his daughter's relationship with a black man:

I don't know if Brooke was f***ing the black guy's son. I mean, I don't have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f***ing ******s. But then when it comes to nice people and shit, and whatever. I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f**k some ******, I'd rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall ****** worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we're all a little racist. F***ing ******.

Hogan later won a lawsuit against Gawker for leaking the sex tape, leading to the complete destruction of the media empire.

Hogan was basically erased from WWE programming following the incident, with the company doing their best to never bring him up, despite his history as arguably the most popular and recognizable pro wrestler of all time. The only other wrestler to get similar treatment was Chris Benoit, who murdered his wife and children before committing suicide while his brain was basically mush from the effects of years of concussions sustained while wrestling.

It's not necessarily that WWE is a highly moral organization. Wrestling's history is full of all manner of terrible people doing all manner of terrible things, and WWE still promotes them. The Ultimate Warrior was an outspoken homophobe who coined the phrase "queering doesn't make the world work," but when he died, WWE named an award for kids with cancer after him. President Donald Trump is a member of WWE's Hall of Fame, and he was elected president by being racist in public, so surely WWE doesn't really care if Hulk Hogan is racist on a private sex tape.

What WWE cares about is people who embarrass WWE in public, which is exactly what both murdering your family and dropping the n-bomb on a sex tape have in common. In Trump's new America, however, everything has changed. Marvel Comics are eschewing their progressive agenda (defined here as an attempt to earn praise and adulation for being "progressive" while their Chairman donates his share of the profits to Donald Trump's campaign), for a "meat and potatoes" relaunch. And WWE is looking to bring back the Hulkster.

Comics and wrestling, baby. Two of a kind.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!