— On Monday’s Raw on Netflix, Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made his TV return to the company and was met with a chorus of boos by the packed Intuit Dome. It obviously didn’t go unnoticed by the mainstream media and WWE internally as a report emerged on Tuesday suggesting that the company wasn’t going to sever ties with Hogan but were looking to be more strategic in ways to use him moving forward by limiting his live appearances or perhaps eliminating them altogether.
— Fightfulselect.com posted more about Hogan’s future with WWE, noting that prior to Monday’s Raw, the promotion had planned to use him in a “number of appearances” tied to the partnership with his Real American Beer. Within WWE, there several people who weren’t happy that Hogan’s negative reception became such a significant talking point while being picked up by outlets such as CNN and Variety while others noted that they had brought up the possibility that Hogan was going to get booed.
— As for the Hulkster himself, the report suggested that those who talked to Hogan after his segment stated that he was “surprised and disappointed” that he was overwhelmingly booed but that he ended up shrugging it off. It is not known if Hogan concluded that the reaction was primarily due to his political beliefs but most people backstage felt that there were certainly other reasons.
— While the online fallout of Hogan’s appearance had some people suggesting that he should have come out as the nWo Hogan and lean into the expected boos, one source within WWE dismissed that as a realistic option pointing out that using Hogan was primarily to try and sell beer rather than trying to get a 70-year old over with the fans. The fightful report confirmed the earlier story that WWE is re-assessing how Hogan is going to be used forward but that the partnership with Real American Beer is not going to end. One option WWE seems to be considering is replacing Hogan with an a more modern WWE talent or legend when promoting the product.