As the years go by, the cries from wrestlers and fans of “Hulk Hogan should be allowed to come back to WWE” are only going to get louder. After his big lawsuit victory over Gawker (which is going to be made into a movie or a TV show or something) was already viewed as a big vindication for a lot of people, and his contemporaries have been beating the drum for WWE to welcome him back for some time.
Everyone from Mark Henry to Ric Flair to Jerry Lawler believes it’s going to happen eventually … if he doesn’t end up running for Senate instead, I guess.
When Hillbilly Jim was announced as being part of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class, the natural thought was, “Hmmm, I wonder if this is how we pave the way for a Hogan return,” as few wrestlers’ careers are as tied to Hogan’s as Jim’s is, given that the Jim character was introduced to WWE audiences as “very large Hulk Hogan fan.”
And hey, wouldn’t you know it? Hillbilly Jim himself would prefer to have Hogan be the one to induct him. He said as much to TMZ Sports this week.
While none of the inductees are being revealed just yet (although they’re likely to start coming fast and furious in the next week or so), it miiiiiiight be a little bit early in the “public forgiveness” cycle for WWE to bring back Hogan … particularly if they’re already having to fend off questions about naming an event after the Fabulous Moolah.
But who knows? Maybe Hogan will be back to induct his big hillbilly friend after all. Otherwise … I would assume the Godwinns are free on WrestleMania weekend, right? Probably.
