The first step in WWE’s master plan to bring ratings and acclaim back to its struggling Monday Night Raw program was to fill up all the shows with McMahons. Step two, apparently, is to bring back Hulk Hogan.
WWE announced that Hogan will make his first appearance on Raw since humiliating Curtis Axel alongside Snoop Dogg in 2015 on Monday’s episode, in a tribute to his late friend, Mean Gene Okerlund. Hogan’s most recent appearance for the company was as the “host” of the maligned Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia back in November.
Here’s what they had to say:
BREAKING: @HulkHogan will return to #Raw THIS MONDAY to honor the late, great @WWE Hall of Famer "Mean" Gene Okerlund! https://t.co/UiOf3kY4Rl
— WWE (@WWE) January 4, 2019
“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.
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.
We (edit: meaning the site, changed to remove hyperbole because apparently there are still a ton of Hogan fans out there) feel like Ric Flair showing up and dropping a Mean Woo By God Gene woud’ve been a better tribute, or maybe just a video package featuring all the current stars talking about how they grew up on him and loved his work. Or anything else.
Maybe they can also bring back Tatanka and repackage him as the This Ain’t It Chief.
