On what was a momentous day for WWE, it only made sense for arguably its biggest star ever to appear. It was Jan. 6, the Netflix debut of Raw, and inside of the Intuit Dome, “Real American” hit the speakers.
For nearly 40 years, the song and emergence of Hulk Hogan generated one of the biggest pops in wrestling, getting everybody in the crowd on their feet and rocking.
On this day, people were on their feet, but it was far from a warm welcome. It was booing, drowning out everything coming from the WWE Hall of Famer’s mouth. He thanked the fans for supporting him his entire career. It didn’t change the negative reception.
That wound up being Hogan’s final WWE appearance before his death on July 24. Should it have ended like that? No. But can you blame them? No.
There isn’t a way to measure what Hogan meant to wrestling. It might not be a worldwide phenomenon if it wasn’t for him. He was a real-life Captain America, a larger-than-life inspiration and role model for the youth that if they ate their vegetables, took their vitamins and did the right thing, they too could be a superstar like him. He transcended the wrestling ring and paved the way for people like Dwayne Johnson and John Cena to find careers outside of the business.
