WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan reportedly left young fans in floods of tears after a recent meet and great.
The 71-year-old retired wrestler, who was loudly booed by WWE fans during his appearance on the Netflix premiere of Monday Night Raw in January, met with fans last week at the ShopRite in Orange County, New York.
The event was held to promote the star’s Real American Beer brand, with one family missing out on their chance to meet him at the last second.
‘I was there with my son and daughter. It was an exciting day, especially for my son. They said he could only see up to number 200 and we were 185,’ local dad Robert Taylor said.
He added to Hudson Valley’s News 12 how The Hulkster – real name Terry Bollea – left abruptly before reaching them, leaving them ’empty-handed’.
Taylor said: ‘They just stood up and bolted along the back. Some lady was very upset, screaming and cursing. My son just started crying and a bunch of other kids were crying.’
Tylor argued that Hogan could have simply ‘walked down and shook people’s hands’ and apologised for cutting the event short instead of ‘leaving people stranded’.
Hogan hasn’t appeared on WWE television since getting loudly rejected by fans during the first Raw on Netflix on January 6.
The former world champion, a prominent Donald Trump supporter during his presidential campaign, came out to the sounds of his iconic Real American entrance music.
Despite trying to hype up his own wrestling history, a love for the fans, and his beer brand’s sponsorship deal with WWE, fans drowned him out with their jeers.
The reaction echoed his return at WrestleMania 37 in 2021 when he was loudly booed as he co-hosted the event with Titus O’Neil.
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Hogan was fired from WWE a decade ago after a recording of him using the N-word was leaked during a sex tape lawsuit he filed against Gawker magazine.
He was reinstated by WWE three years later after apologising for his comments leaked in the 2015 trial, and last year he described the scandal as a ‘speed bump’.
After the reaction on Raw, a source said Hogan was ‘instantly disappointed’.
‘Did Hulk think he was going to be cheered? Especially bringing out Jimmy Hart, who everyone likes, and who was also waving an American flag at the time… that is a resounding yes,’ an insider told the Mail.
‘So, when he came out, got booed, and then went to the back after his promo, he was instantly disappointed that the fans turned on him.’
Hogan has since blamed the reaction on both playing a villain decades ago and his own political leanings, although The Undertaker – another vocal Trump supporter, was loudly cheered by fans as he made a surprise appearance on the same Raw event.
Others have pointed to his past controversies, and WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has insisted there’s a lot of work to be done to make things right.
He exclusively told Metro: ‘It’s on him to do what it takes to have amends with people. You know, you get an argument with your wife, what do you gotta do?
‘[Apologise] and meant it. Not just the apology, but the meaning it part. There’s what everybody that does something has to do. He’s no different because his name is Hulk Hogan.’
Metro has contacted Hulk Hogan’s representative for comment.
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