10 Things That Would Happen If Vince Russo Returned To WWE Today

Time heals (nearly) all wounds in professional wrestling, with no case currently a more apt reminder than the gradual reintroduction of Hulk Hogan to WWE less than two years after the company terminated his contract following the use of some ugly racial slurs on a leaked sex tape.

Curiously, it was the conclusion of a legal battle over the aforementioned tape that seemed to kick off rebuilding of relations between 'The Hulkster' and the organisation in which he became wrestling's biggest ever star. Victory in court (over Gawker, the company that released the tape in the first place) bizarrely vindicated Hogan for some of the comments made, alongside a long string of public apologies and contrition for his actions during the time.

WWE's increasingly polished public relations department saw to it that he was whitewashed from company materials almost immediately, but it was Triple H who implied that a door would be gently re-opened should there be an opportunity to 'reinvigorate his brand and him as a human being'.

With Vince Russo's venomous pen, Hogan's ignominy would become his newest trait. Building off their toxic relationship in WCW, Russo would let Bigotrymania run wild on WWE's diverse roster. Russo himself was openly dismissive of Mexican or Japanese performers as topliners during his heyday, and could use Hulk as his avatar to squash everyone from Kalisto to Shinsuke Nakamura, all the way up to eventually dethroning Jinder Mahal for Hulk's seventh WWE Title reign.