10 WWE Wrestlers That Went From The Top To The Bottom Then Back Again
3. Hulk Hogan (Again)
Back once again with the ill behaviour, Hulk Hogan's deeply cynical staggered return to WWE television came as result of death and dollars.
After a mixed decade for the relations between himself and Vince McMahon after the aforementioned WWE Championship experiment in 2002, Hogan's odd and destructive tenure with TNA only created an added frisson of nostalgia for yet another WWE return. One that was paid off spectacularly at WrestleMania XXX when he stood alongside The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin as the undisputed commercial Kings of Vince McMahon's monied empire.
Diminished returns followed until it appeared as if he'd never be back. 'The Hulkster's infamous 2015 racism scandal brought down more than just a WWE Legends contract, but it triggered a deft delicacy on WWE's part to sneak him out then back into their content when they considered the heat to be off.
It was all a bit gross, but the company had sold its soul long before one of its biggest stars got caught on camera being a bigot. To the top table, this was small change compared to the stacks of cash they were about to make from another dirty deal. The passing of Mean Gene Okerlund in January 2019 gave friend and colleague Hogan a free pass to make his first appearance, and he was drip fed back into the WWE diet from there.