12 Things You Didn't Know Tony Khan BANNED In AEW

7. Hulk And Linda Hogan

Hulk Hogan HPhone
WWE

Hulk Hogan was banned from WWE in 2015 because his reprehensible racist outburst shocked the wrestling world into disgust and irrevocably altered his perception. The hero to so many children was now a heel, forever, in the minds of the grown-ups who knew better. He no longer deserved to be platformed because disregarding his opinions - which isn't too dissimilar to endorsing them - was not the right thing to do. That's not exactly true, is it?

Hulk Hogan was banned from WWE for a few years because he risked a public relations disaster when the scandal was felt more deeply. True, earnest disgust did not factor into it; if that were the case, he'd have never returned. He returned in late 2018, and if rumours and his daughter Brooke are to be believed, WWE reached out to strike a deal for an appearance at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

Hogan was quietly re-inducted into the Hall of Fame, and then, in a sneaky backdoor pilot of sorts, he hosted Crown Jewel 2018 at a time when Hogan appearing on it was somehow one of the lesser moral concerns surrounding the show. As much as the TV product indicated otherwise, they really weren't daft under Vince McMahon. They knew how to normalise his being in WWE by bringing him back at the "perfect" time. He was brought back properly, on actual canonical TV, when Mean Gene Okerlund died, under the ugly principle of "How can you not?"

Tony Khan had no such ideas to reward Hogan prior to his passing in 2025; when Hogan's ex-wife Linda posted a foul, racist tweet amid the bleak unrest of 2020 - saying only "afro-Americans" who were not "civilized" were looting - he replied saying "You've now joined your husband in being banned from all AEW shows. Congratulations."

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!