15 Wrestlers That Got BANNED From WWE
7. Hulk Hogan
The final decade of Hulk Hogan's life and career was a messy mix of regrettable statements, half-baked apologies and apathetic live crowds who just didn't want to see him anymore. In 2015, WWE distanced themselves from one of their biggest legacy stars once leaks of racist comments he'd made went public. Overnight, Hulk went from darling legend to ejected from the Hall Of Fame (he'd been inducted in 2005), and there didn't seem to be any road back.
WWE wanted nothing to do with the fallout from Hogan's remarks. He was hastily written out of promotional lore, Hulk wasn't mentioned onscreen, and he was prevented from showing up backstage or at any officially branded events. The star Vince McMahon had pinned his hopes on throughout the 1980s and into the early-90s was suddenly ostracised.
Things would change 3 years later when Hogan mumbled sorry to a bunch of folks. Not everybody on the roster accepted his apologies, but WWE as a broader organisation tried to move on and delete the damage by pretending they hadn't pushed Hulkamania onto the scrapheap in 2015. He was a legend again, one there to be heralded and held aloft as everything that was right about the "WWE family".
People saw through it. The shine of Hogan's majesty had been scuffed, and there was no going back for some. It's unfortunate to think back on now he's passed, but Hulk was booed out of the building during his final WWE appearance; he was on hand for Raw's Netflix debut, and the people in Los Angeles jeered him hard as he promoted a beer brand.
Internally, WWE wouldn't like to admit it, but they were willing to squash Hulk Hogan's importance to company history for approx 3 years.