As we told/warned you yesterday, former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon appeared on the TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan special which aired on FOX last night (Aug. 12).
It was McMahon’s first interview in years, which means it was the first since he was forced to resign from his positions at WWE and parent company TKO last January due to accusations of abuse and sexual trafficking made against him in Janel Grant’s still-pending lawsuit. TMZ boss Harvey Levin of course didn’t ask McMahon about his own
issues during their interview, conducted via video conference. His conversation with the man who helped spread Hulkamania in the 1980s was focused on Hogan, the pro wrestling legend who died on July 24 at age 71 following complications from surgery.
McMahon says he and Hogan shared a brotherhood:
“He was part of my life, a big part of my life. We were brothers to a certain extent. Every now and then we would get into a verbal scrap or something, but it always turned out for the best. We were so close and enjoyed each other’s company so much.”
Levin asked him to describe his reaction to learning Hogan had died:
“Shock. You just don’t think about someone, a family member or someone that close to you, you don’t think about them passing away. Terry had kicked out, so to speak, of so many surgeries…and, you know, he overcame that. It was a tremendous shock. It was a blow to my heart.”
While McMahon’s own scandals obviously weren’t addressed, he was asked about the racist statements Hogan made in audio recordings, one of which led to Hogan’s brief exile from WWE in the 2010s. Asked for his reaction the tape which featured Hogan repeatedly using a racial slur and “I’m a racist to a point” being made public in 2015, McMahon said:
“It was unforgivable, and I was like, aghast. What happened? And when those things occourred, that’s not like him. What is God’s name is going on? As soon as it happened obviously, the company didn’t have anything to do with him anymore. We took him out of the Hall of Fame. You just don’t do those things.”
He did forgive Hogan in 2018 however, welcoming him back to WWE. The company continued their relationship with Hogan until his death. He defended that decision to Levin:
“I knew he wasn’t a racist, I’ve been with him for so many years. He wasn’t a racist. He said some racist things, and he should pay for that, and he did. But in the end, I think everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea, and they felt, well wait a minute, this guy, he doesn’t act like a racist. He’s not a racist. We all make mistakes. That was a big one, but he wasn’t a racist.”
The special did speak to Mark Henry about the same topic, and Hogan’s fellow Hall of Famer didn’t share his former boss’ view (Henry also later says that Hogan’s “shortcomings” will “never… take away from his greatness”), restating the counsel he offered to Hogan shortly after his return:
“He said, in his words, that he was a racist. Why would I sit here and try to defend somebody that tells you who they were? It hurt. It hurt. I grew up watching the dude. I used to love that dude. I wanted to be like him. It hurts. I told him then, and I told Vince McMahon, if y’all want this to go away, I know how to fix it. We should do a Black College tour at Morehouse and Prairie View and hit the circuit. Go and talk to them and be honest with your apology.
”He was like, ‘I’ve been advised not to talk about it no more.’ I said, ‘I think that’s bad advice.‘”
Back to Vince, TMZ’s trailer made it seem like McMahon was angry that Hogan was booed at Raw’s Netflix premiere in Los Angeles this past January. The special clarifies he was upset at WWE for how they presented the legend (and new partner):
“I was angry because we’ve known each other for a lifetime, professionally and personally. And setting up, so to speak, this larger than life superhero, you don’t just let him walk out there. He deserved something very, very special. More than anyone, they owe him. It’s just like, okay, here comes Hulk Hogan. I got angry because that’s not the way I would have done it and he deserved much more.”
McMahon’s final comment in TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan was:
“One thing he said in character, which is ‘Hulkamania will live forever.’ Indeed, it is.”
