Booker T talks Hulk Hogan.
Some fans around the world of wrestling were shocked at the response to Hulk Hogan on the January 6 edition of WWE Raw, as 'The Hulkster' was heavily booed by the live crowd. Discussion surrounding this incident has been going on strong for weeks now, with some fans saying that Hogan shouldn't appear in front of a live crowd for WWE again.
On the latest edition of his Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker T gave his own thoughts on the segment, saying that Hogan has lost his way and doesn't know how to change with the times and connect with young people.
“Getting old sucks, man. You lose your focus when you’re getting older. I think that’s what Hogan has done over the years. He’s lost his focus. He’s lost his way, as far as being able to connect with young people. I always talk about that, as far as young people. If you don’t know how to change with the times, time will pass you by. I say that all the time. That’s why I got so many young people around me. It keeps me grounded from a perspective. I try to listen different music, just so I can not get caught up in what he listened to back in the day, just because a lot of people, just say for instance, 1980 was a good year. That might have been some people’s best year, they never want to leave. They think about about, they want to go back there. That’s something for me, I’ve always thought about being able to change with times. It’s like Hogan, god bless him, man, but bandana and tearing the shirt off and flexing the muscles and stuff, it’s only gonna work for so long, I think it’s only going to work for so long. [Hogan getting booed] had a lot to do with a lot. But I’m just saying, having that same character forever and just being, for instance, a regular person…It’s just kind of sad to see…I don’t know. I think it’s this era too. I think it’s the young people, they’re different. It’s a totally different world that we’re living in now. For instance, just say a lot of these fans who were booing, they’ve never watched Hulk Hogan do his thing. They’ve never seen the Andre the Giant match. I say that because I get a lot of kids that come up to me, and they don’t know anything about my wrestling career. They know me as a commentator. So I can see being disconnected from the fans and not being able to go out there and have that magic today in 2025 like it worked in 1985, ‘90, whatever, it’s a different world now."
Booker T continued on and suggested that Hogan has go-away heat with a lot of fans at this point.
"One thing about the fans, heel or babyface, I think the fans know what we’re doing here. At the end of the day, they normally respect you for what you’ve done inside the ring, unless you’ve turned them off to the point to where it’s good heat, then it’s go-away heat. Maybe he’s created a lot of that go-away heat with a lot of people. I don’t know. It’s hard watching this Hulk Hogan compared to the Hulk Hogan that we watched in the ‘80s. It really is. It’s a totally different person that we’re watching. You say you put on the red and yellow, you’re the same person. No, you’re not [laughs]. It’s hard to look at people, especially these days with social media, everybody has an opinion, and today’s opinion is voiced very, very loudly, and we got a chance to see it in real-time. I think that’s what that was. To see where that dude is, it’s a fall from grace, it truly is. What was the lynchpin to make it all happen and make all those fans feel that way? It could be a multitude of things, man, but I tell you what man, I wouldn’t want to be that guy. I really wouldn’t."
Booker T then said that Hogan put himself in this position where stuff like this can happen to him.
"For me, these days, if you’re just not real, people gonna try to find something on you to try to make you look a certain way. The thing with him, they don’t have to look for it. I say it all the time, you put yourself in a position, something will happen. With him, he’s put himself in a position where stuff can happen, and it’s a damn shame because I was a Hulkamaniac when I was a kid. I get it, I understand why people feel the way they do. I was one of the guys that was on the bandwagon once upon a time."
Elsewhere in the interview, Booker T praised NXT Women's Champion Giulia, calling her a natural. Check out her full comments by clicking here.
Check out Kevin Nash's comments on the Hulk Hogan situation by clicking here.
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