On Tuesday night, FOX aired the highly anticipated premiere of TMZ’s The Real Hulk Hogan, but the part everyone was tuning in for was to hear from Vince McMahon for the first time since his legal issues began in January 2024.
The tribute show began with Harvey Levin and his TMZ crew inside their newsroom. One of the writers received a call that Terry Bollea, famously known as Hulk Hogan, had passed away. Levin immediately made a call to verify the information while one of the other writers created a quick news story in draft for the site. Once it was confirmed, Levin told his writer to post it, and he quickly went to his office.
Then they went through a timeline of how Hogan began, the iconic moments in wrestling throughout his career, and the impact he had on pop culture, current & retired wrestlers, as commented by celebrities and members of the media. It felt like the first half of the 45-minute-long segment was dedicated to the positive contributions Hogan made to wrestling and society as a whole.
When it was McMahon’s turn on the tribute, with a slight crack in his voice, he said, “He (Hogan) was a pioneer; there was no one like him.” McMahon would later say that it was “a shock” and a “blow to the heart” when he heard the news of the passing of Hogan. McMahon’s relationship with Hogan runs deeper than with any other wrestler. The company (WWE then WWF) and wrestling as a whole were put on the back of Hogan to take them to the next level, and he did just that. McMahon knows that without Hogan, there might not have been a WWE as you see it today. Having that type of relationship makes Hogan’s passing even harder, and you can tell McMahon is still struggling with it.
Then comes the part of the tribute where TMZ goes right into all of the negative things surrounding Hogan in the last ten or so years. The Gawker tape was brought up along with the racist comments made on that tape and during a visit to see his son, who was incarcerated at the time. Levin did not hold back, and former wrestler Mark Henry was there to comment on the situation, who also didn’t hold back on his comments. Henry mentioned a plan for Hogan to make up for his racist remarks involving visiting some HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities), but Hogan declined, saying that he was advised not to discuss the matter anymore. On the topic, McMahon would also share how disappointed he was with Hogan over his actions.
Shortly after, the tribute then went to the January Monday Night RAW episode in California, where Hogan was booed out of the building. McMahon did not appreciate, from the lens of a show producer, how Hogan was presented and announced. McMahon told Levin, “Well, it wasn’t set up properly… I was angry.” McMahon would later add, “He deserved much more.” Obviously, this was a dig at the current creative staff led by Paul “Triple H” Leveque, with whom he’s had a rocky relationship over the years.
The program ended on a high note, but what will be appreciated most about this show is the balance. Yes, Hogan had a massive impact on pop culture and the wrestling world, but Bollea had his issues, which could not be ignored—props to TMZ for not going full-blown fluff when talking about The Real Hulk Hogan.
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