Booker T On Giving Hulk Hogan A Second Chance And Returning To WWE
During his Heated Conversations radio show, Booker T spoke about the prospect of Hulk Hogan returning to the WWE. Booker responded as long Hogan apologizes, we should move on, and give him a second chance.
"The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward," Booker said. "Everyone deserves a second chance that's just the way I am."
Booker noted his own slip-up when he used the "n-word" during a promo on national television. Thinking it would cost him his job at the time, Booker apologized and has since tried to educate others on how not to make the same mistake he once did. He then talked about how Hogan helped him and his brother, Stevie Ray, early on in their careers. Noting that Hogan was part of the reason they received a push.
"I talk about Hulk Hogan being in my corner, back in the day and a lot of the boys they may look at me and say, 'Why is Booker T talking to [Hogan]?' Back in the day, if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, I don't know if Booker T and Stevie Ray would have got the push that we got," Booker said. "Back in the day, Sister Sherri was an intricate detail to Harlem Heat, and our success, and it was all because of Hulk Hogan. Saying 'Hey man, those are the guys you need to put your money behind.'"
Booker said Hogan can only do so much to help repair his image and chuckled at the idea of him needing to do community service for his misdeeds. Although, that was something Mark Henry had previously said Hogan should work on doing by reaching out and being more involved in the community.
The WWE Hall of Famer finished with the thought that he's not going to be in the group that blacklists a fellow wrestler who has given so much to the wrestling business.
"I'm taking that 'word' and put it over to the side, and let that man take his rightful place back, which is in this business," Booker responded. "I'm not going to take that away from him. I'm not going to sit here and say 'No, he should be blackballed or black listed from the game, forevermore!' for saying something a lot of us say on a daily basis. I don't myself, but a lot of us do. Let this man who has done so much for the wrestling business truly take his rightful place back in the WWE."
You can hear Booker T's full comments in the video above.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Heated Conversations with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.