Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News - I’m Oli Davis.
It’s always rather strange to see the likes or favourites of WWE wrestlers social media
accounts.
Their posts and retweets are meant for everyone to see, their way of engaging fans outside
the weekly Raw and SmackDown shows with things like
-Nia Jax and Mike Rome riding a mobility scooter -Dana Brooke showing off her… new sunglasses
-and Randy Orton blocking me on Twitter What did I do wrong, Randy?
Just ear me out.
But their likes and favourites are sometimes more personal, more private, as they’re
not automatically sent out to their entire fanbase, and there isn’t a feed where people
can easily scroll through them.
Which is why - in the wake of Hulk Hogan’s reported return to WWE three years after racist
comments he’d made were leaked to the media - it’s rather telling to see Titus O’Neil’s
activity on Instagram soon after the news broke.
According to ‘Birdo_Is_Canon’ on Reddit’s Squared Circle thread, Titus allegedly liked
angry replies on the WWE post announcing Hogan being reinstated in the Hall of Fame
That sort of image can easily be doctored, though, and Titus’ liked replies are no
longer there - implying he’s un-favourited them since, if they were ever there at all.
But then Barnburner’s No Holds Barred podcast claimed there might be a backstage incident
to support rumours of O’Neil’s anger.
WWE held a meeting before Extreme Rules in Pittsburgh on Sunday, where they announced
Hogan was being reinstated into the Hall of Fame, for which the Hulkster was there in
person to apologise to the roster.
“[O’Neil] was at the arena and he saw Hogan and said, “what is he doing here?”
and they explained that he’s been re-instated and all that.
Hogan to his credit came and tried to shake his hand and talk to him but [Titus] just
packed his bags and left… he basically had a fit at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
He was taken away from what I heard.”
Wrestling Inc, however, claim this is false.
In their version of events, all main roster talent were told to be at Extreme Rules early
for a meeting even if they weren’t booked.
This was where WWE revealed Hogan would be reinstated in the Hall of Fame.
“After the meeting adjourned, many of the talent left while some stayed to shake Hogan's
hand.
The talent not booked for the show, like Titus, left the arena since they only came in for
the meeting anyway…
Titus was present at the meeting until the end.”
But Titus situation or not, that doesn’t mean the WWE roster is unanimous in welcoming
Hogan’s return.
Mark Henry himself, who acts as a somewhat spokesperson for the company, told TMZ:
“It’s 50-50.
I’ve talked to guys who were like ‘to hell with him’.
And I had guys who were like ‘you know what man, if he’s willing to make a change and
try to help out and go and speak up to be a part of the answer than part of the problem
it’s all good’.”
Brad Shepard claims Henry’s comments are just a PR spin on Hogan’s controversial
return, though: “50/50 is not what I’m being told privately.
A trusted source said that the roster of black #WWE Superstars are not pleased by this.”
Shepard’s No Holds Barred co-host Jon Fisher said he’d heard the split is more like “80/20”.
While Shepard doesn’t reveal any names, Kofi Kingston has tweeted a statement on behalf
of the New Day suggesting they’re amongst the disgruntled:
“How do we feel?
Indifferent.
We are not happy, or sad, angry or resentful…
We have no problem with his re-induction in the slightest degree.
On a personal level, when someone makes racist and hateful comments about any race or group
of people, especially to the degree that Hogan made about our people, we find it difficult
to simply forget, regardless of how long ago it was, or the situation in which those comments
were made.
But we also do not respond with more feelings of hate.
Instead, we just do not associate with the people who convey or have conveyed this negative
and hurtful mindset.
This instance will be no different.
Perhaps if we see him make a genuine effort to change, then maybe our opinion will change
with him.
Time will tell.”
But how did the rest of the wrestling world react?
Find out the biggest other tweets reacting to Hogan’s WWE return by clicking the link
onscreen now!
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I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.