Hulk Hogan Returning to Raw This Monday to Honor Gene Okerlund

Monday Night Raw will be back on the USA Network this Monday night. It will be life from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, and the show is set to feature everybody’s favorite Raw Superstars, and it will also see John Cena make his return to the program. However, it sounds like WWE has just added a very special surprise guest to the lineup for this Monday. WWE has announced that none other than WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be making his official return to Raw this week. The appearance will mark Hogan’s first time stepping into a WWE ring in the United States in nearly four years. The former world champion’s return to WWE will be taking place in just a couple of days, and it will be taking place for one specific reason.

BREAKING: @HulkHogan will return to #Raw THIS MONDAY to honor the late, great @WWE Hall of Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund! https://t.co/UiOf3kY4Rl
— WWE (@WWE) January 4, 2019

WWE says that Hogan will be coming back to Raw this week to honor the late “Mean” Gene Okerlund. Hogan and Okerlund were great friends, and when the news of Gene’s passing was broken, “The Hulkster” sent out some touching messages and called him “the best partner [he] ever had.” Hogan will be appearing on Raw to say some words about Gene Okerlund who died earlier this week after suffering broken ribs as a result of a fall back in December. WWE and several people who knew Okerlund have spoken out this week about how friendly and lighthearted he was, but longtime wrestling fans will always remember some of the classic interview segments that Okerlund and Hogan had together. Hogan even inducted Gene into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

Hulk Hogan will go down as one of the most influential wrestlers to ever compete in a ring, but his reputation was tarnished back in 2015 after he was caught making racist comments on his leaked sex tape. As a result, Hogan was fired by WWE and was taken off of the Hall of Fame section on WWE’s website. The company reinstated him into the Hall of Fame last year, and he made his first appearance for WWE in years during the Crown Jewel event in November. What’s interesting about this appearance is that is marks his official WWE return in the US. It will certainly be interesting to see what reaction Hogan gets this Monday as it may help WWE decide whether or not to use him on more shows. For one week though, Hogan will be back to honor one of the most legendary announcers in wrestling history.