Titus O'Neil opens up about Hulk Hogan's return to WWE at Crown Jewel.
WWE's decision to bring Hogan back to WWE television was met with a mixed reaction online. Some have forgiven Hogan for the racist comments he made on tape during a 2012 conversation regarding his daughter Brooke. Others can only see Hogan as a racist and don't buy his apology.
After the tapes were leaked in 2015, WWE distanced themselves from the Hall of Famer, terminating his legends contract with the company. Three years later, Hogan showed up at Extreme Rules in July, issuing an apology to the locker room, signifying that the two parties had patched things up. On Nov. 2 at Crown Jewel, Hogan appeared on WWE television for the first time since WrestleMania 31.
Speaking to SkySports, O'Neil offered his reaction to Hogan's on-screen return.
"It's not my decision who goes where, I support whatever decision the company goes with," O'Neil said. "But at the same time we are all independent thinkers; I have no ill will towards Hulk Hogan whatsoever. "He's a part of the WWE family and as a part of the WWE family we embrace him and we'll make whatever we have to work, work. At the end of the day we're all entertainers, we're not politicians, we're not advocates for one thing or another unless we choose to be and there's not been one entertainer in the history of WWE who has been at a higher level of WWE than Hulk Hogan. Him going over to Saudi Arabia was a decision that was made solely on the basis of being entertaining and I know the princes and the fans over there ate it up. They wanted him over there before too and it was good for the fans there to see him and for him to get that rush of the crowd."
O'Neil was outspoken about his feelings towards Hogan back in July following Hogan's apology to the locker room. O'Neil believed Hogan deserved another chance and supported WWE's decision to reinstate him, but stated that Hogan's apology lacked "true contrition, remorse and a desire to change."
Hogan's next WWE television appearance has not been schedule, although he did elude to appearing at WrestleMania in a recent interview.