WWE Reportedly Keeping Their Distance from Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan may have made his return to WWE recently at Crown Jewel, but it has become clear that the company is still keeping their distance from the WWE Hall of Famer.

Hogan's appearance at Crown Jewel was reportedly a request of the Saudi government. Given the vast amount of money the country is paying for these shows, WWE has done everything they can to accommodate their wishes. It also results in a hefty payday for the requested performers themselves; look no further than Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement to wrestle his first match in eight years.

WWE is well aware that Hogan's name is still toxic among a large percentage of their fan base due to the racist statement he was revealed to have made as part of a 2015 sex tape scandal. WWE didn't even hype up the fact that one of their all time biggest stars was appearing at Crown Jewel ahead of time, instead deciding to nix a video announcement they had planned to air on RAW the week of the event.

Bryan Alvarez discussed the situation with Hogan during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live and noted that WWE's social media department has been specifically told to not mention Hogan following Crown Jewel.

Alvarez explained, "When's the last time you saw Hulk Hogan's name on WWE.com? When's the last time you saw Hulk Hogan's name on WWE's social media. He's vanished off the face of the Earth."

"The social media department has been told 'zero Hulk Hogan.' Not saying that he's never gonna be back again. I think that they're just biding their time and he's going to do his big return again, this time on a show here in the United States. Boy, did he drop off the face of the Earth after that Crown Jewel show," Alvarez said.

Despite this recent decision, it has become clear the company has warmed up to a Hogan return on a more regular basis and the door isn't completely closed. Last spring when HBO's Andre The Giant documentary premiered, the event seemed to serve as a gateway for a line of communication to re-open.

While WWE remains cold on mentions of Hogan now, we'll have to wait and see if that doctrine continues to remain in effect as we head into WrestleMania season.

[H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcript.]