While much of the wrestling world have expressed their shock and grief over the recent passing of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, it doesn’t seem that everybody in WWE is pleased with WWE’s prolonged mourning practices. During Tuesday’s episode of “WWE NXT,” which saw WWE’s third 10-bell salute and memorial video package for Hogan, WWE trainee Jamar Hampton (known previously as Troy Yearwood) took to social media to criticize the romanticized, posthumous image of Hogan, to mixed fan reactions.
Hampton took to his Instagram to post a quote from Hogan’s infamously racist 2007 tirade, by which he shamed his daughter, Brooke Hogan, and her relationship with a Black man. Within the quote, Hogan confesses that he’s “racist to a degree,” and uses a racial slur. Hampton asked netizens if that is “really who we needs to be celebrating,” and implored fans to do their research. He linked a full audio recording of Hogan’s rant within the caption.
Fans offered mixed reactions. Some netizens applauded Hampton’s outspoken nature, with many mentioning the excessive nature of WWE’s Hogan tributes. Hampton’s criticism of Hogan seems to have gained him a number of fans, with some Instagram users claiming his post made them gain more respect for him. Nevertheless, others criticized Hampton’s outspoken nature, with one commenter imploring Hampton to practice forgiveness. One other commenter claimed that WWE “couldn’t creatively do anything” with other Black competitors resembling Mark Henry, and that Hampton should discover a “second job.” As of writing, Hampton has not taken down his post, nor has he offered any further remarks. WWE has yet to comment.
Hampton, a University of North Carolina alumni in accordance with his bio, is one in every of WWE’s newest signees. He’s most known for his work in EVOLVE, where he most recently took a loss to Edris Enofe, and WWE LFG.