Prior to the WWE Extreme Rules PPV last Sunday, the WWE announced that wrestling icon Hulk Hogan had been reinstated into it's Hall of Fame. The WWE had cut ties with Hogan three years ago after a racially insensitive rant surfaced in which he used the N-word several times.
Hogan reportedly met with current wrestlers backstage at the event in Pittsburgh and addressed the controversy with the WWE locker room, though there are varying reports of how well it was received. According to WWE legend Mark Henry, there is a "50/50 split" among African American wrestlers.
He told TMZ Sports (H/T Cageside Seats),
“No, no 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 then part of the of the problem it’s all good’.”
WWE's The New Day, a three-man group comprised of African-American stars, Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods, released a joint statement this week regarding Hogan's reinstatement with the company. According to Kingston, the group had been bombarded with questions about where they stood on the matter.
The message reads, in part:
“How do we feel? Indifferent,” the post reads. “We are not happy or sad, angry or resentful. Who WWE puts into the HOF is totally and completely up to the company and from a career standpoint, there is no argument on whether or not Hogan should have his place.”
“We do not respond with more feelings of hate,” the statement reads. “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.”
Fellow WWE star Titus O'Neil echoed The New Day's statement, tweeting that he was in "full agreement and support of everything" that Kingston, Big E and Woods had laid out.
You can check out the full statement in Kingston's tweet embedded below.