WWE today announced that Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil will be the hosts of this year’s WrestleMania.
The two are synonymous with the Tampa area, with Hogan living there and O’Neil’s philanthropic work among the Tampa community is well-known.
The pairing is certainly an interesting pick though.
Several years ago, Hulk Hogan was fired from WWE after tapes exposed him delivering several racial slurs and remarks. That led WWE to even remove him from the Hall of Fame, all footage, and scrubbed him from the website. He eventually apologized in person after he was brought back to the company.
O’Neil was very vocal against Hogan and then issued a statement after the company reinstated the Hulkster. O’Neil was one of the many who was part of that meeting with Hogan for the apology and after rumors came up that he refused to shake his hand, O’Neil clarified his position, saying that he did not refuse to shake his hand, but they did not have any type of one-on-one interaction whatsoever that would or did necessitate any exchange between them individually.
O’Neil also slammed Hulk for his apology, saying that he thought it was not truthful at the time, adding that he’s all up for second and third chances for those who show “true remorse, acknowledgement of wrongdoing, fulfill their punishment, if applicable, and otherwise put forth sincere efforts to correct the issues.”
Last year, Rob Gronkowski hosted WrestleMania and even won the 24/7 title. He has since returned to play in the NFL after signing a WWE deal.
