Hulk Hogan was instrumental to the success of WrestleMania, but he'll be one notable legend missing among the who's who of icons this Sunday at WrestleMania 32.
With the WWE in Dallas for the "Show of Shows," which is emanating live from the home of the Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, Hogan is not expected to take part in the festivities.
"The Hulkster" has been kept on the backburner from the WWE ever since his racism scandal broke as recordings of him using racial slurs nearly a decade ago were released.
Hogan wasn't aware he was being recorded at the time and has apologized profusely for his misdeeds. Still, the WWE is a very PG oriented and politically correct company these days, so it has kept its distance from the wrestling legend.
The WWE Hall of Famer took to Twitter to comment on how strange it is to not be taking part in any WrestleMania festivities this year:
Thinking about it,it really seems weird not being at @WWE Wrestlemania,really weird,but I will be there in ... https://t.co/Krtu4r3vzo
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) April 1, 2016
Hogan's comments were of course terrible, but many people have jumped to his defense. Black athletes have also supported him, with Dennis Rodman saying the WWE Hall of Famer is "most certainly not a racist," and former WWE Superstar Kamala also defending him.
Hogan helped create WrestleMania into a global phenomenon by teaming with Vince McMahon for the first nine events. He then returned to WrestleMania after a nine-year absence in 2002 for a legendary encounter with The Rock.
Since then, he's made sporadic appearances at the marquee event, including in 2014 when he shared a ring with The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a very memorable opening segment.
During that in-ring promo, the former nWo member kept confusing the New Orleans Superdome for the Silverdome in Pontiac Michigan, where he slammed Andre the Giant in one of the most iconic moments in history at WrestleMania III.
Hogan, who recently scored a healthy sum in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker, will be sidelined for this year's event.
Hulkamania will not be running wild on WrestleMania 32.
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