Jimmy Hart says Hulk Hogan fully understood the risk of receiving a negative reaction during his controversial appearance on WWE Raw’s Netflix debut in January 2025.
Speaking with Cody Rhodes on What Do You Wanna Talk About?, Jimmy Hart revealed he repeatedly warned Hulk Hogan that appearing in California after publicly supporting Donald Trump could lead to backlash from the live crowd.
Hulk Hogan’s appearance took place on January 6, 2025 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and doubled as a promotional segment for his Real American Beer brand. However, the WWE Hall of Famer was loudly booed throughout the segment, with many fans linking the reaction to Hogan’s outspoken political views. Hart admitted he became increasingly uncomfortable about the situation throughout the day.
“I said, ‘You know where we’re going? We’re going to California,’” Hart recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t like this.’”
According to Hart, Hogan repeatedly dismissed his concerns before the pair even arrived at the arena. After fans outside reportedly confronted Hogan over his political support, Hart again warned him that the crowd reaction could become a problem.
“Hulk, I don’t feel good about this,” Hart said he told Hogan, to which Hogan apparently replied “‘Jimmy, don’t worry about it.’”
Despite the warnings, Hart said Hogan chose to move forward with the segment anyway. Following the appearance, Hart recalled Hogan privately acknowledging that he knew the crowd reaction could turn against him.
“And he goes, ‘Jimmy, look, sometimes you got to do what you got to do.’ And he said ‘I’ve made my bed and I’ve got to lie in it. That’s who I wanted to vote for. That’s what I wanted to do.’ He said ‘I knew in my heart going in there might be a catchy thing.’ But he knew it, you know.”
The segment ultimately became one of the most talked-about moments from WWE’s Netflix launch episode due to the sustained negative crowd reaction.
Hulk Hogan Died In July 2025 At 71
Hulk Hogan died in July 2025 at the age of 71. The WWE Hall of Famer’s Raw Netflix debut appearance ultimately became his final appearance on WWE television. Hart and Hogan had remained close friends for decades, dating back to Hogan’s WWE return in the early 1990s, with Hart later continuing alongside Hogan throughout his WCW run and Hollywood Hogan era.
