Hulk Hogan fired by WWE amid rumors of racism scandal

Early Friday morning, reports began to swirl of the WWE parting company with Hulk Hogan as preemptive damage control. Hogan’s profile has been removed from WWE.com, along with the large amount of Hogan merchandise on the company’s online store. Hogan had been active on television as the central judge on Tough Enough, as well as working as an ambassador for the company.

WWE confirmed that Hogan’s contract was terminated in a statement on Friday morning:

WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.

Hogan also sent out a cryptic tweet late on Thursday night:

Less than an hour later, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that the WWE.com staff had been told to pull down “all references” to Hogan. The Observer later reported that all of Hogan’s merchandise had been removed, that he had been taken off of Tough Enough and that Curtis Axel, who is currently working a Hulk Hogan impersonator gimmick -- complete with “Axelmania” shirts -- has been told that this gimmick has been scrapped immediately.

A WWE.com search for “Hulk Hogan” will still pull up some photos, stories and video clips, but he has indeed been removed from the alumni page, Superstars roster and even the Hall of Fame list.

The reason for the split appears to be racist remarks made in his unauthorized sex tape, which currently has him embroiled in a lawsuit against Gawker. Hogan has now apologized for those remarks.