On January 6, 2025, the Netflix premiere of WWE RAW brought major star power, including WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. The legendary wrestler appeared alongside longtime manager Jimmy Hart to cut a promo aimed at hyping the event and promoting his "Real American Beer" product. Despite praising the fans during the segment, Hogan was met with a surprising response, largely boos from the live audience.

The moment quickly became a viral sensation, with clips of Hogan’s segment circulating across major news platforms and wrestling forums. It sparked widespread debate about fan reactions to the wrestling icon.

WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam weighed in on the controversy during a recent episode of his podcast. Addressing the segment, he said:

“I did see video of Hulk Hogan’s part of the show on every single website and news platform that there is online. Everybody picked that up, and they still are. Why is that such big news? ‘Pro Wrestler is booed at a wrestling event.’ I understand why it’s so hot. I mean, Hogan, he’s controversial and quite possibly the most recognizable celebrity on the planet, so I get where that’s hot, but they light him up, and they let him cool down, light him up, lights himself up, he cools down. He goes through cycles always and always seems to dig himself back out mostly and then bury himself again.”

Van Dam continued by exploring why Hogan’s reaction resonated so strongly with fans:

“This one, I’m trying to figure out why is everybody so into this moment that Hulk Hogan got booed. I think maybe one factor that I suspect, but I don’t know, everybody wants to fake-ify wrestling so much. People don’t like to feel like they don’t understand something, but they want to believe that they do have an understanding of how everything works. I think that people, maybe one of the reasons that it’s such a big topic is because people are thinking, ‘This wasn’t their plan. WWE didn’t want people to boo him. Hulk didn’t want people to boo him. He was supposed to get big cheers, and the people doesn’t like him, so they booed him.’”

Van Dam suggested that Hogan’s ability to adapt to fan reactions in the past has been key to his longevity, adding:

“Roll with it, and hey, guess that? That happened. Any other promo, Hulk would have just turned with them. ‘We gotta change some things, brother.’ I don’t see how it’s that big of a deal. I’m confused by it a little bit.”