Crowd Turns on WWE Legend as Hulk Hogan Tribute Goes Off the Rails
Wrestling fans in Lewiston, Maine, witnessed an awkward and unexpected moment on August 9 when WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas tried to honor the late Hulk Hogan—but the crowd wasn’t having it.
The 71-year-old legend stepped into the ring at a Limitless Wrestling event, reportedly planning to deliver a heartfelt eulogy for his longtime peer. But according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the audience’s boos were so loud and relentless that Atlas eventually had to give up mid-tribute.
This made-for-headlines moment came just one day after Atlas spoke to the Portland Press Herald about his absence from Hogan’s funeral. Surprisingly, he admitted he was “kind of glad” he wasn’t invited, saying, “I would only have been there for the money, not for him.”
Despite the blunt admission, Atlas revealed that he and Hogan had spoken just months before the wrestling icon’s death. “He called me three months ago,” Atlas shared. “The first thing I asked was, ‘How did you get my number?’ and he told me, ‘I always keep up with you.’”
Whatever history the two men shared, the live crowd in Maine clearly wasn’t in the mood for an emotional send-off—turning what was meant to be a moment of respect into one of the most awkward in recent wrestling memory.
