Retired WWE legend Hulk Hogan was booed by a stadium full of wrestling fanatics on Netflix’s opening night Monday Night Raw this week.

The veteran star, 71, whose real name is Terry Bollea, made a surprise appearance during the event at the Intuitive Dome in Inglewood in Los Angeles on Monday night, but didn’t receive as warm a welcome as he obviously expected.

Flanked by his longtime on-screen manager Jimmy Hart and wearing a vest bearing the name Real American Beer – his new beer that just signed a multi-year partnership with the streaming giant – Hogan tried to salvage the situation.

“You, the fans, have been my best tag team partner because you have stuck with me through the thick and thin,” he told hecklers.

“You know, I just got a new tag team partner. I have Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer that I’ve worked with.

“And in the past I’ve had a fair number of partners across the board. I’ve had incredible partners like macho man Randy Savage. I had huge partners, like Andre the Giant.

“But the greatest partner WWE has ever had is the fact that we are making history tonight and WWE has teamed up with Netflix, the greatest tag team partner of all time.”

Hogan persisted with the heavy-handed sales pitch, declaring, “Well, let me tell you something, bro! From the first time I stepped into the ring, I have always fought for something bigger than myself.

“I’m thrilled to bring Real American Beer into the ring with WWE. Together we’ll bring that pride to America, one beer, one match at a time, bro!”

It wasn’t immediately clear why audiences took offense at a man who first entered the ring in 1977 and went on to win six World Wrestling Entertainment championships, the last in 2002 when he defeated current company boss Triple H for an equally brief one term defeated. and be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame not once, but twice.

In 2015, he was temporarily removed from the WWE Universe when a shocking video surfaced of him repeatedly using the N-word to describe his daughter’s alleged boyfriend. However, in 2018, all was forgiven and Hogan began performing for the Connecticut-based promotion once again.

However, Hogan’s increasingly vocal support for President-elect Donald Trump may be behind it, even though wrestling is not generally known for attracting a liberal audience.

The company itself is now embedded in the Trump administration, and founder Vince McMahon’s wife, Linda, is expected to take on a role in the Cabinet again. Between 2016 and 2019, Linda was Trump’s Small Business Administrator, and now she will take on the role of Secretary of Education.

Just days after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July, Hogan took the stage on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to introduce the presidential candidate.

Before taking off his shirt in typical style, the wrestler told his audience: “What happened last week when they shot my hero and tried to kill the next President of the United States was enough.

“I said, ‘Let the Trump-mania take over, bro!’ Let Trump-mania reign again. Let Trump-a-mania make America great again!’”

An extraordinary spectacle, Hogan repeated the performance at Trump’s infamous Madison Square Garden rally in October, although he found it difficult to tear his shirt on that occasion as his age had apparently finally caught up with him.