Hogan.....perhaps?

People have probably already forgot about what happen. As long as they do it slowly and here and there I think we'll get more figures and he'll be back on tv.

We'll get a Hollywood Hogan figure eventually. I feel confident in that. But as for the article saying they'd bring him back slowly, what is there to really bring back? Outside of a lack of merchandise for Hogan, his "whitewashing" from WWE has been relatively soft IMO. Hes still all over the Network, his presence really hasn't been erased in the vein of Benoit. And he gets the occasional reference here and there on some programming, albeit thats only really been within the last 4 months or so. My point is, most seemed to forget the controversy from last year already. Almost overshadowed by his win over Gawker. I'd say a return in probable.....and lets face it....Vince knows theres money to be made and ratings to be had just by parading an apologetic Hogan all over tv and the network.

That is a good call.  It seems that the two most effected areas are:

1) Merchandising (like you said) - Figure collectors are probably the most screwed people overall from this whole thing lol.

2) Hulk Hogan's Rock n' Wrestling  - This got pulled from the Network, but nothing else really.  If you search for it, the show is still there, you just can't watch it.

Of course, as many have mentioned, lots of his stuff has still been out there, including the little Lego figures, the 31 inch figures, I saw his socks, T-shirts, and knit hats at FYE the other day, etc.  His HOF 2 figure keeps showing up at Target etc.

So in a lot of ways, he has just been slowed down a lot.  Time to move on as this whole thing has been somewhat ridiculous in the first place.

I'm sick of this whole thing. Make me my Hollywood figure already.

Just because WWE may.let them back into the fold, doesn't mean that Mattel will ever associate themselves with him again.

Remember, Mattel is actually a bigger company than WWE, so they have their own PR reasons if they don't start making Hogan figs if he's ever on a Legends deal again.

Who in sweet Jesus is that in your avatar?

In the end, I hope he comes back to WWE not just so we can get more figures of him (Look at how many variants of Hollywood Hogan alone they could do) but also with WWE getting in contact with folks like Goldberg, Angle, Mysterio, etc. and how Vinny Mac is willing to forgive and forget if it means profit, again citing Warrior and Scott Hall, then I see him coming back at some point, even if it's gradual, which I feel it has. Hulk's too big a name to simply sweep under the rug.

He'll be back. He didn't really do anything wrong compared to anyone else in the world. Who doesn't do or say dumb stuff in private?

Skewed comparison.

With all due respect, this is one of those things that has been floating around the IWC for years.  Jim Ross (one of Austin's best friends) is always quick to use this line, and quite frankly, people who personally like Austin more tend to repeat it any time there is a comparison.

For example, when Hogan was on top, the primary way to acquire a Hulkamania T-shirt was by going to an arena for a live event, or mail ordering it from WWE Magazine.  During Austin's heyday, you could walk into any Walmart (as well as many other retail stores) and pick up a variety of Austin T-shirts anytime you'd like.  These Austin shirts were often cheaper (10 years later) and far more accessible to consumers than the WWE T-shirts during the 1980's.

The wrestling industry was much larger industry in the second half of the 90's in general.  WWE had a far greater international presence in the 90's.  With all due respect to Austin, he (and many others) drove down a very smooth road on his way to the top that was paved by Hulk Hogan.

There are a lot of other factors that make a significant impact other than the "bottom line" of total merchandise, especially considering the differences in the two time periods/eras.