On his “Grilling JR” podcast, Jim Ross shared his review of the recent “TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan” television special, offering a blunt assessment of Vince McMahon’s on-camera appearance and agreeing with his former boss’s take on the racism controversy that plagued the latter years of Hogan’s life. Ross also provided his overall thoughts on the documentary, which he felt was more of a tribute than a hard-hitting exposé.
A Critical Eye on Vince McMahon
Ross was immediately struck by McMahon’s physical appearance in the documentary, which was his first major interview since departing from TKO and WWE. He felt McMahon looked unwell and perhaps uncomfortable being in a production he didn’t control. “I thought he looked horrible. He meaning Vince. I thought he looked tired, withdrawn and it had me concerned,” Ross stated. “Whoever did his makeup should be fired. He just looked withdrawn and so old… his eyes tell a big story… to me that he looked tired and a little frustrated.” Ross also pointed out specific details that caught his eye, “The hair thing was one, one issue that caught my eye, having his eyebrows colored, another thing that caught my eye.”
A “Fluff Piece on Steroids”
Ross described the special itself as “not an exposé,” but more of a tribute that largely focused on the positive aspects of Hogan’s career while only briefly touching on the controversies. “The only negative thing one could perceive as negative was Hogan’s sex tape that got leaked many years ago. That’s it. Everything else is hearts and flowers and apple pie and ice cream,” he said. He noted that while the racist remarks from the tape were mentioned, the special “didn’t dwell on it.” Overall, he called the program an “interesting little show. But basically a fluff piece on steroids… I thought it was going to be a lot more, lot stiffer, shall we say, than it was.”
Agreement on the Racism Controversy
Despite his criticism of the special’s overall tone, Ross did agree with Vince McMahon’s assessment that Hulk Hogan was not a racist, despite the remarks he made on the leaked tape. “I can concur. I never thought Hogan was a racist,” Ross said. “I really didn’t, but I’m not defending him in that regard, but I didn’t think he was ever a racist. And we’ve all said things in our in private or in our lifetime that we would like to recant… He may have said some racist things, just out of ignorance… but he was not, I didn’t ever think he was a racist, but that’s just my take on it.”
An Uncomfortable Interview?
Ross also speculated that McMahon may have regretted his participation in the special as it was happening, due to not having his usual level of production control over his on-camera appearance. “Maybe he just like one of those deals where you agree to do something, and then you start doing it, and then you start regretting doing it,” he theorized. “That’s how I felt.” The extended, single-camera shot used for McMahon’s interview was something Ross found particularly surprising. “I just was surprised that he allowed himself to be on camera that long and that much of that one single shot,” he added.
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