Hulk Hogan - pinned by PC

"Well let me tell you something racist, brother"

While many of us can relate the belief in Santa Claus as a benchmark of mental growth: from the unquestioning belief through to the doubt, to the epiphanic moment when it suddenly becomes clear, those of us who grew up in the eighties can relate to the showbusiness world of wrestling as a similar roadmap for coming of age. From admiration and wonder of the cartoon characters on stage (aka the ring), to the realisation of the script, to the knowledge of their real life personas and - in so many tragic cases - their early deaths brought around by the demands and temptations of their career.

Nowhere is the hazy mixture of show business, sleaze and star power more evident than the fate of wrestling's most famous figure: the world of "sports entertainment" (the new name for wrestling in some circles) reacted in shock last week when one of its most legendary figures, Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea, was banished from WWE  - wrestling's biggest business - for the shocking and disgusting attitude and slurs regarding black people he made on a leaked tape he tried hard to prevent being released to the public.

The shock in question however, was not due to the incredibly ignorant, arrogant and downright nasty attitude the 'Hulkster' displayed towards a certain skin colour, but due to the severity of his expulsion from WWE.

Let me explain why, and don’t worry, no enjoyment, respect or knowledge of wrestling is necessary here. WWE owner Vince McMahon and his family are legendary in their forgiveness for any wrestler that crosses them, provided their return boosts ticket sales for live shows. Performers who have crossed a McMahon and returned to the business include Bret Hart, who knocked Vince out in hotel room and declared he'd return "when Hell freezes over" , Matt Hardy, who wrote a blog criticising WWE's wellness (i.e. drug-checking) programme and Eric Bishoff, who was once creative director of rival wrestling firm WCW, and ordered to put WWE out of business.

Those are just three examples taken from numerous personnel who have been employed or re-employed by WWE after giving the ownership serious cause to despise them. Yet even before last month, Hulk Hogan may have given the greatest cause for banishment of all.

All the sourced, biographical evidence suggests that Hogan is not a philanthropist. In his early days as a in-ring character depicting a patriotic, honest and Christian American, the man behind the persona was - so numerous sources claimed any times - known for a very opposite approach to life. Colleagues have claimed Terry enjoyed "jerry juice" and a puff of a joint each day. His behavior became more erratic and monomaniacal over over the years. While the wrestling industry is known for politics and power plays, Hulkster's attitude approached egomanica at times. When he jumped ship to rival WCW, he became part of a clique known on and off stage as manipulative and cunning, designed to avoid giving younger, hungry performers a chance to shine. Eventually their actions helped put WCW - the business that awarded them multi-million dollar contracts - out of business. The contract payments were still honored.

It was then that - from an outsider's point of view - Hogan really began to change. Perhaps realising his best days were gone, Hulk began surviving on past glories and the immense nostalgia of wrestling fans. Sadly he choose to do that by putting himself over and above everyone else in the industry. Upstart federation TNA Impact awarded him a huge contract that Terry utilised to place himself at the centre of every storyline in the show, to the expense of all others. One storyline involved a biker gang "invading" the show every week, brutally injuring (in the scripted sense) all members of the roster, striking fear across the show. After several weeks of careful build up, the excitement ended with Hogan - a year shy of sixty at the time - walking the aisle and flooring each of the bikers - carefully depicted over the last months to appear vicious, dangerous and ruthless - one by one, with a single punch each.

If you're not a wrestling fan - I know many educated people hate the whole thing - I can only offer the analogy of a soap opera with a single, pointless, repeatedly ad-libbing character - appearing in every single story arc, denying other characters the chance to develop.

But again, if you're not keen on wrestling you could see this as part of the nonsense. Outside the business however, Terry's apparent outlook on life appeared little better. He appeared in a dull, pathetic sex tape with his friend’s wife in a clip so sad that one journalist described it as: "A reminder that celebrities can have boring, bad sex, too.". When not repeatedly taking rather strange pictures of his own daughter, Hogan may have been rushing to the defence of his son, who caused death by dangerous driving.

His pathological need to be the star, his frequent memory lapses and blasé attitude on stage, his private life and family misfortunes may never have completely caught up with him were it not for the final revelation: Hogan was disgustingly bigoted towards other races. That - and only that - caused the unthinkable. Arguably the most famous wrestler of all time was utterly outcast by the very federation where his legacy was crafted. Every mention of him was removed from the WWE web including his Hall of Fame refrence, his merchandise and his roster listing - a treatment last handed out to Chris Benoit, who murdered his own family.

While the offense police and the PC masses have joined forces to bring down good people in this world such as cancer-fighting doctors, benevolent programmers and bakers, they have finally managed to take down someone who - on the face of it all - probably deserved it.