Last Sunday, hours before the Extreme Rules event was set to take place in Pittsburgh, WWE dropped a bombshell on everyone. Hulk Hogan was being reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame, lifting a three-year "suspension" he was serving after racist remarks he had made were leaked to the public. In the wake of the reinstatement, four of the most prominent African-American stars in the company have addressed the matter, and that's where we begin our look at some of the biggest headlines for Wednesday, July 18. 

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New Day, Titus O'Neil address Hulk Hogan saga

On Wednesday, Kofi Kingston took to Twitter to release quite the powerful message on behalf of the New Day. As you'd expect, the group has been getting bombarded by calls for their take on the matter, and now they have given just that. Quite possibly the most striking part of the statement was when it was revealed that the three will not associate with Hogan until they see a "genuine effort to change." 

Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E are not just three of the more prominent black superstars in WWE, but they're three of the most popular superstars in the entire company. So, no matter the circumstances, their public words carry more weight than most. 

In addition to the New Day's statement on Wednesday, one of WWE's most respected ambassadors, Titus O'Neil, also let his thoughts be known. O'Neil took a brief moment to shoot down the rumors that he had refused to attend the meeting in Pittsburgh where Hogan apologized to the locker room prior to Extreme Rules. From that point, O'Neil moved on to, much like New Day, question the sincerity of the initial apology that was offered.  

Hogan being reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame was a baby step in the direction of eventually returning to the company on a more regular basis, but the former WWE champion clearly has a lot more work to do in regards to earning the respect back from everyone. These public statements from the New Day and O'Neil provide all the proof you need of that. 

More WWE news, rumors

  • You know what pro wrestling needs? Jose Canseco. It's likely not many wrestling fans have expressed that sentiment, but it's happening anyway. Independent promotion World Class Revolution Pro Wrestling announced on Monday that they had come to terms on a deal with the controversial former MLB superstar. No debut date was announced for Canseco in the announcement, but it'll certainly be interesting to watch this process play out as the former Oakland A's slugger takes this next step in his career. 
  • We're learning more about why exactly Kane was forced to pull out of the tag team championship match at Extreme Rules in which he was supposed to team with Daniel Bryan to challenge The Bludgeon Brothers. According to PW Insider, Kane suffered an Achilles tendon injury last Tuesday during the go-home SmackDown Live. The report also notes that Kane is not expected back in the near future as he gears up for the final push in his Knox County, Tennessee mayoral campaign.