During what would have otherwise been a run-of-the-mill call in to hype WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend and help a good cause, Paul "Triple H" Levesque gave us the first sign of a thaw in his company's cool stance toward Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.

The Executive Vice-President of WWE was a guest on Portsmouth, New Hampshire's WHEB Morning Buzz show this week as part of their charity auction campaign to help the area organizations that help feed the hungry and homeless. Host Greg Kretschmar asked Trips if he thinks Hogan, fired and basically disavowed by the company since tape of him using racial slurs leaked to the public earlier this year, will return to WWE at some point.

And his answer is a subtle change of tone from what we've heard to date on the subject:

For me I hope so. It's about reinvigorating his brand and him as a human being and the confidence within the world as to who he is. But the one thing about people in general, when somebody is on top they love to see him fall and when they fall they love to see him make that comeback. They're great stories and I think that's where people are. Do I think he can be forgiven and make amends with the world and move forward? Yeah absolutely. But at the same point in time for us in that time frame you're putting up a message to the world of how you'll tolerate things and how you'll react to things. And we did what we needed to do and he'll do what he needs to do to get himself back. And its not, to me, at the end of the day for him, how he's perceived by the world, him as a human being, I'm sure is a lot more important to him than anything else. And re-establishing who he is as a human being I'm sure is of utmost important to him and I'm sure he's gonna do it and when he does we'll go from there.

It's an answer that is careful not to commit to anything, but also that can be read as "we had to cut ties when the bombshell hit, but as long as more don't fall and he keeps apologizing, he'll be back". Because this isn't just anybody saying he hopes the Hulkster ends up back with WWE. This is Vince McMahon's son-in-law, a probably heir to the throne, and someone who has brokered returns for past estranged superstars like Bruno Sammartino and Ultimate Warrior.

The question is...does Hogan's explaining away the use of offensive language on his upbringing and your divorce, or aligning yourself with gambling websites and selling expensive tickets to one-man shows constitute doing "what he needs to do to get himself back"?

We'll find out. But Hulk has to be more encouraged by this quote than Vince telling investors that WWE doesn't need him.

(H/T to 411mania.com for the transcription)