Hulk Hogan Returns to WWE Ring at Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia

Hulk Hogan is back -- the wrestling star has returned to the WWE ring for the first time since his n-word scandal ... and it all went down in Saudi Arabia.

Hogan stormed the ring at the 'Crown Jewel' pay-per-view event in Riyadh on Friday wearing his signature bandana and a Hulkamania shirt -- with his red and yellow boa.

Hulk -- who's hosting the event -- told the crowd, "It's good to be back!"

"It's awesome to be here back in the WWE," Hulk said ... noting how excited he was to get on a plane and fly across the world to make his return.

"So, whatcha gonna do when the power of Hulkamania and the 'Crown Jewel' run wild on you, brother?!"

The crowd went wild -- cheering Hogan on.

WWE had been looking to bring Hulk back into the fold since May -- but officials were just waiting for the right opportunity.

Unclear if the plan was to make Hulk a part of 'Crown Jewel' all along -- or if he was a last-minute Plan B after John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to participate over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Of course, Hulk got the axe from WWE in 2015 after a racist n-word rant went public. Hulk apologized and several African-American wrestlers publicly offered their support for Hogan.

Our sources have told us WWE was paying close attention to Hulk's philanthropic work -- such as his speech at the Boys & Girls Club back in May -- because they wanted to see how he was received.

Question now -- is this a one-time thing or will Hulk be a reoccurring character in future WWE storylines?

Story developing ...