The biggest news of the wrestling world, right now anyway, is that the Immortal Hulk Hogan has signed on to become a member of TNA wrestling. Hulk has spurned former employer WWE and Vince McMahon in order to help upstart promotion TNA become a bigger entity in the wrestling landscape. I wrote a column awhile ago saying this would be a very smart move for TNA to do and most disagreed, but either way it has now officially happened. The press TNA is getting for this signing alone right now has been worth the signing but what the long term effect is going to be has yet to reveal itself. There has been a lot of rumor but no one is saying anything concrete at the moment.
We also know that Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey have also signed a deal with TNA to help with the Bischoff-Hervey production company. What Bischoff will be getting from this deal is also not known at the moment. It could be TV shows that will be shown on Spike TV but again, that has also yet to be defined. We do know that Ric Flair signed a three year deal with Bischoff’s agency so perhaps Flair will either be apart of TNA as well or possibly become a star in a new TV series. Again either way that is a subject worth following closely to see where that all ends up. TNA is generating some intrigue and that is a vital key in the wrestling business. Water cooler buzz is of the utmost importance to draw in new viewers.
Hogan has stated that the deal he signed was directly with Bob Carter and that Hulk will not only have full autonomy over TNA but will also have more power within the company than even President Dixie Carter, the daughter of the owner. I would imagine that rumor will be confirmed or put to bed quickly because that will be a huge situation for the company going forward. Do I think this is true, no, but I also believe that some major deal would have to be put in place for Hogan because Hulk knows full well that this will burn his last bridge within WWE. Hulk will have a say for sure in the direction of the company but it may only be what pertains to his character and nothing more.
Hogan has said that the six sided ring will go back to a standard and traditional four sided ring. The six sided ring has not done anything to attract viewers and make it feel more like UFC. It can be said that it differentiates itself from WWE but truth be told, it has not done anything to help ratings and a four sided ring will not help nor hurt the product but it will accomplish one thing. That thing is taking TNA back to an old school feel and that is another thing that Hogan has vowed. Jim Cornette has also stated that Hogan will attempt to make TNA fell like a more traditional wrestling program like old school WWF. I like that idea a lot and I truly hope that TNA does follow this direction because it will work. Yes new fans may not like this idea but it could be very interesting to have an old school feel with young talent in ring work.
The worst thing about WWE and Cornette stated this as well and I have said it for along time, is that creative team members with zero knowledge of wrestling are writing promos for wrestlers and not allowing natural charisma to shine through. Wrestlers are forced to read scripts and that makes all wrestlers sound and act way too much alike and that is why no new main event stars have been created in WWE for the last five years. If TNA goes back to allowing talents to read bullet points but ad lib the rest with the talents own abilities then a lot more stars will be created in TNA. TNA has also not created new, big money, stars within the industry but that could all change if done correctly. Yes TNA does most of the promo idea already but Hogan can help talent with charisma since no one has more within this business.
As much as Hogan is full of himself in saying that Hulk taught Vince how to run a wrestling promotion, Hulk probably does have a lot of knowledge in how a company is to be run correctly. Hulk and Bischoff know what is right and what went terribly wrong in WCW and why it died. Hogan claims that he will be running creative and again I highly doubt that but Hulk will lend ideas for sure. Also as Cornette stated, TNA has the same creative team that killed WCW and never had any good ideas during their tenure so why would they now? It is not news that Hogan hates Vince Russo and will have issues with the terrible ideas Russo usually writes but does Hogan know how to write a wrestling program and deserve to be head writer?
I would think Hogan will have only creative control on himself and not autonomy over the entire roster. I have no idea yet what is real and what is false. We can only wait and see for ourselves what TNA becomes now with Hulk Hogan in the company. Hulk has given a list of talents that Hulk would like hired by WWE and we know the usual names will be on the list. What TNA can not do is allow Hogan to bring in old talents while young up and comers get released because of cost cutting. That killed WCW and allowed WWE to not only defeat WCW in ratings, but also put WCW out of business. I would hate to see guys like Brian Knobbs and Brutus Beefcake getting jobs while guys like Chris Sabin and AJ Styles get released. TNA does not need names, it has not worked to date, TNA needs strong storylines.
Bottom line:
Like the idea of Hogan in TNA or not it has happened. Hogan will bring viewers to the product if for nothing else then to see what Hulk does and with whom. Fans will see if Hogan is for real in his claims and what that means to the TNA product. There is enough intrigue to get wrestling fans to give TNA a chance to see what the company offers and that is what TNA should be striving for. TNA will get an opportunity to compete against a very poor WWE product now and WWE should be very worried about the TNA uprising. WWE Raw has been so bad for so long that it is ripe for the picking. TNA needs to listen to Hulk’s ideas and use what will work but not be afraid to deny what will cripple the company’s growth. Hulk will not have all the answers but Hulk will have some and if those some work, TNA will be a bigger force within the wrestling industry.
Get ready TNA fans because Hulk is ready to rule TNA, be aware WWE because that just might mean that someday soon TNA will just end up ruling you. You have just read another chapter of the Forzese Files and as always feedback is greatly appreciated.
Jim Forzese
forzeseview@yahoo.com
