Hulkamania IS running wild on TNA!!!!

Bubs101

Taken from F4wonline

Sources close to Hulk Hogan have informed us that he will be making a big announcement today at his press conference in Madison Square Garden scheduled to start in a few minutes.

Secretly, there were banners for both Spike TV and TNA being put up as a backdrop minutes ago in MSG.

Sources close to the situation say Hogan has inked a deal with TNA and that more will come out in his announcement. Hogan is believed to be not the only big name signed although he may be the only one announced today.

If this is true I will certainly be tuning into TNA for his debut. DDP is also returning to wrestling and with Flair and RVD signed up to the Hulkamania tour could this maybe be some form of invasion angle?

Machismo Fan

Being honest, I think this is a bad thing for TNA. They were showing such strides in recent weeks and unless Hogan is coming in to put people over (which I highly doubt) this is a step backwards. Hogan will do nothing more than Angle or Foley or Sting, an initial bump in ratings (if that) and a larger presence internationally but not very much else. The last thing TNA need is another over-the-hill wrestler to take TV time from those that actually need it. Though, they may be doing some kind of co-promotion in Australia as TNA were set to run there in February.

What the hell does this mean for Russo? Correct me if I'm mistaken but don't he and Hogan hate each other?

Bubs101

Getting Hogan or Flair is the only way TNA can ever compete. You do realise that. No matter how much he demolishes all of their new talent if Hogan doesn't draw nobody will and the company might as well fold

Machismo Fan

Bubs101 wrote: »

Getting Hogan or Flair is the only way TNA can ever compete. You do realise that. No matter how much he demolishes all of their new talent if Hogan doesn't draw nobody will and the company might as well fold

I really think you're really over-estimating Hogan and Flair's drawing ability in 2009.

Vince135792003

I love it. Let the fun and games begin.

Just on TNA and it being bad for them, they have been running on a treadmill for the last 3 years. It needs to be shaken up.

Machismo Fan

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/42534/hulk-hogan-signs-with-tna-and-guess-who-hes-bringing-with-him.html?p=1

TNA President Dixie Carter and several top flight TNA officials are at Hulk Hogan's press conference in New York City at Madison Square Garden right now.

The former WCW and WWF champion has inked a deal to join TNA with former WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff joining him in the company as well.

Obviously, this is going to be the start of major changes for the organization.

We'll have more on this breaking story shortly.

Bischoff in, Russo out?

Bubs101

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I really think you're really over-estimating Hogan and Flair's drawing ability in 2009.

Well howdo you think TNA will ever make up that gap. The only possible way they could ever do that is with a name like Hogan or Flair.

This is going to be great.

Vince135792003

A guy on the figure four board made the point that it could be just a co promotion deal with Hogan's tour and TNA and not necessarily Hogan signing full time which could be the case too.

We need to hear more but I hope he signs completely with TNA if only for Vince to go insane.

The Sparrow

Bubs101 wrote: »

Well howdo you think TNA will ever make up that gap. The only possible way they could ever do that is with a name like Hogan or Flair.

This is going to be great.

Doubt it will be great. Interesting certainly but unlikely to be great.

Machismo Fan

Bubs101 wrote: »

Well howdo you think TNA will ever make up that gap. The only possible way they could ever do that is with a name like Hogan or Flair.

This is going to be great.

I know we'll disagree on this but I am a firm believer in a proper establishment of TNA's homegrown talent in combination with well known talent who can wrestle in a way that'll get people over and who are willing to put people over. I don't think Hogan or Flair can really do all that much long term for TNA. That's just my opinion anyway.

Machismo Fan

Vince135792003 wrote: »

A guy on the figure four board made the point that it could be just a co promotion deal with Hogan's tour and TNA and not necessarily Hogan signing full time which could be the case too.

We need to hear more but I hope he signs completely with TNA if only for Vince to go insane.

Did I not just say that in post 2.:(

The Sparrow

Update from wrestlingobserver.com

Dixie Carter at the press conference in Madison Square Garden just made the announcement of Hogan signing with TNA. Spike TV people are now speaking at the press conference.

Bubs101

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I know we'll disagree on this but I am a firm believer in a proper establishment of TNA's homegrown talent in combination with well known talent who can wrestle in a way that'll get people over and who are willing to put people over. I don't think Hogan or Flair can really do all that much long term for TNA. That's just my opinion anyway.

That'll never work. You need big names in order to make big names. You can't make a big name if nobody watches your show. The sad fact is that more wrestling fans know Festus than AJ Styles, Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels.

Either way, Hogan, Flair and the Nasty Boys on TNA can only be hilarious. Imagine Nasty Boys vs. the Dudley Boys for the IWGP junior tag titles.

MuscleShark

Hogan in Russo out TNA make it happen!. Its exciting time for TNA!, Motor City Machineguns against British Invasion title match, Angle turns face, Nigel Mcguiness signs for TNA, Styles vs joe vs daniels turning point, Amazing Red TNA Champion and Main event mafia dies...

Bubs101

Hype machine is in full swing

Hulkamania to TNA crashes the Wrestling Observer front page

Vince135792003

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Did I not just say that in post 2.:(

It was the only thing you said in post 2 I completely agree with.

I love it. TNA is already a train wreck and now they are getting the ultimate politician in Hulk Hogan!

Seriously though, if I was running TNA and I had the chance of getting Hogan, even in 2009 it's worth a punt, not with standing TNA's stagnant ratings, ppv buys and house show attendance.

MuscleShark

Oh my god! Just found out from wrestlingnews.com that TNA has signed Eric Bischoff! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!

michael.etc...

Bubs101 wrote: »

Well howdo you think TNA will ever make up that gap. The only possible way they could ever do that is with a name like Hogan or Flair.

This is going to be great.

Not that I'm particularly in disagreement with you, because It would be insane to not attempt to use Hogan in order to increase your profile, and there's no doubt that he can increase TNA's profile, status, and opportunities 1000-fold. But do you really think Flair and Hogan can make up the "gap"?
You're talking about them having to add 200,000 buys, at least, per PPV, in order to make TNA's buyrates even comparable to the WWE.

I've no doubt he could well double their television audience. But would that lead to buys on a regular basis? I think the key would be how they'll use him, what the terms will be, and whether or not they'll have the balls and know-how to prevent him running the place.
This is going to be interesting.

Machismo Fan

Bubs101 wrote: »

That'll never work. You need big names in order to make big names. You can't make a big name if nobody watches your show. The sad fact is that more wrestling fans know Festus than AJ Styles, Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels.

Either way, Hogan, Flair and the Nasty Boys on TNA can only be hilarious. Imagine Nasty Boys vs. the Dudley Boys for the IWGP junior tag titles.

Which is the reason I don't have a problem with the likes of Steiner, Sting and Angle who can perform from a reasonable to world class level. The only reason TNA haven't grown is because they haven't done near a good job in establishing their own talent.

Take Joe vs. Angle for example, the Genesis '06 match drew TNA's highest PPV buy rate ever. If TNA put Angle vs. supposed bigger name Steiner in the same spot with the same build, it would not have done near as big a buy rate as it did. Joe was every bit as important to that buyrate as Angle was but unfortunately Joe was jobbing to Tomko three months later.

Bubs101

michael.etc... wrote: »

Not that I'm particularly in disagreement with you, because It would be insane to not attempt to use Hogan in order to increase your profile, and there's no doubt that he can increase TNA's profile, status, and opportunities 1000-fold. But do you really think Flair and Hogan can make up the "gap"?
You're talking about them having to add 200,000 buys, at least, per PPV, in order to make TNA's buyrates even comparable to the WWE.

I've no doubt he could well double their television audience. But would that lead to buys on a regular basis? I think the key would be how they'll use him, what the terms will be, and whether or not they'll have the balls and know-how to prevent him running the place.
This is going to be interesting.

Obviously I don't think he'll make up the gap now but he's the only chance they'll ever have to make up the gap eventually. If you put say the MCMG over strong during the period you have Hulk or put Matt Morgan in a short tag team with him then you actually have a chance to make a star. Like they've been pushing Morgan like crazy recently and nobdy cares but the die hard TNA fans like Machismo who can defend everything the company does. Fact is Hogan is great, Flair is great, Russo is **** and he's gone and Bischoff is great (Well I think so anyway)

Bubs101

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Which is the reason I don't have a problem with the likes of Steiner, Sting and Angle who can perform from a reasonable to world class level. The only reason TNA haven't grown is because they haven't done near a good job in establishing their own talent.

Take Joe vs. Angle for example, the Genesis '06 match drew TNA's highest PPV buy rate ever. If TNA put Angle vs. supposed bigger name Steiner in the same spot with the same build, it would not have done near as big a buy rate as it did. Joe was every bit as important to that buyrate as Angle was but unfortunately Joe was jobbing to Tomko three months later.

I Love the way TNA's best PPV did worse than December to Dismember and you still think the Hulkster is a bad thing.

Also it was the story that got over, not Joe being a massive star. I was watching around that time and that story was great

Vince135792003

Machismo Fan wrote: »

Joe was every bit as important to that buyrate as Angle was.

TNA won't be needing him anymore. There's a young buck called Brutus Beefcake who might win the Legends title on the next set of tapings. He cuts people's hair. It was money when I was 6 years old!

For the third time, I love the insanity of all of this and again to be serious, credit to Dixie Carter for rolling the dice if this is a big as it seems.

Podge2k7

From TNA's YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGQ6VCKSEqA

Bubs101

YES

Machismo Fan

I'm going to use TNA's homepage as an example, gone are the banners for Nigel vs. Angle this week on iMPACT!, for Styles vs. Daniels vs. Joe for Turning Point and up is nothing but hype for Hogan.

“Hulkamania” is back! The biggest name in professional wrestling history, Hulk Hogan, is joining Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA), the fastest rising wrestling organization in the world and home to one of cable television’s highest rated shows for young men, TNA iMPACT! The announcement was made today by TNA Wrestling in conjunction with Spike TV at a press conference held in New York City.

“Hulk Hogan is one of the world’s top pop culture icons and the biggest superstar in the history of professional wrestling. We are truly excited to welcome him into the TNA family,” said Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling. “Our goal is to become the world’s biggest professional wrestling company. Hulk defines professional wrestling and we look forward to partnering with him in a variety of ways as we continue to grow TNA globally.”

“I’m thrilled to be jumping back into the world of professional wrestling,” said Hogan. “My fans have been asking me to return to the business for many years on a full time basis, but the timing or the opportunity has never been right until now. TNA Wrestling is a great company with an already excellent fan base, business and broadcast partner. I firmly believe now is the time for some change at TNA as they are positioned to jump to the next level in their development and I’m here to work with Dixie to help make that a reality.”

Through Hogan’s partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television, the deal with TNA was negotiated by longtime Hogan colleague Eric Bischoff. Additionally, BHE TV has inked a first-look deal with TNA and will be working with the organization to develop new programming extensions of the TNA brand.

“Hulk Hogan adds yet another level of star power that positions TNA iMPACT as Spike TV’s version of ‘Must-See TV’ on Thursday nights,” said Kevin Kay, president of Spike.

This will do absolutely nothing but bump interest in TNA in the same way that Angle did for a short period of time.

Bubs101 wrote: »

Like they've been pushing Morgan like crazy recently and nobdy cares but the die hard TNA fans like Machismo who can defend everything the company does. Fact is Hogan is great, Flair is great, Russo is **** and he's gone and Bischoff is great (Well I think so anyway)

For the record, I don't actually like Morgan and surely if I defend everything the company does I'd be over the moon now. People didn't want to just see Angle in TNA, then surely his first match with Abyss should have sent rating through the roof. People wanted to see TNA's undefeated destroyer go against one of the best in the world. It wasn't just the news story that sold that PPV.

michael.etc...

Bubs101 wrote: »

Obviously I don't think he'll make up the gap now but he's the only chance they'll ever have to make up the gap eventually. If you put say the MCMG over strong during the period you have Hulk or put Matt Morgan in a short tag team with him then you actually have a chance to make a star. Like they've been pushing Morgan like crazy recently and nobdy cares but the die hard TNA fans like Machismo who can defend everything the company does. Fact is Hogan is great, Flair is great, Russo is **** and he's gone and Bischoff is great (Well I think so anyway)

I agree with you on all of that except "bischoff is great".. lol. Though he is a ****ing great performer.

Which is the reason I don't have a problem with the likes of Steiner, Sting and Angle who can perform from a reasonable to world class level. The only reason TNA haven't grown is because they haven't done near a good job in establishing their own talent.

Take Joe vs. Angle for example, the Genesis '06 match drew TNA's highest PPV buy rate ever. If TNA put Angle vs. supposed bigger name Steiner in the same spot with the same build, it would not have done near as big a buy rate as it did. Joe was every bit as important to that buyrate as Angle was but unfortunately Joe was jobbing to Tomko three months later.

Machismo,in theory you're right- but in practice, i can't agree. Hogan is a bigger draw than all of those guys put together, and the entire TNA roster. What you have to also consider is that the WWE has seen it's audience shrivel slightly, in a market where a huge percentage of TNA's target audience have converted to UFC, and not came back to wrestling. If they ever want to compete beyond the hardcore fanbase, they need something to boost them somewhere into the same ballpark, what you're talking about is retaining viewers who are already there.

Sure, Joe/Angle drew their biggest buyrate- but it's still marginal- we're still talking about a handful of casuals, and the majority of their audience being a the fan-base that watch regardless. They've also only drawn on two shows that stand out- both of which featured Angle/joe (Genesis and Lockdown), and the figures are comparable to what WCW did when they went belly up.
And there's no way Joe's involvement in that first match was as important as it being Angle's first ever TNA PPV. With the build-up to Lockdown, it proved they could add a few thousand when they placed a compelling prospect against an established guy, with good build, but that hardly made a difference long-term.

Vince135792003

Machismo Fan wrote: »

This will do absolutely nothing but bump interest in TNA in the same way that Angle did for a short period of time.
.

TNA are going to hit the big time. 1.4 tv rating!

To be serious again, without knowing the deal and with Hogan the age that he is, it's very hard to predict how much of a bump he will give TNA. However, my gut/hope would be that it would be alot more significant than Angles.

Plus he'll be getting alot of attention with his book coming out and him doing alot of interviews. They will be getting Hogan at a time when he's visible to the larger general public.

chopperbyrne

When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside...

Machismo Fan

michael.etc... wrote: »

Sure, Joe/Angle drew their biggest buyrate- but it's still marginal- we're still talking about a handful of casual, and the majority of their audience being a the fan-base that watch regardless. And there's no way Joe's involvement in that first match was as important as it being Angle's first ever TNA PPV.

So you're saying Angle would have drawn that buyrate by himself? Even though his first match on free TV only bumped TNA's rating by .1 and it wasn't even a throwaway match. If you ask me, Angle vs. anybody else would have only drawn around 40,000. It was the fact that his first match was against Joe that drew so much. Hogan was a major draw, he isn't anymore. He can't perform to a reasonable standard so anybody that tunes in will only see an old, practically immobile man.

waltersobchak

i guess this is TNAs last holy grail, because Angle, Foley, Sting etc etc etc havent really bumped the ratings to really compete with WWE..and beyond his debut Hogan wont either...

Vince135792003

Machismo Fan wrote: »

So you're saying Angle would have drawn that buyrate by himself? Even though his first match on free TV only bumped TNA's rating by .1 and it wasn't even a throwaway match. If you ask me, Angle vs. anybody else would have only drawn around 40,000. It was the fact that his first match was against Joe that drew so much. Hogan was a major draw, he isn't anymore. He can't perform to a reasonable standard so anybody that tunes in will only see an old, practically immobile man.

Relatively it was a big ppv buy rate for TNA. The fact that it's seen as such a big ppv buy rate for them shows how small the company is and how it hasn't really grown steadily over the last 3 years.

If TNA promoted it right, I reckon Hogan/Angle, Hogan/Sting and Hogan/Foley would double, maybe even treble their highest ppv rating.

Machismo Fan

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/42540/eric-bischoffs-role-in-tna.html?p=1

Eric Bischoff will be partnering with TNA via Bischoff-Hervey Enterprises, according to a TNA source.

Bischoff was instrumental in Hulk Hogan signing with TNA and will be working with TNA going forward in creating new TNA television product and in securing television deals for those entities.

TNA has been looking at expanding their television product as their newest SpikeTV deal allows them to shop new series outside of Spike, should Spike pass on them. In the past, TNA has looked at launching series for the Knockouts, The X-Division and the Jeremy Borash-hosted Spin Cycle.

I am told that while we may see Eric Bischoff at some point appearing on TNA programming, he's more going to be partnering with TNA behind the scenes, as opposed to working day to day creatively.

I honestly can't see Hogan co-existing with Russo.

Have to agree with bubs.

The only way TNA are ever going to get to the next level is by signing someone of Hogans calibre.

People talk about foley, sting etc not making a big difference but Hogan along with the rock and austin is the biggest name in wrestling history.

Machismo Fan

Vince135792003 wrote: »

Relatively it was a big ppv buy rate for TNA.

If TNA promoted it right, I reckon Hogan/Angle, Hogan/Sting and Hogan/Foley would double, maybe even treble their highest ppv rating.

But it none-the-less doubled their average buyrate, tripled in some cases. I think people are grossly over-estimating Hogan's drawing power in 2009.

Vince135792003

Wrestling observer reports that aside from Bischoff and Hogan, more signings are on the way. Yay!!! Place your bets now. DDP would be a safe guess.

michael.etc...

Machismo Fan wrote: »

So you're saying Angle would have drawn that buyrate by himself? Even though his first match on free TV only bumped TNA's rating by .1 and it wasn't even a throwaway match. If you ask me, Angle vs. anybody else would have only drawn around 40,000. It was the fact that his first match was against Joe that drew so much. Hogan was a major draw, he isn't anymore. He can't perform to a reasonable standard so anybody that tunes in will only see an old, practically immobile man.

No- But equally I'm saying that while the fact that Joe was an interesting character, who fans bought into and wanted to see booked in a worthy PPV environment, TNA needed a star of Angle's calibre in order to raise the interest level to what it was and that was the major draw.

The point is, that regardless of what Hogan's condition is, people will tune in. If they do, then it's up to tna to provide something that grabs them to keep their interest. They'll have a much better chance of retaining a fraction of those numbers through Hogan, than through Angle, or any of those other guys they've used in the past.

DM_7

Strange timing. Promote new stars and then hire Hogan.

I'm not sure how this will play out, initially casual viewers will tune in. But what can Hulk do to actually draw them in again and again. Will they not end up laughing at the company and taking it less serious because they brought in the old man?

Bubs101

Machismo Fan wrote: »

So you're saying Angle would have drawn that buyrate by himself? Even though his first match on free TV only bumped TNA's rating by .1 and it wasn't even a throwaway match. If you ask me, Angle vs. anybody else would have only drawn around 40,000. It was the fact that his first match was against Joe that drew so much. Hogan was a major draw, he isn't anymore. He can't perform to a reasonable standard so anybody that tunes in will only see an old, practically immobile man.

You're completely missing the point. That was TNA's best PPV. It drew less than half of WWE's worst.

Hogan is the second most popular wrestler in the world after I'd say the Rock and his stock has never dropped unlike say Austin's who's never been as big of a deal since he left. Hulkamania is still a big deal and will always be a big deal. Hulkamania equals ratings. Nobody cares less about Angle vs. Wolfe apart from Rohbots. It's another good indie wrestler vs. Angle feud. That's all TNA has. Indie wrestlers, washed up names and Angle (who arguably is washed up). Hogan while he may be immobile is a bigger name than anyone WWE has right now and is certainly not washed up.

To put it in perspective. i think TNA is crap.I'm bored with WWE and haven't watched a full show of any brand in a long time .I will certainly watch Thursday's impact. I'm not the only one. I'd say everyone on this forum will watch the clips and a bunch of others on the site will watch them or at least know the name TNA in a few days.

Machismo Fan

michael.etc... wrote: »

The point is, that regardless of what Hogan's condition is, people will tune in. If they do, then it's up to tna to provide something that grabs them to keep their interest. They'll have a much better chance of retaining a fraction of those numbers through Hogan, than through Angle, or any of those other guys they've used in the past.

I don't agree here. I think Kurt Angle was a lot more relevant to wrestling fans in 2006 than Hogan is in 2009 which is why I don't think Hogan will make to large a difference, I could well be wrong, it remains to be seen but that's just my opinion.

It's interesting, TNA's always seems to make major signings in September/October - Christian and Sting in 2005, Angle in 2006, Booker in 2007, Foley in 2008 and now Hogan in 2009.

michael.etc...

DM-ICE wrote: »

Strange timing. Promote new stars and then hire Hogan.

I'm not sure how this will play out, initially casual viewers will tune in. But what can Hulk do to actually draw them in again and again.

That's the key. He probably can't aside from novelty value and first time matches. But they'll have to provide other characters and angles that do grab the casual viewers and keep their attention beyond that nostalgia wearing off. They have the roster for it- but have done an abysmal job of capitalising on that in the past. But Hogan provides them with the biggest audience from which to potentially do so.

Vince135792003

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I think people are grossly over-estimating Hogan's drawing power in 2009.

You weren't born into the Hulkamania period of wrestling were you? If Hogan main evented the O2 and not Angle, I think TNA would have sold more than 1,700 tickets.

Look, who the hell knows how it will play out but I think TNA are right to roll the dice.

It's not like they are the UFC doing million dollar gates every month and Dana White decides to bring in Tank Abbot as his next main eventer. That would be lunacy.


TNA are at a very low level and they haven't been going anywhere fast in the last 3 years. They have signed Hogan. Let's see what happens.

Jolt2007

To be honest I'm probably more interested in the effect Bischoff has on things. Oh to be a fly on the wall when Vince hears the news...

michael.etc...

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I don't agree here. I think Kurt Angle was a lot more relevant to wrestling fans in 2006 than Hogan is in 2009 which is why I don't think Hogan will make to large a difference, I could well be wrong, it remains to be seen but that's just my opinion.

He was more relevant to hadcore wrestling fans, but not to Casual viewers, as evidenced by the jump in buys being significant enough to take notice, but not enough to spark a trend, and in the lacklustre bump to tv ratings that you mentioned.

I'm just concerned that they'll have no control over this guy.

Machismo Fan

Bubs101 wrote: »

You're completely missing the point. That was TNA's best PPV. It drew less than half of WWE's worst.

Hogan is the second most popular wrestler in the world after I'd say the Rock and his stock has never dropped unlike say Austin's who's never been as big of a deal since he left. Hulkamania is still a big deal and will always be a big deal. Hulkamania equals ratings. Nobody cares less about Angle vs. Wolfe apart from Rohbots. It's another good indie wrestler vs. Angle feud. That's all TNA has. Indie wrestlers, washed up names and Angle (who arguably is washed up). Hogan while he may be immobile is a bigger name than anyone WWE has right now and is certainly not washed up.

To put it in perspective. i think TNA is crap.I'm bored with WWE and haven't watched a full show of any brand in a long time .I will certainly watch Thursday's impact. I'm not the only one. I'd say everyone on this forum will watch the clips and a bunch of others on the site will watch them or at least know the name TNA in a few days.

This weeks iMPACT! is already taped so there'll be nothing more than an announcement. We'll have to agree to disagree here because I don't think Hogan is a factor in wrestling anymore. For me, he's a hell of a lot more washed up than Angle and within two months all his hype in TNA will have died down and he'll be doing nothing but wasting TNA's money and TV time in the same way Booker did.

TNA should be investing in the long term not hire another 'big name' that will ultimately be a waste of money because Hogan will most likely put nobody over. Do you really think that Hogan would have launched TNA to another level in 2003 when he was supposed to come in to face Jarrett? I don't think so and I don't think any differently now.

Dean820

Getting rid of Russo is actually bigger good news than Hogan coming in for TNA imo.

DM_7

michael.etc... wrote: »

That's the key. He probably can't aside from novelty value and first time matches. But they'll have to provide other characters and angles that do grab the casual viewers and keep their attention beyond that nostalgia wearing off. They have the roster for it- but have done an abysmal job of capitalising on that in the past. But Hogan provides them with the biggest audience from which to potentially do so.

Good point.

Would the people who tune in for the sake of Hogan actually care enough about wrestling to be impressed with Styles or Joe?

Machismo Fan

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/42535/more-on-hogan-and-bischoff-signing-with-tna-and-what-this-means-for-tna-creative.html?p=1

For those who have asked whether Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff coming into the company means they are going to take the reigns of TNA, I am told, "absolutely not."

I am also told, and this one shocks me personally, that the signing is not a precursor to removing the current TNA creative team. Given Vince Russo's past issues with Hogan, that is going to be extremely interesting to follow.

There are SpikeTV and TNA banners up at the Hogan press conference outside Madison Square Garden right now. Jimmy Hart is with Hogan and Bischoff as well. The signing was kept a secret to even the inner-most members of the TNA circle until today.

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/42536/hulk-hogantna-press-conference-highlights-hogan-comments-on-vince-russo.html?p=1

The Hulk Hogan-TNA press conference today featured Eric Bischoff introducing Hulk Hogan. Hogan talked about TNA and stated he was becoming a "partner" in the company and that he was feeling great and looking forward to being a part of the company. The conference left the impression Hogan may be involved as a personality, but not wrestling for the group.

TNA President Dixie Carter gave a short speech saying she was looking forward to working with Hogan and that while they have great ratings for a Thursday night, Hogan would be the "boost that TNA needed." SpikeTV's Kevin Kay was also in attendance and gave a brief statement about the network
working with Hogan.

The Q&A session was said to mostly be fluff fan type questions, although one fan did ask Hogan whether working with Vince Russo would be an issue. Hogan responded that as long as Russo stayed in his place and didn't cross him, there would be no issues. Hogan then said that if he did, Hogan would have to take care of it.

When the topic of Eric Bischoff came up, Hogan did not say Bischoff was working with him in TNA but noted they have other side projects they are working on.

Obviously, Hogan's book being plugged was a big part of the conference as well.

CNN's Larry King Live had a camera crew there shooting footage for tonight's Hogan appearance.

JP Liz

This is huge for TNA

Bubs101

Machismo Fan wrote: »

TNA should be investing in the long term not hire another 'big name' that will ultimately be a waste of money because Hogan will most likely put nobody over. Do you really think that Hogan would have launched TNA to another level in 2003 when he was supposed to come in to face Jarrett? I don't think so and I don't think any differently now.

TNA didn't even have Spike or Panda energy then. He probably would have bankrupted the company then. It's been proven now that Panda will just cover all of their losses so as has been said you might as well make a play for the top as opposed to being content with PPV's that often do worse than 20,000 buys and never reaching the top. Sometimes you just have to take a gamble and roll the hard six.

Vince135792003

Bubs101 wrote: »

Sometimes you just have to take a gamble and roll the hard six.

Exactly.

Rjd2

Bubs101 wrote: »

Hulkamania is still a big deal and will always be a big deal. Hulkamania equals ratings.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but did ratings not bomb when he was champ on Smackdown a few years ago?