Well, just when we thought that Desmond Wolfe (pictured above with Kurt Angle) was going to be the biggest TNA acquisition of 2009, they go and blow my mind out of the water by bringing in Hulk Hogan.
I'll pause for a minute while that sinks in.
Hulk Hogan in TNA. We almost saw it back several years ago, when Hogan was in Japan and they did an angle where he got attacked by Jeff Jarrett and teased that he might come after Jarrett's NWA title…at the time, Hogan was just testing the waters and trying to get WWE's attention so he could get more money. Money was not a tenth of the concern for Hulk Hogan then that it is now, thanks to expensive divorces, various medical procedures and the typical spending spree that celebrities go on. TNA has grown a lot since the last time Hogan associated with them, and is a much more viable option for him now than they would have been back then.
You know, I could list several thousand reasons why this could blow up in TNA's face. I've always advocated that TNA push young talent and give them a chance to establish themselves as stars. Hulk Hogan is obviously not a young talent. I've always advocated that TNA needed to do something different, something fresh to get the attention of the casual wrestling. Hulk Hogan ain't different, and he hasn't been fresh in a long time. I'm not even going to get into the backstage politics Hogan has played over the years, or if he and Eric Bischoff (who, by the way, is also coming in with the Hulkster), are going to combine their forces and hold all of my TNA favorites back. Brother.
But you know what?
None of that matters.
Whether us jaded cynical Internet wrestling fans like it or not, Hulk Hogan is the biggest star in the history of professional wrestling. We tried to make Steve Austin into that in the late-90s, but we didn't quite get him there. Hulk Hogan is pro wrestling. People who don't watch WWE, who still think it's WWF, know who Hulk Hogan is. Regardless of what's happened to the Hulkster over the past few years, people still know him, and his fans still love him.
Raven. Christian Cage. Sting. Kurt Angle. Mick Foley. At one point, each of these men were hyped as the biggest free-agent acquisition in TNA history. None of these men come close to comparing in star power to Hulk Hogan. This is a huge signing for TNA, one that proves that they are on WWE's level…at least when it comes to throwing money at professional wrestlers.
...
Eric Bischoff's involvement with TNA right now seems to consist of helping produce their television product and helping them launch more television shows in different markets. Well, when he's not running wrestling companies that's what he does. Should he become more involved with the product, I can't say I'd be too offended. His major flaws were spending way too much of Ted Turner's money and becoming too friendly with the major talent…so it's not like he could possibly make things any worse on that front. People forget that while Bisch may have never pushed certain Internet-friendly wrestlers as much as they may have deserved, he was the one who got them on television when the WWF didn't have a lick of interest. For what it's worth, Bubba the Love Sponge seems to think that Hogan & Bischoff will be booking TNA. I have no idea if that's true or not, but that's what he's saying. Speaking of other rumors, I've heard from multiple sources that TNA may want to have a show on Monday nights against Raw and that's part of what Bischoff will be working on. It sounds like a horrible idea…but then again, so did WCW going against Raw. So I don't know what to believe anymore.
As far as TNA talents' opinion on the signing…Samoa Joe, for one, seems pretty happy about it. After the signing he tweeted to his followers "I'm down, let's rock." We tend to forget this sometimes, but many of our favorite young wrestlers were fans themselves.
Working in the same company with Hulk Hogan is a dream come true for most of these guys.
http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/120325
выделено жирным мною
это только начало, там больше
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