*MERGED*(OFFICIAL)Total Nonstop Hogan thread, brotha!

[It's Damn Real!]

The idea of discussing Hulk Hogan outside that original all things Hogan thread that surfaced months back when he originally signed with TNA prior to January 4th was brought up by a user yesterday (forgive me, I don't remember who you were...), and after having suffered through that absolute clusterfuck of an episode of iMPACT! last night, now is as good a time as any IMO to bring this up...

Is it humanely possible that a man actually has a bigger ego than Vincent Kennedy McMahon? Had you asked me this any time before last night, the answer would have been a resounding no. Hell, it might have even been a "Hell No!". I never thought it possible until last night when the 57-year old (soon to be 58-year old) Hogan beat every top heel in the company not named Anderson with a single punch like he were fucking Superman, and just like the week prior, and the week before that, and the week before that, he closed the show as though he's still the biggest dog on the yard after all these years.

Rewind to 2005/2006. Had you asked me what TNA stood for then, I'd have told you Total NonStop Action!. I'd have told you the company was centered around a fantastic group of cruiserweight style wrestlers in a division called the X Division who electrify the crowd every night and absolutely steal the show, despite the fact that guys like Nash, Jarrett, Hall and more are actually on the roster as well. I'd have told you that the [predominantly] young guys in the company like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and more were priming themselves if they weren't already primed for a total takeover of the industry and that TNA held the greatest possible collection of potential to usurp the WWE after nearly a decade of their monopolistic stranglehold on what it meant to be a professional wrestling company. I'd have told you TNA is the next big thing, and after watching fantastic PPV events like Unbreakable 2005, you might have actually believed me.

Fast forward to 2010. "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan has joined TNA along with Eric Bischoff as a means to "take TNA to the next level, brother". Little did I realize that level wasn't actually a step forward, but quite a few back – specifically into the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. The "next level" was actually a former level – one when people still gave a shit about what Hulk Hogan said or did, and one where he was still relevant as a main event star (relatively speaking). Those fantastic cruiserweight style X Division wrestlers? Well, quite a number have left the company at this point for greener pastures, and the ones who aren't are likely dejected and frustratingly questioning where their role in the company they helped build has gone. Nash, Jarrett and Hall (among others) are still on the roster, but now own much larger roles than they were relegated to a few years back, and a number of fans begin to really question if it's not solely because of their friendship with Hogan, who is now the self-proclaimed VKM of TNA. The young guys primed for the takeover with loads of potential? Well, of them, AJ Styles managed to make it out alive, but Samoa Joe fell flat, and Christopher Daniels was let go.

As one of the biggest TNA marks/defendors you'll find anywhere on this forum, even I am finding it increasingly difficult to defend this Total Nonstop Hogan incarnation we're witnessing week-after-week, and it's come to the point where the finger of blame is really starting to manifest itself as ever-pointing directly at Hogan. If ever a company could epitomize what it mean to take "one step forward, two steps back", it's TNH–err A.

I don't know what the answer is, because quite frankly I don't think there really is a single thing TNA could do right now to rectify all the wrongs going on in the company, but what I do know is that the idea that Hogan is still the biggest dog on the yard is not even laughable anymore – it's painfully pathetic, and the fact that TNA can't understand that is salt in the already gaping wound.

I have no idea what's next for the company, but I'd imagine that the longer Hogan is left to run it, the longer the laundry list of complaints will compile, and the longer the list of ex-TNA fans will follow.

Your thoughts on Hogan and the current state of TNA?

 

[Suneeboy]

If I saw you getting into a fight, I’d grab the guy who you were fighting and let you get some free shots to the gut. I like your shit.

One of the things that has completely dejected me as a wrestling fan is the complete dropping of the ball by TNA after Hogan came on board. One of the problems that I’ve had with wrestling is that I just can’t watch it. I found TNA, loved it, Hogan came on board, and now I can’t watch it again. It is completely beyond me as to why Hogan believes he should have 3-4 segments per show, usually with two of those segments opening and closing the show. I don’t think he realizes that no one wants to see him, and surprisingly I think he has become delusional.

Hogan believes he is bigger than wrestling, or at least that is the vibe I get from when watching the show. I’ve given it a fair chance to succeed, but I see that as long as Hogan is running the show, it can only go further downhill. He came in and changed too much, too fast. He basically turned all the heels faces, and all the faces heels, and has created a complete clusterfuck of a program. Them moving back to Thursdays is obviously conceding to the WWE and crawling back into the Thursday cave where they came from.

Hogan is on television too much. When he came on board, I thought he would play a complete behind the scenes roll, and use his name to propel the company to the next level. However, I sadly say guys like Jim Cornette, and Mark Madden were right. Hogan is only thinking about Hogan, and the poor quality of the product speaks for itself. I never could’ve imagined this is how bad it would be. It is basically unwatchable right now. Total Non-Stop Hogan is definitely what it has become, and unless they take him off of television, TNA will be bankrupt in a year or two with the major players rolling up into the WWE.

This is very noobish to say, but right now, “TNA Sucks”. I have no other way to phrase it. Thanks Hogan.

 

[ncwriter2908]

Ok lets get one thing straight as far as Hogan taking out people with a punch it wasnt that great to see him beat down people who had just been in a big brawl. Plus this is wrestling. Lets face it big show would beat them all if it was real life. Also Hogan is in pretty good shape. He is a t.v. character I dont believe Sly Stone could beat Mr. T just because he did it in Rocky...lol

Getting over is not about who beats who..lol Its about getting the fans interested rather u win or not. Its all about fan support and if a guy does a good segment an wins or looses in a great match then guess what he is over. We all know wrestling is a fake story so why even get upset to see hogan punch guys especially when they have just been beaten up before he even came out to the ring..lol

The fact is Thursday ratings were going up because of Hogan and then they decided to jump the gun an go to mondays which was a bad move. TNA is alot better now.

 

[MB1025]

I think everyone is blowing this out of per portion. Every time Hogan has been on air he puts over TNA, talent, or both. You see him at the end of the show raising the hands of Abyss and being on screen with Jay Lethal. Then you see him trading blows with AJ Styles, Desmond Wolfe, and Beer Money. Not to mention he has been on The View and Howard Stern Show plugging TNA. I don't see an agenda here for Hogan since he put money into the company to become part share holder. He has something to lose and I don't think he is in the back finding ways to keep appearing on screen. Like it or not Hogan has more positives effect on the company then negative. If they where drawings over a 2.0 with Hogan on screen this wouldn't be an issue. IMO no matter what TNA does outside of getting John Cena, Randy Orton, or any big name like that from WWE will change anything. There is about 3 to 4 million people who still watch wrestling consistently and a littler 3 million of them only know the WWE way. That set audience has been loyal for about 5-6 years and it won't change. You could send Shaemus to the ring and take a crap for 2 hours and people would stay tuned in and then tune in next week. It is the state of wrestling right now. Having less Hogan will not change anything.

 

[flocker]

Hogan (and flair) ARE icons. TNA needs to use that. I'd like to see them on 4 or 5 segments per show - but in cutaway shots. Flair grimacing when one of "his boys" gets nailed - or inserting himself into a promo... Better yet doing the promo for someone else. Hogan congratulating a face or "backstorying" with Bischoff (love eze telling a story). Take some time away to mic work during rest holds, if he were at the announce table, or something. But 4 pretapes and walkins at 3 minutes a piece is crap.

Less is more.

Less is more.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Boy, you know things must be pretty bad when two staunch TNA defenders like It's Damn Real and Kenny Powers (another thread) are becoming frustrated and disillusioned with the current TNA product.

Admittedly, I've never been much of a fan of TNA, but when I heard that Hogan was coming, I began to watch in anticipation of what I hoped was coming, but deep down, knew it likely wasn't. A strong Knockout division featuring Velvet Sky, an obvious big plus. X-Division guys who really gave an alternative to WWE, something which TNA should be trying to capitalize on, but they aren't, they're too bogged down with fighting the "War" of the early 90's. Unfortunately they're trying the same thing again as WCW, and they'll end up with the same result.

Desmond Wolfe, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, plenty to be excited about.

Then Jan 04 came and it all came crashing down. iMPACT ranges from barely average to near unwatchable. What was once a plausible alternative to the WWE is now a poor, unsuccessful rip-off of it, a low budget copy which does not appeal to me at all.

It's become so bad that one almost has to wonder, is Hogan actually on McMahon's payroll, sent there to destroy the competition from within? Now obviously we all know that's not actually the case, but some weeks you'd almost think so. Then again, why are we surprised? With Hogan's ego and history, we should have all seen this coming.

Many people come on here and preach patience and come up with excuse after excuse as to why things are the way they are. It's hard to have patience when the product is going backwards rather than forwards or even stationary. In all seriousness, I'll be surprised if TNA lasts into 2011, and I'll be shocked if it still exists in 2012.

 

[D-Man]

To make matters even worse, has anyone else noticed that the majority of storylines are involving Hogan in some way, shape or form?

- Matt Morgan has now threatened Hogan in regards to the tag titles
- X-Division debacle has Hogan constantly involved.
- The storyline with Flair and his goons, which make up the entire main event scene in TNA.

How much more can Hogan stick his ego in all of these storylines??? It's become ridiculous. While I was able to tolerate TNA for the past few years and a month or two after Hogan entered the scene, now it has been completely saturated by him. In order for TNA to improve, this needs to stop. He's not THAT big of a deal.

 

[gbaby_steve25]

The Thursday move back is going to be great for TNA and Hogan. IMO I get the feeling Hogan is using so much air time right now to get it all started and the Monday move has ruined the up bringing. Think of the things Hogan has done that are positive... Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, Mr. anderson, Shannon Moore, repackagin Samao Joe, Sting's turn (which i think he is just getting into as it seemed to be more important to him last nite). i do think they ruined the X-division by not giving it more attention. And thats all you can say is they wasted that away. But you can not fix that now. You can even say that Hall, Nash, and Pac- (wherever he is) have been doing a great job putting younger talent over. You thought with Hogan coming in it was gonna be the NWO show all over again and it hasn't been. i think in the coming months we will start to see less and less of Hogan, he wont fully dissapear, but he will be down to only having on feud type portion of the show he is envolved with. Im actually interested in what is going to come of the Sting/Hogan portion of TNA. Any ways i dont see a huge problem yet. I mean as long as Cena doesnt hit the mid card level any time soon, wwE is going to stay stale. And with Impact back on thursdays it wont be hard to give it a huge boost in ratings again. But they have to keep the show live every other week otherwise its done for sure.

 

[Gerald Brisco]

How did they re-package Samoa Joe? He was angry violent and Samoan when he left, and when he came back, all that happened inbetween is he got a month holiday and jobbed to Orlando Jordan

I think as lot of wrestling fans are tired and we want the New wave of Stars, While WWE are giving us (force feeding) sheamus/Mcintyre/Ziggler/Swagger/Punk, TNA had this incredible rivalry, 3 ultra talented wrestlers, Daniels Joe and Styles, a triple threat which never dissapointed, you had the Golden Child AJ as the face of the company, he was TNA, quick, incredibly gifted and a Star who would never leave.

Fast forward, Top face is Hogan, Styles is back down to the pack being beaten up by Abyss and Hogan, for 6 years he's been one of the most popular stars, now he just bores me and is a Flair Stooge, Yawn.

While its always good to bring people in, is it far to bring spare parts from other company/throw them in TNA and expect it to work? Anderson and RVD are excellent gets however i see no use in Hardy, Lets face it, He was popular in WWE, So TNA grabbed him at the first sight. Shannon Moore Sucks something bad. you didnt need the "Band" yoy already have a much better "Older" tag team who could put people over, the BAND has sucessfully put over Hardy/Young/RVD (Oh well done, thats hard) and who else? 3d? they dont need to be put over, infact they should be putting other guys ovewr

I was tired of Hogan beating down everyone 10 years ago, give me something new. At least the WWE Tries, as a wrestling fan i want to see new things, i respect people who love hogan, But Why dont you grab an old tape of WCW insted of whinge saying "Yeah TNA needs hogan!",

TNA was the biggest alternative to the WWE, Im more in the opinion now that ROH is a much better company right now.

 

[AJM]

All the Hogan bashers are preaching to the choir here. Each week it gets more unbelievable with the amount of tv time he gets. Now he is punking out the entire heel roster in one show? I was preying that Sting would beat him within an inch of his life with the bat last night. But Hogan can't work with Sting or anyone else because he's old steriod infested cripple! So he brings out Jarrett to do his work for him. The man can barely stand up straight and he's out there reliving his glory years from the 80s. What a Joke! As pathetic & old as Flair looks at least he can still take bumps. The only thing Hogan hasn't injected himself into is the Knockouts division. Maybe next week he'll come out and beat up the Beautiful People. I enjoyed TNA for a while because it was an alternative to the crap we saw in the WWE. But now I just hope they go bankrupt...

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The Thursday move back is going to be great for TNA and Hogan. IMO I get the feeling Hogan is using so much air time right now to get it all started and the Monday move has ruined the up bringing.

The Thursday move is a concession of defeat accompanied by a long and embarrassing walk back to Thursdays with their tails between their legs – nothing more. It was a failure, and that's on Hogan – he is "creative" director, no? If so, all the ideas they did that were shit went by him and he approved them, hence it's his fault.

Think of the things Hogan has done that are positive... Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, Mr. anderson, Shannon Moore, repackagin Samao Joe, Sting's turn (which i think he is just getting into as it seemed to be more important to him last nite).

Yeah, RVD randomly gets the title on live television 24 hours after I paid hard-earned money for a PPV. Great booking. Jeff Hardy I'll give you. Anderson I'll give you. Shannon Moore is soon-to-be jobbing in a tag team with Jesse Neal who wouldn't have a fucking job if his friend didn't die on the U.S.S. Cole because he isn't worth the price of pigs spit. Joe's repackage is the third in his career, and is still a work in progress – I'll reserve judgement until I see how badly they fuck that one up. Sting's turn is still as pointless as it was when it occured. Even when we get an explanation, it means nothing because there's no actual message there. Apparently Sting likes TNA. That's why he's a heel.

i do think they ruined the X-division by not giving it more attention. And thats all you can say is they wasted that away. But you can not fix that now.

The X Division is in shambles. It's a shadow of it's former self. Kazarian, Williams and Jobbing Kendrick ≠ AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Jerry Lynn, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, etc.

You can even say that Hall, Nash, and Pac- (wherever he is) have been doing a great job putting younger talent over. You thought with Hogan coming in it was gonna be the NWO show all over again and it hasn't been.

Putting over young talent? They jobbed to Team 3D. How is that helping any of the young talent in the company? How does that help the MCMG not get fucking Kazarian'd week-after-week?

i think in the coming months we will start to see less and less of Hogan, he wont fully dissapear, but he will be down to only having on feud type portion of the show he is envolved with. Im actually interested in what is going to come of the Sting/Hogan portion of TNA. Any ways i dont see a huge problem yet. I mean as long as Cena doesnt hit the mid card level any time soon, wwE is going to stay stale. And with Impact back on thursdays it wont be hard to give it a huge boost in ratings again.

I think you're as naïve as the rest of the TNA marks who still think Hogan is doing anything of value here, and if you think he's going to take a back seat to anyone, ever.

But they have to keep the show live every other week otherwise its done for sure.

Then I guess it's "done for sure", because they're going back to being taped.

 

[XgringolocoX]

TNA screwed up ROYALY bringing in Hogan. He hasn't drawn a dime and is eating up serious air time with worthless bullshit.
I haven't been the biggest fan of TNA, but I decided to give them another shot when they brought Hogan in not because of Hogan, but it said to me that TNA is trying and wants to be great. My only reservation was that it would turn into Hoganville. I hate being right sometimes.
It was a mistake to allow his buddies to come in as well. Sure some are gone, but it just immediately gave the "Hogan and his cronies" feel. Not good. Surprise, surprise Hogan is not only overtaken the main event, his old crippled ass is wrestling. He was hard to watch 10 years ago, never mind now. Too much Hogan (and Flair).
This doesn't give me the "Hogan giving the rub" feel. To me all I've seen so far feels like Hogan desperately trying to be relevant again. He's doing this at the painful expense of an entire company.
No it's not the NWO (yet) but it has been the Hogan Show. Whom ever said Less is More hit it. What broke this camels back was the Hogan/Abyss vs Flair/AJ show. It open with Hogan gettin beat down, then a scene where Brooke Hogan is very badly fake crying not wanting her Dad to go out and try to wrestle again. WHAT THE FUCK IS BROOOKE HOGAN DOING ON AIR IN TNA!!!!!
This show had Hogan in like 7 segments, give or take. Define overkill? Then add in an over the hill hasbeen who isn't nearly as relevant as he once was.
Hogan needs to realize that his time in the spotlight is over. I think he can contribute to the show, but limited. No ring work. Absolutely no Brooke fucking Hogan! No power ups. No WWE HOF ring. Christ of a fucking stick no more Hogan being the main event!!!!!!
Hogan has done nothing for TNA. They're still at the same place they were before Hogan, or worse. Probably worse.
It's so damn frustrating wanting TNA to step up and properly use the amazing talents they've always had. They've added some huge talents recently as well. All these positives are clouded by piss poor creative, and by Hogan dominating air time.
Lose Hogan, lose Russo. Please turn this TNA hater into a believer.

 

[AJM]

this sums up Hogan's air time last night...

"Sting, I want to find out what makes you Tick!, Brother!"

ugh, god awful. Almost as bad is when he said Cracka-Lackin a while back.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

Great Thread.

Me and you have argued before on TNA's current state over the past month and you can honestly tell your a wrestling fan by this thread. The thing with TNA lately it's either been hit or miss... the happy medium has completely vanished since competing with WWE.

I was honestly baffled with the first hour last night. Watching Hogan walk down that ramp i was just screaming in my head please don't squash the horsemen... and than came the "superman" like punches right after right.

My thoughts on the current state:

They defiantly need to lengthen the matches on TV to try to get the wrestling over again. No doubt there wrestling was still better than Raw most of the weeks during that war.. but it needed to be significantly better in most minds.

Stop with the Hogan promos... I've never been a huge Hulk Hogan fan.. but I honestly wouldn't believe I'd be saying today that every time Hogan grabs a mic its a channel changer for me now. Cornette said earlier this year that he didn't know which side was winning the war because "he didn't know which show showcasing a 50 yr old yelling at other 50 yr olds was working better" and he's exactly right. The promos are dragging on and it just doesn't seem like there working anymore.

I was so excited for Wolfe/RVD last night. I knew RVD was going to retain but i also figured the match was going to be great... It'll be interesting to see if those two ever get the time to showcase a great match in the future. I just don't get what the point of the vote was?... Your fans vote in Wolfe and got a short match just so Hogan and Sting could headline the final segment.

I actually didn't mind the Rob Terry/Ozone Segment... I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it was but OJ actually had one of the better promos i've seen him do in his career (not the talking to a cardboard cut out promo, but after attacking Terry)

Not going to lie... i thought Luger was coming out at two different points last night.. first with possibly helping the band, and then with the Sting/Hogan confrontation.

 

[AJM]

Not going to lie... i thought Luger was coming out at two different points last night.. first with possibly helping the band, and then with the Sting/Hogan confrontation.

Luger? Have you seen what Luger looks like lately? Look it up, it's a sad story. Actually this wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be the only guy believable enough that Hogan could actually beat up. Maybe they can have a wheelchair match.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

Luger? Have you seen what Luger looks like lately? Look it up, it's a sad story. Actually this wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be the only guy believable enough that Hogan could actually beat up. Maybe they can have a wheelchair match.

Ya I've seen him recently..

I know your point but reports had him at the impact zone yesterday afternoon that's why i mentioned it..

trust me.. if i had to mention a guy to join the band.. it would not be Luger haha..

Simply because the rumors of him being backstage and the rumors of Waltman out.

 

[Super Crazy]

I have to say I agree. The entire story, and the entire roster is connected to Hogan and multiple storylines and everyone is tied to everyone. After watching last night's show, I can honestly say TNA is losing my interest. The only thing they've done right in the last couple of months is allow Joe to take time off and come back with his original gimmick.

For those who don't realize just how connected everything is in TNA right now, even feuds not involving Hogan right now are connected to him. As someone previously said, Morgan threatened Hogan last night, and the Anderson vs Pope feud is connected to Hogan also, as Pope was just feuding with AJ and AJ is with Flair who are both feuding with Hogan.

Hogan really does have a huge ego, involving himself in just about every single angle the company has going. When he came to TNA I assumed it'd be occasional appearances and running things behind the scenes. The things Hogan has done to TNA almost make me sick. It truly is Total Nonstop Hogan and it's disappointing. I had so much hope for TNA, they had so much promise a few years back and Hogan washed it all down the drain when he came in.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Are you seeing some of these originals?? They seem to have the personality of a dead moth...

Listening to some of these "originals" cut a promo is infinitely worse than the blame you're trying to throw on Hogan. I agree with you that Hogan and company aren't bringing this company in the right direction. Having Hogan in every single segment is ridiculous and one week he goes from punking Jeff Jarrett out of no where from the TNA tron - to having Jarrett in "Team Hogan" at Lockdown. It just seems like they don't have anything in order what-so-ever.

This is the problem. It has nothing to do with Hogan pretending to punch out all of the heals. That's who he is. He's "The Immortal Hulk Hogan." If he ONLY did that and that's all you saw of him...I'd be entirely fine with it. But this whole "hall of fame ring" nonsense is pretty ridiculous. I don't even think that would fly back in the early 90's when they had clowns, garbage men, tax collectors, and cocaine dealers running around the ring (which actually made it a hell of a lot more enjoyable).

These "originals" that you're talking about...have literally no personality. Same with the WWE new generation. Look at John Morrison. He could be literally the next Shawn Michaels...he has the moves, the look...but his personality could put your screaming infant child to bed. Don't get me wrong, there are a few (personalities) that have been extremely entertaining (Jay Lethal, Desmond Wolfe, can't really think of any more) but the rest are painful to watch.

On top of that...TNA then goes out and gets 2 more of the most boring personalities in the history of wrestling (Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy). Sure, Jeff Hardy can swantan bomb and Rob Van Dam can be the only person to ever hit a frog splash and hurt himself while everybody else who's ever done it is completely fine, but their mic skills and personality are absolutely embarrassing. I don't blame Hogan and the other vets for going out there in that regard.

Yes, it's TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION, I get it...but you have to have some entertainment build up of the matches. You can't just have guys bore their way into their next match filled with the same flips and somersaults over and over...eventually you're going to need more.

Look at these new guys though...they can't hold a candle to their predecessors.

Having Hogan and Flair wrestle is absolutely ridiculous and I agree that it's embarrassing and entirely unnecessary...but they should bring back the role of managers or something...because that's why managers were created in the first place...because the wrestlers back in the day had absolutely no personality...so they would hire somebody like Bobby "The Brain" with a personality to talk for them and entertain those watching.

It's the most logical way to keep Hogan and Flair OUT of the ring for long periods of time...AND help some of these snooze-fest wrestlers from putting us to bed before the show ends.

 

[Kenny Powers]

As I pointed out on the Impact review thread, TNA is really Total Nonstop Hogan. It was fine to see Hogan in a limited role backstage, but to see him get involved in every match and every segment is ridiculous. I understand he has had a lot of personal problems over the last few years, but this is TNA not Oprah. There is no need for him to be involved in everything.

I don't think TNA is as bad as WCW was at the end, but its not looking great. I will give Hogan credit for putting over RVD, Styles, Lethal, and Abyss. Even though I hate Abyss. The bad thing is they are all in his shadow. Why does everyone have to act like Hogan or Flair on the roster? Having the whole roster brawl with no rhyme or reason every week doesn't make sense either. Whoever is in charge of creative now should be replaced. Whether it's Hogan, Dixie, Russo or Bischoff.

Bubba the loser said that Dixie holds the book and won't let Hogan or Bischoff do anything. Well if that's true then she must be a Hogan mark putting him in every segment. I really don't think its true because all of this reeks of Hogan with him stealing the spotlight. It's o.k to be involved to a point, but no one needs to see a 58 year old man beat down wrestlers half his age.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Whoever is in charge of creative now should be replaced. Whether it's Hogan, Dixie, Russo or Bischoff.

It's all of those guys...plus all the other veterans with their own creative control as well.

Too many cooks spoil the pot. Remember that. WWE can get away with it because they already have an established product. Having a giant group of egos in the back (with significantly less money than they are used to) is going to make it very tough to start up a fairly new company.

 

[rmbishop]

I dont get all the tna bashing. i have found it more intertaingin than wwe. and i love watching hulk and rick flair out there. and i never really liked hardy much untill he came to tna with rob. now he is becoming one of my favorite wrestlers. and the band in my mind needs more air time. tna for life

 

[Optimist Prime]

rmbishop,

I actually agree with you to a certain extent...but you'll always have those people who try hard to be against the norm. Even back when Hogan was in WCW in the late 90's a lot of people would complain about him...because that was the thing to do. They are playing the blame game and pointing the fingers around at Hogan because it's easy. How do they know it wasn't Dixie, Russo, or anybody else pushing him out on to the walk way? They don't. But it's easy to place blame directly on Hogan so that's what they do.

I actually barely watched TNA ever before Hogan and company went over there. I will say that I am disappointed with what is going on right now over there...but I don't know enough facts to place blame on any one person. They should all take accountability for it...not just Hulk Hogan.

Hogan and the Wolfpac is actually why I came back over and started watching full time. While I find it kind of embarrassing and ridiculous at times...I still enjoy it a lot more than I like the current WWE product...especially now that Shawn Michaels is gone for good.

Until the newer generation of stars gain some personality...I'll continue to watch wrestling for the older guys for nostalgic purposes...and once they dwindle away...I will then retire as a wrestling fan. I've put in 25 years so far...I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly over the years...

While it looks bad right now...the talent is there...the resources are there...they're just not utilizing them properly. That's the problem.

 

[TokiRKO]

Well he does RUN the company now. He only answers to Dixie's father..whom I've never fucking seen on TV or knew existed. As for Hogan being on TV a lot...yeah, it's getting worse. What pisses me off more than that, Abyss. Hogan pulled a loophole on us with that. He promised he wouldn't do matches, so he made Abyss INTO Hogan. His music makes me want to throw him in a hardware store full of ex ECW and current CZW wrestlers and lock the door. I honestly think the Hogan/Flair thing is at least partially real. Flair is working FOR Hogan and you know that has to piss of naitch. As for the Matt Morgan and X Division goes, he does run the company. Who else would Matt threaten about his forced partners?

Did any one else HATE Orlando Jordan's O-Zone? Not because he's bisexual, because he was SHOVING IT DOWN OUR FUCKING THROATS! It was funny when he came from the rafters and crawled to the back, great WTF moment. And to begin with, I got pissed when people booed him as soon as he sat down last night. But after a few minutes, it was clear he wasn't just bisexual, he was TRYING to piss people off by going overboard.

Back to the thread topic lol. Hogan has become a disease. To begin with he was doing a good job, but recently his ego has kicked in and he's trying to run the show FOR hogan. WTF happened to the knockouts division?? Tarita hasn't been on TV in months and they're the two most athletic women in the business. TBP can't wrestle for shit and they have ALL the belts?? TBP are DIVAS. There was talk a week ago about Tara about to quit over not getting enough money, and a lot of people said she deserved it and wasn't just being a brat....last night proved them wrong.

But all in all, Hogan is fucking up TNA badly. Abyss, the KO division, very limited X division matches, and the ME right now is Hogan and Hogan Jr. Vs Flair and Flair Jr.

And what THE FUCK was with Jay Lethal apologising to Flair after the promo?! He should have accused Flair of being a ripoff of him and fought. The delusional Machismo was the greatest, I actually thought HE thought he was back in the 90's lol. So now Ric has his ring back because Lethal is a pussy? That's beyond stupid

The rest of TNA is great though and still MUCH better than RAW in most regards

 

[It's Damn Real!]

rmbishop,

I actually agree with you to a certain extent...but you'll always have those people who try hard to be against the norm. Even back when Hogan was in WCW in the late 90's a lot of people would complain about him...because that was the thing to do. They are playing the blame game and pointing the fingers around at Hogan because it's easy. How do they know it wasn't Dixie, Russo, or anybody else pushing him out on to the walk way? They don't. But it's easy to place blame directly on Hogan so that's what they do.

I actually barely watched TNA ever before Hogan and company went over there. I will say that I am disappointed with what is going on right now over there...but I don't know enough facts to place blame on any one person. They should all take accountability for it...not just Hulk Hogan.

Hogan and the Wolfpac is actually why I came back over and started watching full time. While I find it kind of embarrassing and ridiculous at times...I still enjoy it a lot more than I like the current WWE product...especially now that Shawn Michaels is gone for good.

Until the newer generation of stars gain some personality...I'll continue to watch wrestling for the older guys for nostalgic purposes...and once they dwindle away...I will then retire as a wrestling fan. I've put in 25 years so far...I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly over the years...

While it looks bad right now...the talent is there...the resources are there...they're just not utilizing them properly. That's the problem.

Hard against the norm? What does that even mean?

Yeah, it is easy to be hard on Hogan, because he has a penchant for being a hard-ass sycophantic egomaniacal asshole who only puts himself in the spotlight because he legitimately thinks he belongs there.

I don't care who's fault it is – Dixie, Hogan, Russo, Bischoff or Shark Boy – whoever it is needs to buy a new fucking calendar, because it's not 1999 anymore. It's 2010. Flipping from December 1999 to January 1999 does not count as year-change.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I have to agree that the arrival of Hogan as TNA's "Chairman" is having nightmarishly bad consequences for TNA. The reason I enjoyed TNA is that it was the alternative to the WWE. It did right all the things that the WWE did wrong (even if it faltered at times where the WWE was strong.) These two were different from each other and I enjoyed them both for different reasons. Nowadays...does anybody else think that the two are beginning to resemble each other? And it all started, so far as I've seen, with Hogan taking the reigns and turning it into the Hulk Hogan and Friends Show.

In my opinion, Hogan took charge of TNA because he had the money and star power to do it and because he wanted a place to get his old buddies TV time. True, he's made some obvious good moves, Jeff Hardy and RVD among them. Even so, they must take a back seat to Hogan's massive ego. I'm not sure how many will understand this analogy, but it's rather like the Game Master in a table top role-playing game crafting villains far too powerful for the players to defeat and then, once the adventuring party is nearly dead, sending in an all powerful Game Master character to defeat the villains. The Game Master might as well have just been playing with himself. And there's Hogan's leadership of TNA in a nutshell. Just playing with himself with all the others there as background.

The guys worse than Vince McMahon. At least Vinnie has the decency to lose whenever he has to face an opponent alone. Hogan doesn't even have that.

TNA's only hope is that this is all a set up for a mighty fall from the heights by Hogan, hopefully at the hands of Sting.