Six Months Into The Hogan/Bischoff Era - The State of TNA Wrestling

[Jack-Hammer]

This coming Friday will mark 6 months to the day that Hulk Hogan debuted in TNA and I'm curious to know what everyone thinks. Has the Hogan/Bischoff Era been a boon to TNA or has it not? I know that 6 months isn't a long time in the grand scale of things, so I'm only asking what you think of TNA thus far since Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came to town.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

I voted "so-so."

I think it's better than it was before Hogan and Bischoff got there. And I think it's better than what Raw is putting out right now. But it's still not particularly exciting or entertaining when compared to 80's or 90's wrestling.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

I think Hogan and Easy E are doing an okay job with TNA, I have to admit at least they are trying. I did some good things like the tournment they had at Against all Odds and have pope go extremely over. Bringing in Hardy and Van Dam. Started a top 10 contenders for the World title though some of there choices were kinda bad. Having Hall and Pac finally sober up and get there shit together was a good thing for those guys and for TNA. With that being said I truly think what they are doing with the Abyss gimmick is just stupid I mean when Hogan said he wanted to bring the monster back out in Abyss I thought i was going to see the madman start bringing terror back in TNA, like bringing back the bag full of thumbtacks and shit like that. Having the Nasty Boyz in TNA was a really bad choice, hell every time they were on t.v. I was ready to change the channel. Having Hogan and Ric Flair bleed on like every impact for like 6 weeks in a row was just a bad decison, I mean those guys are pushing 60 and it was bad t.v. I mean I like blood, hardcore and volience as much as an ECW fan would but that was just too much even for me.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I voted good..the reason is because i don't think a lot has changed...yes they have new stars, but i still enjoy watching it...before the hogan/bischoff era, i used to watch tna and get a lot of great wrestlers..and now since the takeover..i still get entertained...we have got a new main event scene and i think it's good...the only thing that they shouldn't have done was the switch to mondays, but at least they tried it...

 

[HT UK]

I voted bad, why? :

- Ratings have dropped, even in the exact same timeslot with the same taping schedule
- MNW 2 was an epic failure
- They've lost great talent such as Kong, Daniels etc
- Signed terrible 'talent', such as Hall, Shannon Moore, and Orlando Jordan
- Abyssamania
- AJ Styles trying to be Ric Flair, when he's much better at being a face
- Desmond Wolfe has become a jobber, apart from his recent win over Hardy
- Really ******ed stuff such as everyone falling in a whole at Destination X, and people fighting over WWE rings.
- Hogan used to have 7-8 segments per show, but he's finally stopped now.
- They can't seem to get anything right anymore.

 

[closet_fan]

i voted "so-so." the show has been ok so far, but i didn't really watch much tna before, so i don't know how to compare it. honestly, i usually change the channel when a knockouts match comes up and i usually forget to change it back.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I have voted "so-so." I just haven't seen much improvement since Hogan took over. Some areas have gotten better, while others have taken a hit.

I believe storylines have gotten better (somewhat). There is a bit more structure, and it doesn't seem to be such a clusterF***. People are set in their feuds, and those feuds are not being dropped after one or two weeks. People are not jumping back and forth between feuds as much. So in the storyline deptartment, it has gotten better, IMO.

Also, I believe TNA has a different mindset now. Not only do they want to compete with WWE, they are actually trying. I understand moving back to Thursday night was a big setback, and probably hurt them credibility wise. But at least Hogan is trying to move things forward. Whether it works is another story.

There are plenty of things I don't like. I don't like how Impact has so little wrestling each Thursday night. The matches are short, minus the main event matches. I understand Hogan and company are high on storylines and characters, but when you only have one show per week, you need more wrestling. I'm not a big X-Division guy, I have never liked spot fests. But at the same time, I understand there are a lot of people out there who dig that kind of thing. So for their sakes, I wish those matches were given a little more time, and given the chance to build a real storyline heading into a PPV. Not just having a random #1 contender, and then a match. Seems a bit lame to me.

I don't like Abyss. He bothers me to no end. The guy is a disgusting human being to look at, and no, that has nothing to do with his weight. He can perform in the ring with the right opponent, but he's doing more talking than wrestling. Hogans music, red and yellow colors, etc. are not working. It look stupid, and corny, and I can't belive Hogan is so behind the times that he actually thinks this is a good storyline.

I don't like the fact they are taped, and not live. I don't like the Impact Zone. I don't like the ramp. I don't like the idiotic crowd and their horrible chants. I don't like seeing Hogan 8 times per night (even though that has decreased a bit lately). I don't want to see Flair bleed every night (...a lot). Lot's of things I don't like, but I think TNA has potential (for like 8 years now). They have a lot of good in-ring wrestlers, and those guys deserve to be apart of a show that can grant them all the exposure in the world. I hope TNA improves, but for right now, I have go with "so-so."

 

[Next Jericho]

I voted so-so

I will always watch TNA so it can be terrible and I will still watch it.

Lets all remeber no one thought TNA was going to beat the WWE (well you should not have thought that)

Desmond Wolfe maybe not winning as much but he has still been shown most weeks (Beer Money were not shown for at least 2 months which was bad)

Abyss does not really need a push he is the Even Bourne of TNA

A.J was getting plain so I glad they turned him heel

Hogan and Bischoff are doing there best and trying new things like with Kaz and Jay Letel

 

[Adam08]

I voted so so as well its not great the current product but its not bad either. I am glad guys like Aj Styles Jay lethal and Beer money are being used more. But its just sucks that there womens divsion has gone so down hill ever since Kong and Tara left.

 

[Scared Stiff]

Not to be a stickler but this Friday will only be 5 months since Hogan first appeared.

This might get a lot of complaints but it's the truth so what can I say? I have been watching wrestling since the mid 80's. Watched it through the many different eras and my attention never wavered. Although in the last four or five years I have found it boring and increasingly hard to watch to the point where I had stopped watching it altogether.

When Hogan and Bischoff were announced to be appearing on Jan 4, I tuned in. Since then I haven't missed an Impact! and I have been drawn back in to the product more than I have been in close to a decade. I can't compare the current TNA to the product from before, but I can say that I like what I see and look forward to it every Thursday.

 

[rackmors]

I voted bad, why? :

- Ratings have dropped, even in the exact same timeslot with the same taping schedule
- MNW 2 was an epic failure
- They've lost great talent such as Kong, Daniels etc
- Signed terrible 'talent', such as Hall, Shannon Moore, and Orlando Jordan
- Abyssamania
- AJ Styles trying to be Ric Flair, when he's much better at being a face
- Desmond Wolfe has become a jobber, apart from his recent win over Hardy
- Really ******ed stuff such as everyone falling in a whole at Destination X, and people fighting over WWE rings.
- Hogan used to have 7-8 segments per show, but he's finally stopped now.
- They can't seem to get anything right anymore.

- Ratings dropping is a lie rge ratings actually went up from the week before last.

- I agree MNW was a epic fail

- Realeasing great talent again I agree you should never release talent that helped build your company unless they do something seriously dangerous that would damange your compaines reputation

- Siging terrible talent agree TNA is suppose to be the future of wrestling but they hired guys that passed their prime years ago but I disagree on signing Shannon Moore he is a talnted wrestler who could shine in TNA I think the fans who hate him is mad because of the first run when TNA was pushing him to the moon to become the next X- Division champ and then he leaves to go to the WWE

- Abyssamania is just a storyline to make Abyss a monster again so you just have to wait so I disagree Abyssamania is actually a good thing (pains me to say that since theirs countless ways they could of changed him back)

- Aj trying to be like Ric Flair I agree AJ should just be himself but thats no reason to mark it as a bad point so I agree to disagree

- Desmond Wolfe being a jobber as good as he is he has always been a jobber in TNA and plus thats what heels do they loose you will will barely see a heel win cleanly unless their the monster heel that only the monster face can beat so I disagree

- Retarted stuff happening again I disagree the hole thing only happend because they didn't want AJ to loose the tittle and they didn't want Abyss to loose any momentum

- Seeing Hogan 7-8 times was a bad thing but they stopped that so why put that as a bad mark when thats not happening anymore

- They cant get anything right no company is perfect and impact has been good the last couple of weeks so agree to disagree

 

[danielwingo]

Sorry don't mean to disagree with you but when it was announced that hogan was coming I didn't watch and I still don't watch! It was people like him and Bischoff that ran WCW in the ground.So do we really want to see a rehappen.I sure don't.Tna was great without hogan and Bischoff.Now they are coming wasting talent buying talent to compete with WWE and not even using them to their advantage.I mean come on Booker T got to come and do a house show becuase someone couldnt make it now why arent we seeing booker t on tv.I rather see that.Now Tna is going to have all these stars coming from WWE,FCW,etc...and they expect this big push in TNA.do you think they are going to do it?? HEll no hogan will move up what who he thinks can carry the company and then when the company falls where is hogan going to be?? not there I bet!!!...I can't stand to watch it cuz really who want to see OJ in pink tights grabbing someone balls like a homo.STUPID!!!! automactially rob terry is gobal champ. I admit rob terry is a beast but the man cannot wrestle.And hall and Nash champs.I mean I know they brought them in for others to make themselves off of them.But as much I loved Hall and Nash they are to old to be doing this like flair and hogan.They can't move in the ring and I just think Tna could move up stars using other people than hall and nash!!

 

[danielwingo]

But I do give you credit the last couple of TNA shows have been good but in last 5 months only the last two shows I like and thats a problem!!

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I voted for good because a couple of areas have improved since their start. I believe that the x division is much improved from last year when their were no interesting storylines especially when amazing red was champ the guy didn't cut any promos now Douglas Williams is their champ now there is actually a storyline with him as the champ where is trying to ground the high flyers of the division and capitalize on their mistakes. I also think that the storyline with Angle is very interesting with him facing the top ten contenders. The only bad thing to me is the whole Abyss storyline but hopefully it will end up with him turing on Hogan

 

[nightmare]

tna has done some things right but still fail short of the mark b\c hogan is involving himself too much. flair\hogan should be part time players or coaches, not trying to get into every match. they have collectively more tv time than half the great roster gets in a month. tna was built on alot of great wrestlers that have been pushed away for lame gimmicks or talent no-one cares about (ahem, o.j.) i know they want some star power for recognition but come on, make it count.

PROs-

-rvd as champ, ive personally been waiting for him to come back 4 awhile & his friendly fued w\ hardy is great

-flair siding w\ beer money & aj

-joe's back and done need to say a word, just destroy

-the pope (till his injury)

-kurt angle still showing why he will be in the h.o.f.

-...mister....anderson!!!

-the ranking system

CONs-

-nasty boys

-the 'band'

-hogan & flair bleeding every week

-lack of xdivision airtime

-can we send orlando jordan away?

-pretending talent is invisible (homicide, rhyno, raven, etc...) havent seen some of them in months. or releasing them (daniels most importantly)

-no more 6 sided ring

 

[wushady]

I personally liked TNA better before Hogan and Bischoff. Since they came there it went from something new and original to a cheap knockoff to the attitude era. The X Division and Knockout Division are what set them apart from WWE now both Division's are weak. Their tag team division is going down hill fast as well. Most of their story lines are hard to follow they switch people from heel to face to often, and they may start a angle one week and don't continue it the following week.

I like what they are doing with Kurt Angle and RVD as champion, but for the most part I have given up watching it for now.

 

[wrestlingfansince01]

In my opinion, ever since Hogan and Bischoff have came to TNA, TNA has went unbelieveably downhill. Before Hogan and Bischoff, everything in TNA was fine. Everything was going along smoothly. Then when they came in, it's like the writers had to change their storylines just to accomodate them coming to the company. Also, Hogan has brought in a lot of his old "cronies" simply b/c of their friendship (*cough Scott Hall cough*). They were brought in to help TNA compete w/ WWE...how did that turn out again? Yeah. So TNA should seriously consider getting rid of these two and just going back to the ways things were. That includes the 6 sided ring. TNA just doesn't seem like TNA without the 6 sided ring...

 

[Suffy]

I'd also say so-so for many reasons. For one TNA has become more talked about than it ever has before. However as much as TNA is being talked about does not mirror it's actual success in the ratings. For whatever reason I do remember TNA making an average of 1.2, 1.1, 1.3 in the ratings and bragging about beat ECW. Now it's competing and in some cases can't even beat NXT. The move to Monday was the worst idea ever and I don't understand why they thought it was a good idea. Sure they can come up with all the reasons they want now as to why they did that, but one thing is for sure they thought they would garner a positive reaction in its favor and they did not.

Also reusing WWF/WCW angles is terrible. Whether it was the screwjob or the goldust vs razor ramone. Plus I think its hilarious they use the same music tweaked just a little to avoid infringement and try to pass off the same gimmicks when you aren't fooling anybody. Plus getting rid of the six sided ring sort of took away what was unique about TNA. While i'm a fan of RVD I also don't really like how they gave him the belt and made a big deal about it. He's only been around for what.. a month? Do some former WWE stars have it in the contract to receive a TNA title reign or something, because stuff like this just devalues the title. However I do believe the production values have increased for the better and there has been a certain degree of entertainment value. I'm also glad Angle-mania is over.

 

[Chicago1989]

I voted for bad...The show is just an embarrassment. The ONLY good thing that TNA has improved on is their production. Everything else is garbage.

You had all these names leave TNA ever since Hogan and Bischoff came in and all this politicking going on which shows you that the place is a mess. And what was the first thing that Hogan did when he came in? He brung in his cronies. Talk about "change"...

And another thing, TNA had the chance to create a new rising star in The Pope by having him win the TNA title but what happens? "Aww screw The Pope, let's have my brother, RVD win the title on free TV because he's a veteran."..

And it's also hard to believe that with all this chaotic shit going on, Vince Russo still has his job. "We're having roster cuts soon, but don't worry...you still got your job, Russo." It's pathetic..

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I voted bad, why? :

- Ratings have dropped, even in the exact same timeslot with the same taping schedule
- MNW 2 was an epic failure
- They've lost great talent such as Kong, Daniels etc
- Signed terrible 'talent', such as Hall, Shannon Moore, and Orlando Jordan
- Abyssamania
- AJ Styles trying to be Ric Flair, when he's much better at being a face
- Desmond Wolfe has become a jobber, apart from his recent win over Hardy
- Really ******ed stuff such as everyone falling in a whole at Destination X, and people fighting over WWE rings.
- Hogan used to have 7-8 segments per show, but he's finally stopped now.
- They can't seem to get anything right anymore.

- They've been back on Thursdays for .. how long exactly? A month? Ratings are going up by the week, this is damage control from the Monday Night Screw up.

- MNW 2 was an epic failure. I must agree, but at least they gave it a shot and learned their lesson. You need to get burned once and fail - makes you fearless. TNA got on Mondays with Hogan and Bischoff within a Month and they couldn't do it with their old management for 8 years.

- Lost great talent as Kong and Daniels. The Kong thing was stupid, Daniels left on his own and he's in talks with TNA right now.

- Signed terrible talent. Hall - okay. But Moore and Jordan? Moore is an excellent wrestler and a good mid-carder. Jordan, despite what his gimmick is, is also a great wrestler with a creative and edgy character. If you're homophobic - that's another story.

And oh, they also signed these little talents too. You know, Hardy, Anderson, RVD. But meh, screw that, that's a positive thing let's ignore it.

- Desmond Wolfe, a jobber? When someone loses a few times, that doesn't make him a jobber. If so, then Mr.Anderson is a jobber too. He's been losing a lot lately.

- Abyssamania - spot on, I hate it, and it's obviously dead in the water. At least they put a stop to the shitty things they do, unlike the other company.

- AJ trying to be flair, much better as a face. Excuse me, AJ Styles has been a face for a LONG time and he was getting staler than stale. Quite honestly, the current AJ is the shit. As you can probably see, him and Flair are gonna split soon and AJ is taking a hold of his own character. The only thing that makes him seem like Flair is that robe. He created his own heel gimmick, put his twist on it. That's why he was aligned with Flair in the first place. So when you think about it, that move was genius.

- People falling into a hole and the HoF ring storyline. Yeah one would call it ******ed, I know I would. It made no sense and it was just useless.

- Hogan used to have 7-8 segments, but not anymore. And...I thought you were listing bad things...?

- Can't seem to get anything right anymore? - please specify and illuminate us. What's "right" if you don't mind me asking, oh great mind of professional 'rasslin.

 

[Kaeden]

And another thing, TNA had the chance to create a new rising star in The Pope by having him win the TNA title but what happens? "Aww screw The Pope, let's have my brother, RVD win the title on free TV because he's a veteran."..

He was injured. Should they have put him over anyway? Give him the title and then shelve him for a month so he can be stripped and look silly?

More to the point, the title doesn't make The Pope. The character is ridiculously over in the Impact Zone. He doesn't need a title to become a star, its just icing on the cake. His time will come, preferably at a time when he's not hurt, and can capitalize on it.

 

[VencomHardcore]

I voted Bad.

The product has not improved to a degree that would warrant me to say they upgraded it. Having RVD and Hardy have not increased the ratings for a reason most on this forum don't mention. RVD and Hardy needed the marketing machine that vince has , hell even ECW had an amazing marketing machine although it was grass roots.

Now I do say that they are trying to push new talent but I prefer TNA pre hogan. I said it before he came and was bashed: " Hogan will not take TNA to a Major Player ". And I have been right.

Please don't give me the give it time speech because according to Bishoff they were behind the scenes 6 months before the debut so in essence we had the new regime around the product for at least one year.

The major issue is that TNA doesn't market. What pissed me off was that the new Midget Wrestling show on spike was advertised during wwe nxt and yet I have never seen a tna commercial during that same time period.

TNA could get more accomplished with a smaller crew , better writing and marketing plan. But sometimes the simple things are the most difficult. I do hope they go back to what made them unique : Knockouts, X Division , Home Grown Stars and Unique Matches. If they can stop focusing on beating WWE or being comparable then they can accomplish their goals with originality.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For me, I think that TNA overall is pretty horrible at this point so that's what I picked. I think that TNA has gotten itself out there more since Hogan joined but, with that exception, I think most of the product has gone downhill and gone downhill quickly. I would have said the product was so-so before Hogan's arrival, but I enjoy TNA much less now than I did before he arrived.

There was, of course, a lot of buzz and a lot of hype about Hulk Hogan becoming a part of TNA. A lot of that buzz was generated by Hogan himself by talking a lot of smack that I think kind of blew up in his face. Hogan made claims that he taught Vince McMahon everything he knows, he said that iMPACT! on January 4th would draw a 3 in the ratings, etc. and that's all well and good. After all, those types of comments got people talking and kept them talking for a while even if it was just Hogan blowing hot air. Hulk Hogan has made himself the center of attention in TNA overall and I think that's something that a lot of people didn't want to see happen. The reality and outcome of Hulkamania coming to TNA compared to the hype, so far in 2010, has been a big failure.

TNA's attempt at reigniting the Monday Night Wars was certainly ambitious. Even if you thought TNA wasn't ready for the attempt, I admired the fact that they tried. After all, they had the most well known pro wrestler of them all as part of their roster so they took their chances. However, it was an epic failure. I'm sorry, but there's no other way to put it. Week in and week out, iMPACT! got slaughtered head to head against Raw and the result much of the time was TNA drawing some of the worst numbers in its history. Moving back to Thursdays has hurt TNA's credibility to some degree. I have a feeling that there's no way that the brass at Spike is going to put TNA programming up against WWE unless TNA's viewership increases to levels substantially higher than they've had before and show that they can sustain those numbers.

TNA has a lot of talented wrestlers but some of the ones that are highlighted have been shit in my view. Abyss is just plain awful and I don't care if Hulk Hogan thinks he's TNA's version of John Cena. I don't see it and some of the angles & matches involving Abyss have been the worst I've seen in a long time. I think TNA could have done something potentially innovative with Orlando Jordan but, more than anything else, he just reminds me of what the WWF did with Goldust back around 1992. It's like they just have him being weird for the sake of being weird and have done nothing to make me particularly interested in the guy. Rob Terry is an example of what I've read many accusing the WWE of for a long time, namely pushing a wrestler that looks like a million bucks but is a horrible wrestler down our throats whether we want him or not.

The Tag Team, Knockout and X-Divisions are pale shadows of what they once were. In my view, TNA's tag team scene is completely stale. There's just really nothing going on there and nobody competing that I'm all that interested in watching. The Knockouts are no longer better than or even as good as the Divas are in the WWE. I never really thought that I'd say that, but that's how I feel. Many of the best women wrestlers are gone, aren't used or probably will be gone before too long. The only thing keeping it afloat are The Beautiful People and even they're getting stale. The X-Division is...well it is what it is. At this point right now, Doug Williams, Shannon Moore, Kazarian and Brian Kendrick are really all there is of the X-Division.

I think TNA's bright spot has been the TNA World Heavyweight Championship scene. They've managed to keep it interesting overall, I'm not that hot about the TNA Ranking System, but I've enjoyed the main event scene overall. I'm disappointed in the "dream matches" that TNA has made. You know, the various 4 to 5 minute matches with RVD, Styles and Hardy. I also think that Ken Anderson has been a good contribution to TNA thus far.

I'm not trying to lay all the blame for TNA's problems in Hulk Hogan's lap or anything like that. Some of it might well be just a coincidence, but I personally feel that, overall, TNA since Hogan's debut has been a big failure thus far.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'd say bad, but not for the same reasons most of you are putting.

The problem I have with it is that the fire is completely gone. It's not longer the hot show to watch or the exciting company or anything like that. It comes off as a lifeless group of people just out there talking and then having a wrestling match. There's no fire there anymore and there hasn't been for a few months. The fans have turned on the show a lot and even on here some of the hardcore fans are talking about how they've given up too. Now to be fair, by no means do all of the wrestlers fall into this category. The problem comes off to me like they've just given up on the company and that only began once the new regime took over. Something has to change or they're in real trouble.

 

[gd]

Great at the beginning. For a month or even two after it was good stuff. I was actually excited to watch TNA on a weekly basis. It took a little dip, but their first show back on Monday Nights was quite good. RVD and everything. Very enjoyable.

At this point, it's not even that interesting anymore, in addition to the nonsensical booking and storylines. Before the pure clusterfuckness of it was something you could get excited about, even if it didn't make any sense. Now? Who even cares anymore? I'll still watch when I can, but TNA isn't the most entertaining wrestling company in my eyes anymore, unlike a few months ago.