Comments on: Hulk Hogan Signs With TNA Wrestling http://www.jerseysmarts.com/2009/11/05/hulk-hogan-signs-with-tna-wrestling-on-television-tonight/ How to Survive in the Garden State Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:49:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Amy http://www.jerseysmarts.com/2009/11/05/hulk-hogan-signs-with-tna-wrestling-on-television-tonight/comment-page-1/#comment-5176 Amy Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:26:35 +0000 http://www.jerseysmarts.com/?p=4056#comment-5176 Hulk Hogan is trading in the wrestling ring for another type of ring. The wrestler is engaged to girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel. Hogan's big news comes four months after his divorce from Linda Bollea, with whom the wrestler spent the past two years battling in court. The bitter exes fought over the division of assets and traded insults, including harassment charges filed against Hogan - Amy Hulk Hogan is trading in the wrestling ring for another type of ring. The wrestler is engaged to girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel. Hogan’s big news comes four months after his divorce from Linda Bollea, with whom the wrestler spent the past two years battling in court. The bitter exes fought over the division of assets and traded insults, including harassment charges filed against Hogan – Amy

]]> By: Martin http://www.jerseysmarts.com/2009/11/05/hulk-hogan-signs-with-tna-wrestling-on-television-tonight/comment-page-1/#comment-4775 Martin Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:43:21 +0000 http://www.jerseysmarts.com/?p=4056#comment-4775 I honestly am a lot more skeptical when it comes to the new association between Hulk Hogan and Total Non-stop Action Wrestling. Hogan has primarily been in business for himself through most of his wrestling career. I have sincere doubts if he truly wants to "help" or "give back" to the wrestling industry by helping the younger wrestlers develop a better understanding of the "art" behind wrestling. I hope I am wrong. The problem with TNA Wrestling is they seem to always change directions. They remove Jim Cornette over a month ago because he did not see eye-to-eye with head booker Vince Russo. Ok, I think of the value of a Cornette to overseeing the production side of things is a big loss by itself, but the overall influence of Cornette's loss is also bad, I believe. So, after that, they decide to bring in Hulk Hogan, who no doubt, will have full power or influence on any storyline surrounding himself? How do they expect not to have tension around Russo and Hogan, unless they plan to keep them 100% separate. That type of strategy, either way, does not show much potential for success, in my opinion. How involved will Hogan be? Will he be an authority figure, a regular character who wrestles on special occasions, or is there something else in store? In the last few months, it seems that TNA has finally molded into a positive direction, and I sincerely hope the influence of Hogan doesn't ruin that. The bottom line... I am ok with Hogan if he has his place in TNA, as long as it isn't something that changes the landscape of TNA. I don't want all storylines to revolve around anything with Hogan. I want them to continue pushing youner stars, instead of relying on the likes of Kevin Nash, Sting, and former WWE names. I don't want TNA to turn into Hogan's playpen. I sound very pessimistic, and with Hogan's track record, and with TNA's track record of always implementing ass-backward strategies, I have my reason to be. That said, if Hogan is used correctly, and sparingly, I think he can be a real asset in the long-term, especially when you consider oversea shows, where the Hogan brand is still very big. The good news for TNA is they have average a 1.1 and a 1.2 rating for about three years now, I believe. While they have now gained since, they haven't lost, which is a good sign. If Hogan can influence some positive mainstream attention their way, and if TNA can delivery with edge and superior storylines, I think there is a reason to be optimistic. Personally, I don't believe Bischoff has much to offer these days on a full-time basis, but I think he can add some value in a consultant type of role, and I for sure would love to see him as an on-air character of some sorts. I don't watch TNA at all now. I'd like to, but I am being cynical and casually following through the Internet. I watch a little RAW every few weeks, but I am not a hardcore anymore. I want to watch wrestling, but WWE doesn't book for me - they book for children. Super Cena, Boring Orton, and Re-tread DX are all acts I am tired of seeing. I'm not interested in the bells and whistles of a Raw guest host each week. I'm not interested in seeing the heel Mr. McMahon character anymore. The only way WWE will improve is for Vince to feel a legit threat from a competitor, and right now, TNA slowly has continued to build something. They are not their yet, but I sincerely hope that they someday might be. I honestly am a lot more skeptical when it comes to the new association between Hulk Hogan and Total Non-stop Action Wrestling. Hogan has primarily been in business for himself through most of his wrestling career. I have sincere doubts if he truly wants to “help” or “give back” to the wrestling industry by helping the younger wrestlers develop a better understanding of the “art” behind wrestling. I hope I am wrong.

The problem with TNA Wrestling is they seem to always change directions. They remove Jim Cornette over a month ago because he did not see eye-to-eye with head booker Vince Russo. Ok, I think of the value of a Cornette to overseeing the production side of things is a big loss by itself, but the overall influence of Cornette’s loss is also bad, I believe. So, after that, they decide to bring in Hulk Hogan, who no doubt, will have full power or influence on any storyline surrounding himself? How do they expect not to have tension around Russo and Hogan, unless they plan to keep them 100% separate. That type of strategy, either way, does not show much potential for success, in my opinion.

How involved will Hogan be? Will he be an authority figure, a regular character who wrestles on special occasions, or is there something else in store? In the last few months, it seems that TNA has finally molded into a positive direction, and I sincerely hope the influence of Hogan doesn’t ruin that.

The bottom line… I am ok with Hogan if he has his place in TNA, as long as it isn’t something that changes the landscape of TNA. I don’t want all storylines to revolve around anything with Hogan. I want them to continue pushing youner stars, instead of relying on the likes of Kevin Nash, Sting, and former WWE names. I don’t want TNA to turn into Hogan’s playpen.

I sound very pessimistic, and with Hogan’s track record, and with TNA’s track record of always implementing ass-backward strategies, I have my reason to be. That said, if Hogan is used correctly, and sparingly, I think he can be a real asset in the long-term, especially when you consider oversea shows, where the Hogan brand is still very big.

The good news for TNA is they have average a 1.1 and a 1.2 rating for about three years now, I believe. While they have now gained since, they haven’t lost, which is a good sign. If Hogan can influence some positive mainstream attention their way, and if TNA can delivery with edge and superior storylines, I think there is a reason to be optimistic. Personally, I don’t believe Bischoff has much to offer these days on a full-time basis, but I think he can add some value in a consultant type of role, and I for sure would love to see him as an on-air character of some sorts.

I don’t watch TNA at all now. I’d like to, but I am being cynical and casually following through the Internet. I watch a little RAW every few weeks, but I am not a hardcore anymore. I want to watch wrestling, but WWE doesn’t book for me – they book for children. Super Cena, Boring Orton, and Re-tread DX are all acts I am tired of seeing. I’m not interested in the bells and whistles of a Raw guest host each week. I’m not interested in seeing the heel Mr. McMahon character anymore. The only way WWE will improve is for Vince to feel a legit threat from a competitor, and right now, TNA slowly has continued to build something. They are not their yet, but I sincerely hope that they someday might be.

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