A few weeks ago, Hulk Hogan's TNA contract expired and an angle was
filmed to explain his absence from TNA TV. Reportedly, Hogan is
negotiating to resign with TNA and recent comments in an interview have
fueled speculation of a WWE return. So, will Hogan resign with TNA?
Could there be a return to WWE TV? There are certainly some interesting
scenarios, but is Hogan worth it?
Hogan debuted on
Impact in 2010 during TNA's feeble and disastrous attempt to recreate
the Monday night wars. The NWO, Eric Bischoff, and Ric Flair were
suddenly on TNA TV. Instead of an alternative product, the show
resembled a weekly WCW reunion, which led to Impact going to Thursday
night after an unsuccessful attempt to compete with Raw. Based on those
results, it seems as though Hogan probably wasn't worth the ridiculous
salary, but there's more evidence that Hogan wasn't worth the
investment. Prior to Hogan's debut in TNA, the ratings for Impact were
around 1.0 and during his entire run with the company, the ratings
didn't improve. I've said it before an I will say it again, Hulk Hogan
isn't a draw in the current market. At this point, he's known more for a
tabloid circus than wrestling and the TMZ headlines seemed to sour many
fans on him. Even when TNA took Impact on the road, Hogan appearing
didn't draw the fans to make it profitable for the company and the show
is scheduled to return to the Impact Zone. Basically, Hogan did nothing
for TNA, he didn't improve the ratings and he didn't improve attendance
so, what did he do to benefit the company? This was said before and it's
nothing new to anyone reading this column, but Dixie Carter is clueless
about the wrestling business and Hogan worked her for major money.
Dixie thought that since Hulk was a major star a decade ago, it would
boost TNA. Hogan did an interview on the Howard Stern show prior to
signing with TNA and he mentioned he was in major debt, which is
probably why he signed with the company. Hogan needed money and TNA was
his opportunity to cash in on the declining name value he had. You can't
blame Hogan for taking the money, but you have to wonder how clueless
Dixie is to sign him. The bottom line is Hogan is damaged goods and if
TNA is trying to cut costs, there's really no reason to resign him.
Despite
Hogan's comments about a potential WWE return, I doubt the WWE would
resign him anytime soon because as was mentioned earlier, Hogan is
damaged goods. Supposedly, they offered him a lower amount of money than
TNA, but why would they pay him more money? Quite simply, Hogan needs
the WWE more than the WWE needs Hogan and if Hogan's image is going to
be restored, it would be as a result of the WWE presenting him as a
legend to the current audience. Hogan claims he could have another match
and the only major match in a WWE ring would be a Wrestlemania match
against John Cena, but who knows if Hogan could actually wrestle again?
So
where will Hogan actually sign? Hogan mentioning a possible WWE return
was probably just an attempt to get leverage in the negotiations with
TNA and if Hogan can't get a deal with WWE, then I would guess he would
resign with TNA to get the money that is on the table. Don't get me
wrong, this isn't an attempt to bury Hogan because as I said, you can't
blame him for taking the money, but rather an observation of the
investment TNA made to sign Hogan and the results of it. TNA has a great
roster and a lot of bright spots, but the Hogan experiment wasn't one
of them. As for the rumors of TNA possibly shutting down, I doubt it and
hopefully it can continue to provide a stage for some of the great
talent on the roster.
