After six years, TNA finally has the man they have wanted to help get them over the hump of being a distant number two promotion in the world of wrestling.  Hulk Hogan, arguably one of professional wrestling’s best known personalities, recently signed a deal with TNA Wrestling to appear on their programming as a performer.  It is no secret that TNA has been courting Hogan since day one, but it wasn’t until recently TNA was able to convince him that they are a viable option..  But what does this move mean for TNA? Is it a good move to bring in the industry’s biggest and some say most divisive name?  Hogan is already telling people he is the boss in TNA and what he says goes, so if that is the case what will it do for TNA Wrestling? To answer that question let’s look at the history of both the Hogan/TNA relationship and what Hogan has done while “running” a wrestling promotion in the past.

It almost happened once before in 2003 when Hulk Hogan appeared on TNA television in an apparent start to a feud with TNA founder, and then NWA champion, Jeff Jarrett only to back out at the last minute with a bad knee that needed surgery.  Since then, Hulk Hogan has been one of those names TNA avoided mentioning even though they used the footage from that 2003 incident over and over again.  Who could blame them?  People who don’t follow wrestling know who Hulk Hogan is and if I had some footage of him working with my talent I would exploit it too.

Fast forward six years to October 27, 2009, hours before Hulk Hogan embarked on his media whirlwind tour to promote his newly released book, “My Life Outside The Ring,” he announced that he was returning to the profession that made him famous after a two and a half year absence.  The time off was highlighted by a reality show (Hogan Knows Best), a stint on American Gladiators as a color commentator, and personal turmoil.  The biggest surprise was that Hogan’s return would not be a return to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but to their closest competition TNA Wrestling.  At a press conference with TNA President Dixie Carter and a SpikeTV representative the Hulkster announced he had signed with TNA as a “business partner” and was ready to take on Vince McMahon once again.

When I first heard the news, to say I was shocked would be an understatement.  To say I was thrilled would be an overreaction.  I was worried and still am, considering everything I have heard coming out of Hogan’s mouth recently.  In a recent book signing at the Mall of America Hogan stated to the crowd that he was going to be running TNA.  He reiterated those comments on the Bubba the Love Sponge show and to other media outlets. It would seem Hogan believes he is the one in charge of the whole company.  If this is the case, I fear for TNA’s existence because Hulk Hogan has never shown that he is capable of running a wrestling promotion.

All you have to do is look at World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for examples.  Hogan was signed by then WCW President Eric Bischoff in 1994 to become the new face of WCW as they prepared to take Vince McMahon and the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) head on.  Hogan was given full creative control over his storylines and more power behind the scenes than he had ever had in the WWF.  It all started off well as Hogan’s first feud in WCW was a wrestling fan’s dream come true against Ric Flair.  But shortly after his feud ended with Flair, Hogan showed his true colors by pushing his cronies into the main event.  At Starrcade 1994, WCW’s biggest PPV of the year, Hogan pushed his best buddy Ed Leslie (then known as the Butcher) as his opponent.  Hogan then went on to face off against more of his buddies and completely ruin the WCW’s main event scene.  Hogan pitted himself in matches against John Tenta who was a main eventer as Earthquake in the WWF, but more of a joke in WCW.  He also put himself over in feuds with the Dungeon of Doom and the ill-fated Alliance to End Hulkamania, consisting of The Giant (Paul Wight), and his good buddy Brutus Beefcake (Ed Leslie) again.  On top of that, he destroyed one of WCW’s most feared heels Vader by continually beating him cleanly in the ring.  These feuds continued to cycle repeatedly until the nWo arrived in mid 1996 and Hulk Hogan did the unconscionable and turned heel.

Turning Hogan heel was a stroke of genius and breathed some life into his stale character at a time it was needed.  It also opened the door to new and fresh feuds against WCW’s top babyfaces.  Hogan immediately won the WCW title from the Giant and then went on to a feud with Roddy Piper.  So instead of something fresh and new, Hogan gets his old WWF nemesis Roddy Piper to be his first feud as a bad guy.  While the two had a fun and entertaining series of matches, much of the WCW roster, including Lex Luger, the Steiner Brothers, Diamond Dallas Page and Sting were left out, unable to challenge Hogan for his championship, or his spot in the company.  Hogan used his power to make sure that only his friends and those he felt deserving, were allowed to be in the ring with Hulk Hogan.

A good example is Sting’s push as a legitimate challenger to Hulk Hogan’s title and the nWo as a whole.  Sting’s character was over after spending over a year in the rafters and not saying a single word to explain what he was doing.  Hogan and the nWo claimed he was on their side and WCW claimed he was on theirs.  Fans ate it up and were praying for the inevitable Hulk Hogan versus Sting match that they had waited three long years to see.  Sting finally made his intentions clear at the Uncensored pay per view by taking out the nWo at the conclusion of a three team match; he wanted Hogan.  Finally the match was signed and it would take place at the biggest pay per view of them all Starrcade 1997.  The plan was to have Hogan pin Sting and the referee to make a fast count allowing newly signed Bret Hart to come down and stop Sting from being screwed out of the title.  Only one problem, Hogan got in the ear of Nick Patrick and convinced him to make a normal count which in turn made Sting look weak.  After the debacle of the “fast count” was over, WCW couldn’t do anything to save Sting’s impending reign.

Another good case is Randy Savage.  Savage was part of the nWo and was given a good push as an opposing leader of the nWo to Hogan.  It all culminated with Randy winning the WCW belt from Sting, whose run was completely worthless thanks to Hogan.  Randy being champion could have made a great long term storyline with the nWo, but instead Hogan used his creative control clause in order to go out and defeat Randy the next night on Nitro for the WCW title.  Granted Randy was injured at the time, but he was injured before winning the title from Sting so that is really not a good excuse.

And finally, there is Bash at the Beach 2000.  Probably the most infamous incident in which Hogan leveraged his power to get his way, only this time it didn’t work.  WCW was in the midst of pushing younger talent to the forefront of the company under the direction of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff.  Jeff Jarrett was the champion at the time and was set to take on Hulk Hogan for the strap.  Hogan was asked to put Jarrett over in the match, but Hogan refused and invoked his creative control clause.  Instead it was worked out that Hogan would win the match and then “retire” leaving WCW without a champion.  A new champion would then be crowned and a couple of months down the road Hogan would return to claim he was the rightful WCW champion.  Instead, Hogan won his match as booked (yes it was booked that way) and a few minutes later Vince Russo came down and publicly berated Hogan and fired him on the spot.  It would be the last time Hulk Hogan entered a WCW ring.

Those are just some of the many examples of Hogan using his brilliant mind to book a wrestling company, and now he is claiming he will bring that brilliance to TNA Wrestling.  With that track record, I am feeling a bit worried about TNA Wrestling.  Hogan is a brilliant entertainer, there is no doubt.  He is one of my all time favorite wrestlers and was my childhood hero growing up.   I am not ashamed to admit that I am still a huge fan, but let’s face it Hogan is fifty-six years old now.  His knees are shot and he has a fake hip; he isn’t going to be wrestling for TNA full time if at all.  What he could offer TNA is an on screen authority figure or mentor because he still has what it takes to fire up a crowd and work the microphone.

You can’t fault TNA for signing Hulk Hogan because his name still means a lot in this business.  They did what they felt was right for the company and I am not going to argue the move to bring Hogan’s name and image to the company.  It’s a brilliant move on the Carter’s part.  Let’s just hope that he is not given full control of the company’s direction, storylines or roster.  Let’s all hope Hogan is there to entertain the crowds, mentor the younger talent, and maybe once in a while step into the ring a put over TNA’s talented roster.  Signing Hulk Hogan can be both a good and bad thing for TNA Wrestling, and I am hoping it turns out to be a great thing.  The wrestling industry needs good competition.  So for now, I am putting on my red and yellow and getting ready for the ride to come.  I just hope it is for the long haul and not another slow death like WCW.