A question is posed. Two Pulse Wrestling writers go head-to-head. But only one will move on to face off with another member of our staff. This is VS., and this week’s question is… Does Hogan to TNA change your perception of the promotion and why?
Pulse Glazer
Brian Eison
Editor’s note: Apologies for the eight-month hiatus, but we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the answers submitted to VS. right after Hogan was first brought in, juxtaposed to where things are today…
Pulse Glazer: …
OK, so we gave Aaron EIGHT MONTHS to answer this question, and nothing. Since October 2009, Mr. Glazer ended his A Modest Blog column – the final one which was, interestingly, a very short post about Hogan joining TNA – and began the evolution from “blogger†to news guy/Tuesday morning Eric S. disciple. Not that I’m complaining. I actually think he’s been doing his best work yet, and find it hilarious that Hulk Hogan joining TNA literally broke Aaron’s gimmick.
Brian Eison: So Hulk Hogan and all of his baggage (both good and bad) are headed to TNA. My response to the news so far is that it makes TNA more interesting but still not interesting enough for me to watch. I have never been a Hulkamaniac. In fact you might say that one of my favorite wrestlers will always be “whoever’s wrestling Hulk Hogan.†But I cannot deny that his signing could be a huge boost for TNA. Hogan will get them a ton of mainstream coverage and will even at this stage of his career steer some casual viewers in TNA’s direction.
But after that initial boost what will he and his crew bring to the promotion? Hogan’s backstage rep is both well known and supposedly well deserved. Who would be shocked to see Hogan book himself to win the TNA title with a clean pin on Samoa Joe? How much further would this set back TNA’s future when they have already struggled to handle younger stars like Styles, Joe and Daniels properly? Even if something like that does not happen will Vince Russo still be booking the show? If he is removed will the job go to someone who will improve the shows? I can’t help but think that in the long run, TNA and its fans will look back on Hogan joining the company as being more trouble or hoopla than positive results.
I think the improvements in TNA’s booking (and ratings) make this one a little harder to judge, but Eison’s October response seems to have painted a picture of how things worked out at least until recently. Huge hype? Check. More hoopla than positive results? So far, check. Thankfully, Hogan didn’t book himself to become champ, although the first few episodes he was way too much “superman†and not enough “authority figure who stayed out of it.†(I would have much preferred he and even Flair not have their first match until months in, rather than to try and pop a Monday night rating up against Raw.) As far as struggling to get the young talent over, I actually think TNA is focusing on enough “younger stars†like Styles, Wolf, Dinero and Kazarian lately… and I like RVD as champion. That said, I question the way Joe has been handled, and wonder why the Nasty Boys were ever on my television set.
Winner of VS. #31: Brian Eison
Do you agree with Aaron (and his unusual silence, after back-to-back-to-back wins, disposing of Allen, Brashear and Pruett in successive weeks late last year) or Brian or do you have an entirely different opinion? Let us know in the comments section, below!
Until next time…
