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I would like to introduce my new wrestling column called The Greenfield Review. This is a new weekly column that will be dedicated to one wrestling company called TNA wrestling. Each week I will be giving my opinions about the goings on in TNA wrestling and reviewing TNA Impact each week. I will also be adding to this column a section, where each week I will write about a specific TNA wrestler. This will include analysis about how well they are currently doing in TNA and what prospects they have in the company.
I would like to introduce myself first. My name is Charlie Greenfield, currently living in the United Kingdom. I am a student, studying at Staffordshire University in my final year. I study Applied Computing and looking to Graduate come the end of June next year. I have been a wrestling fan all my life and have been following WWE and TNA for a long time. I am a dedicated fan and want to see the wrestling business continue to grow, to reach the peak it was once at. This column is all about my passion for the business, I am looking to add my opinions about the good things going on in wrestling and the bad things going on in wrestling. This column is going to be dedicated more to TNA wrestling because I feel that this company needs some attention and every week, I plan to do just that!
In this week’s column I will be focusing on Hulk Hogan joining TNA wrestling. I will be looking into detail about what the benefits of Hulk Hogan are coming to TNA and will also be looking at some of negatives that this could bring to TNA. I will be looking at what the potential future holds for TNA and also other potential rumoured wrestlers that could also be coming to TNA in the near future, if rumours are to be true.
On October 27th 2009, Hulk Hogan joined TNA Wrestling by partnering up with Dixie Carter and Spike TV. The details of the deal are still unknown! But what is believed is Hulk Hogan is joining TNA to try and take TNA to the next level. The next level means, competing with the WWE and trying to establish TNA as a brand, using the Hulk Hogan name. This was a major shock when I heard Hulk Hogan had joined TNA because I never thought it would ever happen and Hulk Hogan himself said that TNA was not the place for him. But how things can quickly change!
This is the biggest name to have ever joined TNA and is the biggest name in professional wrestling history. The benefit of Hulk Hogan coming to TNA, it makes them stand out more in the wrestling world. The Hulk Hogan name is well known worldwide and is recognised by almost every wrestling fan out there. If I was to ask any person who does not know a lot about wrestling to name a wrestler, they would straight away say Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan is a celebrity and a wrestling legend that has become a brand of its own over the last 20 years. So what does this bring to TNA?
The answer to that question is the Hulk Hogan name is a brand itself and the idea around this is to attract wrestling fans that follow Hulk Hogan to come and be part of the TNA wrestling fan base. This in truth has worked before, where he joined WCW in 1994 and helped improve the ratings and PPV buy rates for WCW. But can it work now, where Hulk Hogan is now 56 years old and does the name Hulk Hogan still draw, without the backing of WWE behind promoting it?
Only time will tell, since the announcement the ratings have stayed the same, but it will be interesting to see when he debuts on TV, if the ratings go up from a 1.1 to at least a 1.5. If they don’t go up significantly over a few weeks, then we should get an idea if Hulk Hogan is still a big draw in the wrestling business.
The other thing that Hulk Hogan can bring to TNA is he is one of the most experienced wrestling people in the business, who has competed all over the world and his knowledge could help the present and younger wrestlers in the company. He can help improve the talent by giving out advice about how to lay out a match or how to do a wrestling promo, without a script. He can teach them how to get wrestling fans to cheer for you but also teach them how to get wrestling fans to boo for you. Hulk Hogan was the biggest baby face for many years in the WWE in the 1980’s and early 90’s. He was also the biggest heel in wrestling, when the formation of the NWO happened in June of 1996. So he has experience to know when fans like you and when to make them to not like you.
Hulk Hogan allows TNA to get more media coverage around the world because Hulk Hogan is a celebrity and he is continuously making media appearances promoting himself and other projects all the time. This can be useful to help get the TNA name out there more. So far he has done a bit of it, but not enough to really try a sell the product to the fans.
The potential negative points that could hurt TNA with Hulk Hogan coming to TNA is the fact this could be another situation where Hulk Hogan comes in and basically pushes everyone to the side, by bringing in his friends from the past to run the promotion. This has happened before in WCW, where Hulk Hogan came in and all his friends came in too and took all the spots on the roster leaving a lot of talent high and dry.
This is a worry because TNA has one of the most talented rosters in wrestling at present with some of the best workers in the business. TNA has a good mix of experience, present and future wrestlers that make it a very good balance. TNA has the likes of Kurt Angle (the best wrestler in the world), AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Matt Morgan, Desmond Wolfe, Christopher Daniels and many others who can all perform great wrestling matches but the problem that is lacking is character development, due to constant changes being made. For example are they heel or face?
With Hulk Hogan coming in, my worry is a lot of this talent could be out of work and be thrown out to the curb, not getting a second look. Recently the matches in TNA have improved and the storylines are becoming a lot more understandable than previous months. I hope they do not bring in Brutus Beefcake and The Nasty Boys! If they bring them in, they got to be jobbers!
Another worry is Hulk Hogan not being fully committed to TNA and walking out after a few months. The past has shown where if Hulk Hogan does not feel comfortable or if he is not getting his own way, he will walk away. He did this in WCW, WWE and also in TNA in 2003, when he nearly signed for them but then changed his mind because apparently he needed knee surgery but many feel he left due to not being committed.
I do think the potential of Hulk Hogan coming to TNA is very good, but at the same time it could also be a negative impact. TNA is now being linked with many other wrestlers that could soon be joining the company, when Hulk Hogan debuts for them next year. Over the last few weeks, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Randy Savage, Bill Goldberg, Sid Viscous and many other names that were part of WCW and ECW have been linked to TNA. I do see a few joining with Hulk Hogan, the main one being Ric Flair as he signed a deal to work with Hulk Hogan for three years. I can also see RVD being part of TNA as well. The reason for this is because of the friendship between Hulk Hogan and RVD recently is quite strong.
The only problem with this is they are all past headliners for WCW and WWE. If they are brought in can they still draw, but also will they affect the other current TNA wrestlers, who are trying to be headliners themselves? Only time will tell!
Another thing that must be noted, is will Hulk Hogan be wrestling for the company?
I think he will be wrestling for the company but only maybe once or twice a year for special PPVs. I don’t see him wanting to wrestle more than at least twice and with his age not many people can wrestle Hulk Hogan to a good match. The only two that I think could get a decent match is Kurt Angle and Ric Flair.
I do see the benefits and the negatives. But in my opinion it is something that wrestling needs right now. The wrestling business at the moment is struggling for a number of reasons. Wrestling PPV buy rates are going down compared to ten years ago and TV ratings are not at the level when the Monday Night Wars were around in the 1990’s. The wrestling business does need to be shaken up and if this helps TNA become bigger and better? Then it is something that the wrestling business needs, competition to WWE is lacking and the lack of new rising talent is becoming a problem. The next few months and years will be interesting to see where Hulk Hogan and TNA go, now that he has finished his Australian tour.
In my next column it will be an original format reviewing TNA impact, writing about the latest goings on and also a piece about a particular wrestler each week.
Thanks for reading.
Feedback welcome email at: chaz1467@hotmail.com
