TNA Thoughts 12/22/09

I fear for the future of TNA Wrestling. They've never really been the match for the WWF. They've been more successful than anyone else since WCW, but they've still never reached that next level.

They got a TV deal with Spike, they put out a video game, they signed Kurt Angle, Sting, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Bobby Lashley, Christian and now they are bringing in Hulk Hogan.

Hogan was going to come in quite a while back, but he backed out when he came to his senses and realized he would be working for Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo, two guys who pretty much tried to humiliate him on his way out of WCW.


A few years passed. Jarrett sold the company, they got their TV deal, went to the six-sided ring, started taping at Universal Studios in Florida.

Then they managed to scoop up Kurt Angle when he hit some problems in the WWE. Then it started going downhill fast. They added a bunch of Vince's cast offs and started pushing them over the guys that they had made.

Yeah, AJ and Samoa Joe held titles, but it was Nash and Angle and Booker T and Sting that dominated.

Now word is that Hogan and Bischoff are going to be in charge.

Word is that they've told the guys to slow down their matches and work in more rest holds.

Word is that Hogan doesn't like the six-sided ring. Word is that Hogan doesn't like the writers and wants to let the wrestlers determine more of the program.

It's a good thing for him that pretty much everyone that was at WCW when it went down in flames is right there in TNA.

I miss the old TNA where a show would be headlined by Sonny Siaki v. AJ Styles for the X-division title, or Amazing Red v. anybody.

That TNA would never be able to compete with Vince on a 1 to 1 basis, but neither will the one that is coming.

Hogan is smart about the business, so are alot of the other older guys, but the business is about what is new and fresh.

I look for AJ Styles to lose the title soon, maybe to Sting, maybe to Ric Flair, maybe to Nash, maybe to Angle. He'll lose it though and then those guys will come in and dominate the top and the company will start to go down.

The ratings will probably be good for that first special, people will tune in to see Hogan for that first time.

Then they'll realize he's almost 60 and can still talk, but doesn't have much to say anymore.

Nobody really wants to see Ric Flair v. Hulk Hogan for the TNA championship. Maybe more people than want to see AJ Styles v. Samoa Joe for the same belt, but the people who will watch the first match won't stick around to see more either.

I wish TNA the best in their new direction, but I'm not optimistic about their chances.

At least I've still got a big stack of shows from the first year and really good memories, just like I do of ECW.