Hogan should have been a spokesman

[Sephiroth]

Following up on my thread about why I think TNA should have hired Heyman instead of Hogan. I think I've made little secret of the fact that I believe Hogan's time in TNA to have been bad for the company, and I think the results back me up pretty well; lower ratings, shrunken roster, and ongoing rumors of financial ruin. But part of my annoyance is that I actually feel Hogan COULD have been a very valuable catch for the company-but Dixie (lets just call her Ditsy for accuracy) signed Hogan under terms and circumstances that were utterly ridiculous.

To my way of thinking, Hogan would have been worth his weight in cash if he had been signed on as a spokesman-the public face of the company. His contractual requirements should have been to appear in commercials for TNA, to do public appearances and interviews shilling for the company, for his image to be used for merchandise like action figures or in a new video game. His actual duties on TNA television should have only been to appear in backstage segments and maybe do some announcing. His duties should NOT have included actual in-ring action or serious involvement in ongoing feuds and stories. Because lets face it: Hogan can't go in the ring anymore. He is too old, has had too many injuries, and too much hard living. His prominence can help draw a crowd-but he's not going to keep them in their seats, sold ring action with talented stars will.

On top of that, I think Ditsy proved her lack of wrestling knowledge AND business instinct by signing Hogan for the kind of money she did. Obviously you can't pay a guy like Hogan a pauper's wages, but he still is nowhere near worth what she is forking out for him. If she had any brains she would have done some research and used some actual leverage during the negotiations with Hogan. Were I in her place, I would have made Hogan a decent offer-and if he refused and demanded more I would have told him "If you can get a better offer somewhere else then go for it. You're not the only big name out there-we've already got Foley, Sting, Nash, Steiner, and Angle and none of them seem to mind what we're paying them. Maybe you can ask Vince McMahon to hire you back?" And no way I would have agreed to let Hogan bring all of his old buddies into the company. I would have told him "I'm paying for YOU, not Bubba the Love Sponge, the Nasty Boys, or Brutus the Barber!" But Ditsy, like a total smark, apparently assumed that Hogan IS wrestling rather than Hogan being a PART of wrestling and gave away everything but the kitchen sink.

[Boo!]

The problem with Hogan was that it was always a Catch-22 situation. He was the most high-profile figure in the company and no doubt his name piqued interest from sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters, promoters etc that may not have been there otherwise but at the same time his only value is if used sparingly. But because he was the main attraction they couldn't and so he became over exposed and therefore stopped being a special attraction.

[Ishmeal Loves BBL Bayley]

Another huge problem was how little Hogan actually promoted TNA. He would be on shows like Howard Stern, or the morning network news shows, and they would talk about whatever else was going on, and he MIGHT (I say might because there were times he never did) throw a plug in for TNA. I get that these programs are having him on for whatever else is going on (i.e. Stern having him on for the sextape or because he was Bubba's butt buddy), but this company is paying you a good amount of money and you're barely going to mention the name? Even things like when he did an appearance on I think the CBS morning show and one of the anchors was a childhood fan, Hogan brought stuff to give away and most of it was old WWF stuff (shirts, etc). Its all the little things like that which soured me on the whole relationship, even moreso than the shitty shows that have taken place since Hogan/Bischoff/et al have come in.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Only one party was going to benefit from Hogan's signing and it was never going to be TNA. Hogan needed the money and exposure he would get from being an onscreen character on primetime TV every week so was never going to accept being a guy they use primarily for marketing.

[SOR]

Nov 4, 2013 9:15:25 GMT -5 Boo! said:

The problem with Hogan was that it was always a Catch-22 situation. He was the most high-profile figure in the company and no doubt his name piqued interest from sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters, promoters etc that may not have been there otherwise but at the same time his only value is if used sparingly. But because he was the main attraction they couldn't and so he became over exposed and therefore stopped being a special attraction.

100% agree with this.

I think they should of found creative ways to use him in ring more. I know he can't bump anymore but if he wrestled two or three times a year and took zero bumps that could be your new "special attraction"

I know they did get 2 matches out of him but to be honest none of them were really amazing story lines or television so it wasn't that special when he did wrestle.

[jason1980s]

They should have saved the money on Hogan, Bischoff, Hall, X-Pac, Nastys, Venis etc...

and used the money to hire George Foreman as the spokesman. I guess Hulk got home in time to get the call from TNA. Too bad.

[Doctor Of Style]

He'd be OK, but Wilford Brimley has the old man street cred when it comes to scooters and diabeetus testing supplies.

[Glitch]

Nov 5, 2013 21:33:31 GMT -5 Doctor Of Style said:

He'd be OK, but Wilford Brimley has the old man street cred when it comes to scooters and diabeetus testing supplies.

And he probably has more stamina than hogan due to always having some hearty oatmeal for breakfast.

[Deleted]

Nov 5, 2013 21:33:31 GMT -5 Doctor Of Style said:

He'd be OK, but Wilford Brimley has the old man street cred when it comes to scooters and diabeetus testing supplies.

Also his catchphrase "Check your blood sugar and check it often, BITCH!" before hitting his opponent over the head with a frying pan would have easily surged TNA ahead of WWE.

[Bootista]

Nov 9, 2013 11:28:30 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Nov 5, 2013 21:33:31 GMT -5 Doctor Of Style said:

He'd be OK, but Wilford Brimley has the old man street cred when it comes to scooters and diabeetus testing supplies.

Also his catchphrase "Check your blood sugar and check it often, BITCH BROTHER!" before hitting his opponent over the head with a frying pan would have easily surged TNA ahead of WWE.

Fixed

[Deleted]

for Depends, maybe. Can't see much else use for him.

[JTG Fan]

Hogan should have just been the commissioner figure in TNA with the product remaining the same. They were on such a hot streak in 2009, I still have 0 clue why they let Bischoff and Hogan change everything.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

He should have been but he was far more interested in keeping himself in the public eye than putting TNA in it.

[suave]

Nov 4, 2013 10:15:05 GMT -5 Ishmeal Loves BBL Bayley said:

Another huge problem was how little Hogan actually promoted TNA. He would be on shows like Howard Stern, or the morning network news shows, and they would talk about whatever else was going on, and he MIGHT (I say might because there were times he never did) throw a plug in for TNA. I get that these programs are having him on for whatever else is going on (i.e. Stern having him on for the sextape or because he was Bubba's butt buddy), but this company is paying you a good amount of money and you're barely going to mention the name? Even things like when he did an appearance on I think the CBS morning show and one of the anchors was a childhood fan, Hogan brought stuff to give away and most of it was old WWF stuff (shirts, etc). Its all the little things like that which soured me on the whole relationship, even moreso than the shitty shows that have taken place since Hogan/Bischoff/et al have come in.

This. So much this.

Hogan clearly didn't give a shit about TNA. I remember the time he was on American Idol,and I don't think he mentioned TNA once. Is it really so hard to say "Brother, let me tell you, they've got this kid called Bobby Roode down there that's tearing it up. He's got a title defense this Thursday. You should all check it out.". And when he goes on a talk show, have them play TNA highlights. Instead of talking about his marriage or his daughter or whatever, have them say something like "Hulk, you are currently working for an up and coming promotion called TNA. They had their most recent show, Destination X *plays highlights* last night. What would you say was the highlight of that?". Little things like that that could put over TNA with casual fans.

If I'm hiring a guy to be an ambassador to the company, he should act like a member of the company rather than a celebrity who doesn't give a shit and gets paid shitloads of money regardless.

[Hit Girl]

Hogan shouldn't have been signed at all. TNA should have focused on building their own identity rather than trying to get a rub from someone most associated with ancient 1980's rock and wrestling and a guy most associated with their nominal competitors. He makes a bad spokesman IMO because he's incomprehensible. His manner of speaking is god awful and you can barely understand anything he says anyway, and that's when he's not flat out lying about some bullshit. A waste of money and time

[Deleted]

Nov 9, 2013 15:18:43 GMT -5 suave said:

Nov 4, 2013 10:15:05 GMT -5 Ishmeal Loves BBL Bayley said:

Another huge problem was how little Hogan actually promoted TNA. He would be on shows like Howard Stern, or the morning network news shows, and they would talk about whatever else was going on, and he MIGHT (I say might because there were times he never did) throw a plug in for TNA. I get that these programs are having him on for whatever else is going on (i.e. Stern having him on for the sextape or because he was Bubba's butt buddy), but this company is paying you a good amount of money and you're barely going to mention the name? Even things like when he did an appearance on I think the CBS morning show and one of the anchors was a childhood fan, Hogan brought stuff to give away and most of it was old WWF stuff (shirts, etc). Its all the little things like that which soured me on the whole relationship, even moreso than the shitty shows that have taken place since Hogan/Bischoff/et al have come in.

This. So much this.

Hogan clearly didn't give a shit about TNA. I remember the time he was on American Idol,and I don't think he mentioned TNA once. Is it really so hard to say "Brother, let me tell you, they've got this kid called Bobby Roode down there that's tearing it up. He's got a title defense this Thursday. You should all check it out.". And when he goes on a talk show, have them play TNA highlights. Instead of talking about his marriage or his daughter or whatever, have them say something like "Hulk, you are currently working for an up and coming promotion called TNA. They had their most recent show, Destination X *plays highlights* last night. What would you say was the highlight of that?". Little things like that that could put over TNA with casual fans.

If I'm hiring a guy to be an ambassador to the company, he should act like a member of the company rather than a celebrity who doesn't give a shit and gets paid shitloads of money regardless.

You have to keep in mind, when Hogan is appearing on American Idol, everything he does on camera is pre-planned. Why would American Idol give him the green light to plug TNA on camera? He was brought on that show because he is Hulk Hogan and one of the contestants was a huge wrestling fan (I'm assuming that was the reason). The fact that Hulk was in TNA at the time probably never even crossed the mind of whoever booked him in the first place. Hell, they probably assumed he was retired or in the WWE.

There is a reason why Hogan was hyping up the WWF in his 80's/90's talk show runs, and WCW in his late-90's talk show runs. Chances are the company itself was involved in getting Hogan on the show. You think TNA went to Jimmy Fallon and told them to book Hogan and promote TNA? Come on. TNA can barely promote on TV themselves, much less have the resources to go to NBC, Fox, etc, to do it for them. If Hogan shows up on Fallon and says he works for TNA, what else do you expect him to do? You really think him mentioning AJ Styles or Bobby Roode by name was going to do anything?

Hogan's debut segment in TNA drew 3 million viewers (the show itself got 2.2 million). It was up to TNA to capitalize on the initial buzz, and they failed. No one was going to tune in to watch Hogan do backstage segments every week. He was never going to be a huge factor in week-to-week ratings because he wasn't wrestling on the shows. But the buzz itself should have pushed TNA to really aggressively promote their shows better. They failed. They got arguably the most over babyface in wrestling at the time (Hardy), and didn't push him properly until 2012. TNA needs to be held accountable for wasting Hogan's initial ratings buzz (and they were drawing close to 2 million viewers every week until the failed Monday move).

[jason1980s]

I wonder if, when Hogan does a personal appearance, people ask him why he's been out of wrestling for so long like they did with Christian, IIRC.