Source: www.jimcornette.com

Q.---What is your opinion on Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff signing with TNA?

A.---Oh, this whole thing reminds me of why I hate corporate wrestling. I must admit there are bright spots, like imagining Vince McMahon's face and blood pressure when he heard the news, or hearing Hogan bitchslap Vince Russo by saying they'd be OK if "he stays in his place." Can TNA make their minds up, LAST month everybody had to be "100% behind Russo's creative direction" and THIS month they hire a guy who once SUED him for his lousy booking? They have reunited the same team that helped WCW lose more money than any wrestling promotion in history.

In all seriousness, of course Hogan's presence will boost ratings, at least in the short term, and one or two PPV appearances over six months or a year will do buys far beyond anything TNA's ever done on PPV. He can get publicity like no one else associated with TNA. Bischoff has proven he can get television deals done, just possibly not GOOD television shows MADE. But to me there are still issues. Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara are still writing the show. If a lot of people are looking at a turd, does it smell better? This is not a company-making move unless the extra viewers see a product they can get hooked on when Hogan isn't there or gone. It doesn't speak well for the policy of the youth movement and pushing new faces and making new stars. Talk about a Bush-Clinton dynasty, how long has it been since someone not named McMahon, Bischoff, Hogan and Russo has been in charge of wrestling in this country, and the business is a lot less popular in the US than it was 10 years ago. Will Hogan do anything to make even one young talent like Lashley, or Morgan, or "Desmond", a star, or just drop the leg in each appearance to make the "fans happy"? A lot of questions about whether this is a good move for TNA will be answered by what both Bischoff and Hogan do for TNA instead of themselves. But the very nature of this move indicates the company does not intend to present any alternative to "sports entertainment", and no one will ever beat Vince McMahon at that. Long-term, I believe the only way for TNA to succeed with this move is to hook the extra fans they get, and have a young roster of new stars in positions ready to take over for Hogan and the rest of their veteran roster within the next year. I don't see Vince Russo as the architect of that and I don't see the style of athletically based, competitive wrestling that COULD hook these new or excommunicated fans being one that Russo knows how to present, that TNA wants to present, or that Hogan's style lends itself to presenting.