10 People Most Responsible For TNA's Failure
2. Hulk Hogan
While Eric Bischoff served primarily on TNA’s creative team, Hulk Hogan was given near complete control over the company’s operations after joining in 2010. These means he was the decisive hand in the following:-
1. Hand-picking the likes of Rob Terry, Orlando Jordan, Crimson, and Rob Van Dam as TNA’s next top stars, none of whom are still with the company. If further proof of Hogan’s lack of scouting ability was needed, he also once described Abyss as “the next John Cena.” Yes, really.
2. Forcing TNA to leave it’s Impact Zone arena in TNA. While this was something the company needed for long-term prosperity, Hogan pushed for this far too early, and the decision to hit the road saw Impact’s production costs spiral out of control without a significant increase in ratings.
3. Fortune, Immortal, Aces and Eights, and a couple of other attempts at recreating a top level “power stable” within TNA. None were a success, with Aces and Eights particularly highlighting the problems of trying to recreate the nWo in the modern era.
4. Stripping the company of its identity. TNA used to have a fantastic tag division with the likes of Beer Money and L.A.X, but under Hogan and Bischoff, they were nowhere to be found. The company’s Knockouts division pushed women’s wrestling to the forefront long before WWE’s “Women’s Revolution,” but Hogan demolished it. Then there’s the X Division, which used to be the company’s pride and glory, but was relegated to B-level status as soon as the dastardly duo’s hands were upon it.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Hogan took TNA’s once strong reputation and ran it into the ground, and while he left towards the end of 2013, the damage will likely never be repaired.