10 Precise Moments Wrestling Bookers Lost Their Minds

4. Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff

Hulk Hogan Eric Bischoff TNA
TNA

Night one.

On night one, the new regime of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff shizz-it the bizz-ed. On night one of the second Monday Night War, the ostensible "relaunch" of the promotion, they couldn't have done more to depict themselves as arrogant, past-it lunatics. Bischoff has claimed subsequently that he didn't believe for a second that TNA could compete. The whole deal was a publicity stunt of sorts designed to put TNA on the map and transform profile and visibility into viewership when it went back to its own night.

Not sure how "Our product is absolute sh*t, so just change the day you watch it" works in any sense, but perhaps there's some nuance there that only big shots can grasp!

The whole thing was a dire, audience-haemorrhaging farce.

There was no Lex Luger on Nitro moment, but there was Jeff Hardy arriving and, to very little fanfare, handing out self-portraits to, like, two fans. There were no fans glued to the screen, wondering who might join the nWo next, but Homicide did get stuck in a cage. There were no stars, so Hulk and Eric had to rely on the Nasty Boys.

Actually, there were, but they weren't friendly enough with management.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!