noumenon
Guest
Hulk Hogan did an interview with the Gimme Noise blog out of Minnesota. Highlights are below.
On going to TNA: "That's a huge deal for me, man. I never thought that they would bring me in to like the Vince McMahon role with another wrestling company kind of like I did with WCW years back. I actually used to have this same role back in the day, except it was unofficial. Vince's dad ran the league while I was down here in Minnesota kicking ass with Verne Gagne and when he died, they talked me into coming back. So I came back and found that Vince McMahon, who owns the company now, didn't really understand the business. So I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money. And now I'm doing that again with TNA Wrestling."
On why he got back into wrestling: "The reason I decided to get back into it is because I'm ready to flip this business over again. It's getting real boring with only one company stuffing this programming down your throat and not allowing fans and the wrestlers the chance to make a choice, and I think it's really important to be able to make that choice instead of just having one option and one option only."
On how he will improve TNA's visibility: "The proof is already out there. In the course of a few days we've got more buzz going for TNA Wrestling then it's had in seven years. For example, no other wrestling organization had ever been able to get into Madison Square Garden in New York for like, 100 years, because Vince owns it and his family owned it before him. So I came in and was like, "Watch this." And we did a press conference at Madison Square Garden. All I told these guys was that they should give me a chance. If they didn't like what I was doing they can tell me to take a hike, but let me have the chance to come in and take a shot at it. Let the fans and the other wrestlers take a look and decide for themselves what they're in to and I'm confident that I will get this thing rockin'."
On going to TNA: "That's a huge deal for me, man. I never thought that they would bring me in to like the Vince McMahon role with another wrestling company kind of like I did with WCW years back. I actually used to have this same role back in the day, except it was unofficial. Vince's dad ran the league while I was down here in Minnesota kicking ass with Verne Gagne and when he died, they talked me into coming back. So I came back and found that Vince McMahon, who owns the company now, didn't really understand the business. So I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money. And now I'm doing that again with TNA Wrestling."
On why he got back into wrestling: "The reason I decided to get back into it is because I'm ready to flip this business over again. It's getting real boring with only one company stuffing this programming down your throat and not allowing fans and the wrestlers the chance to make a choice, and I think it's really important to be able to make that choice instead of just having one option and one option only."
On how he will improve TNA's visibility: "The proof is already out there. In the course of a few days we've got more buzz going for TNA Wrestling then it's had in seven years. For example, no other wrestling organization had ever been able to get into Madison Square Garden in New York for like, 100 years, because Vince owns it and his family owned it before him. So I came in and was like, "Watch this." And we did a press conference at Madison Square Garden. All I told these guys was that they should give me a chance. If they didn't like what I was doing they can tell me to take a hike, but let me have the chance to come in and take a shot at it. Let the fans and the other wrestlers take a look and decide for themselves what they're in to and I'm confident that I will get this thing rockin'."
