Hulk Hogan: “WWE Talent is Pulling for TNA, WWE Offices Are Panicked”

Hogan and Carter

Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter officially announced that TNA Impact would be moving to Monday nights starting March 8 to go head to head with WWE Raw at a press conference on Monday afternoon in Orlando.

Perhaps the biggest bombshell to come out of event, other than the announcement of the move, is Hogan’s claim that WWE talent are very excited about the TNA move.

“The talent [in WWE] is cheering us on,” Hogan said. “I’ve got several friends over there and they’re like ‘go go go.’ ”

A move to Monday night and growth from TNA will ultimately give the talent more options on where to work. Right now, it’s pretty much a one ring circus with WWE firmly in control of the show.

As for the front office side of things, Hogan doesn’t expect any sort of public reaction.

“They don’t acknowledge anybody else in the wrestling business,” the WWE Hall of Famer said.

Outside of the public eye, things are a little different according to the one time leader of the nWo in WCW.

“The corporate side of the office is running around like the place is on fire,” He said. “They’re panicking. That’s the real inside scoop.”

Hulk Hogan

Hogan seemed more excited than ever to be with the company and genuinely enthused to be working with young talent and perhaps even passing the torch.

“To be here, I actually feel young again,” he said.

His ‘all about me’ attitude seems to be gone for the time being as well.

“[The move] is not a Hulk Hogan thing. This company has a foundation that’s unselfish, that’s committed, that’s like no company I’ve worked for before,” he said. “That old barbaric wrestling mentality is gone.”

TNA and Spike TV don’t see the move as a short-term experiment.

“I think we see this happening forever,” Dixie Carter said at the press conference. “We have no plans to do anything else. We want to make this as big as it can be.”

The plan right now is to have show of their broadcasts be live while others are taped. It had been previously rumored that TNA would alternate between a live show one week and a taped show the following week.

TNA Wrestling will debut in their permanent Monday night spot on March 8 with a live broadcast.

Carter also acknowledged that the company could have decided to move to the 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. time-slot, but felt that going directly up against WWE was in the best interest for all parties involved.

“This is the decision we felt was best to start with,” she said while leaving the door open for a possible time change again down the road.

Dixie Carter

She also revealed that there had been no talks to make Impact a three hour broadcast. However, TNA and Spike TV had discussed adding additional programming throughout the week.

Hulk Hogan viewed the time-slot a bit differently than Carter as he approached it from a wrestler’s perspective.

“If you’re going to prove that you’re the best and you’re going to get into a fight you want the fans to make the choice as to who the best company is,” he said. “I would want to go head to head with the competition. The wrestlers like a fight and they like to prove themselves. That’s what works for the boys in the back.”

Hogan conceded that he doesn’t expect quick success in TNA going head to head with WWE as he found with WCW, but is confident that TNA will prevail in the end.

“Within six months [WCW was] dominate and it stayed the same way for a long time,” he said of his time with the Turner owned company. “I don’t think the same outcome is going to happen here. It is a war and we will win this. This company has a better product. We’re not going to repeat history, we’re going to make history.”

Carter echoed Hogan’s comments saying, “I think our rating will grow over time.”