Monday, November 2, 2009

Hogan and Bishoff Officially Sign with TNA

"Hulkamania” is back! The biggest name in professional wrestling history, Hulk Hogan, is joining Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA), the fastest rising wrestling organization in the world and home to one of cable television’s highest rated shows for young men, TNA iMPACT! The announcement was made today by TNA Wrestling in conjunction with Spike TV at a press conference held in New York City.

“Hulk Hogan is one of the world’s top pop culture icons and the biggest superstar in the history of professional wrestling. We are truly excited to welcome him into the TNA family,” said Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling. “Our goal is to become the world’s biggest professional wrestling company. Hulk defines professional wrestling and we look forward to partnering with him in a variety of ways as we continue to grow TNA globally.”

“I’m thrilled to be jumping back into the world of professional wrestling,” said Hogan. “My fans have been asking me to return to the business for many years on a full time basis, but the timing or the opportunity has never been right until now. TNA Wrestling is a great company with an already excellent fan base, business and broadcast partner. I firmly believe now is the time for some change at TNA as they are positioned to jump to the next level in their development and I’m here to work with Dixie to help make that a reality.”

Through Hogan’s partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television, the deal with TNA was negotiated by longtime Hogan colleague Eric Bischoff. Additionally, BHE TV has inked a first-look deal with TNA and will be working with the organization to develop new programming extensions of the TNA brand.

“Hulk Hogan adds yet another level of star power that positions TNA iMPACT as Spike TV’s version of ‘Must-See TV’ on Thursday nights,” said Kevin Kay, president of Spike.

Fight between the tag team champs

At WWE Bragging Rights, Big Show started laying the foundation for his quest by turning his back on Team Raw. And although he suffered the wrath of fellow Raw members just a day later, by Friday Night SmackDown, The World’s Largest Athlete had already secured a signed contract to face The Undertaker at Survivor Series.
On that same edition of SmackDown, Chris Jericho defeated Kane to also qualify to face The Phenom – officially making it a Triple Threat Match.
Since winning the Unified Title at Night of Champions, the tag team champs have been on a roll, tearing through a slew of formidable opponents. But now, they must face not only each other, but their greatest challenge of all – The Demon of Death Valley.
Ever since winning the Heavyweight Title at Hell in a Cell, The Undertaker has showed no signs of letting up. At WWE Bragging Rights, the champion overcame the odds and successfully defended his gold against CM Punk, Batista & Rey Mysterio in a Fatal Four Way Match.
If The Phenom can take on three opponents and win, surely he can do the same against two. But, at 485-plus-pounds, one could argue that Big Show counts as two Superstars.
Can Jericho or Big Show find a way to topple The Undertaker? Or, will The Phenom make his opponents regret even stepping in the ring with him?