World Wrestling Entertainment promoter, Jeff Jarrett, has disclosed that the idea of bringing Hulk Hogan to TNA Wrestling initially came from his own suggestion. However, he admitted that the eventual direction of the partnership was far different from what he had originally planned.
Speaking on an episode of the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, Jarrett explained that he encouraged Panda Energy executive Bob Carter to pursue Hogan. He believed the WWE Hall of Famer remained one of the biggest names in professional wrestling history. Moreover, Hogan had the ability to create major commercial opportunities beyond the wrestling industry.
Jarrett said he viewed Hogan less as an active creative force and more as a global ambassador. In this role, Hogan could help strengthen TNA’s brand, attract business partnerships and increase exposure.
“[I told] Bob, Hulk is the single biggest box office attraction this business has ever seen. I can’t say we’ll ever see, but he’s up there. How are you going to do that? Well, I think he needs to be our ambassador. If you put him in a room with any executive around the world, he’s going to move needles. It’s just that simple. He’s gonna make things happen and we can have him on our show… I’m not gonna say quarterly and let’s not land on it, but a limited amount of appearances to keep him in brand.”
The former TNA founder also believed Hogan’s presence could have helped the company expand through merchandise, video games and wider business opportunities.
“He’s going to move action figures. He’s going to get a video game. He’s going to do all… we had a video game and Midway went out of business. We were trying to get another one. I just said, he’s our ambassador. You put him in the middle of TNA brand and he starts selling.”
Jarrett recalled being encouraged after an early meeting involving Hogan and Eric Bischoff. He believed the discussions showed potential for the company’s future.
“Fly to Tampa, walk in a room, Bischoff’s there… I left that meeting going… it was cheers, cheers, cheers all the way home on the private plane because Hulk said all the right things.”
However, Jarrett admitted the situation quickly evolved beyond the role he had imagined. In fact, he claimed Hogan and Bischoff became heavily involved in the company’s creative direction. This led to changes that he felt moved TNA away from its original identity.
“All of a sudden it was immediately like I went, ‘Oh, okay. Dixie threw in the keys. We’re writing the TV. We’re doing this.’ Next thing you know, the Nasty Boys… It was immediate and I just went, ‘They have no idea about this brand.’”
Despite his criticism of how things unfolded, Jarrett insisted that Hogan and Bischoff did not intentionally attempt to damage TNA. Instead, he believes they made decisions based on what they thought would benefit the promotion. Ultimately, those choices failed to deliver the desired results.
“Hulk and Eric didn’t wake up every day and say, ‘You know what, I’m gonna’ screw this place up.’ No. They woke up and thought, ‘I’m going to do everything in my power to do what I think’s best for the brand,’ and they missed on everything.”
