In the final months of the 2000s, TNA Wrestling announced their biggest signing ever when it was revealed that Hulk Hogan had officially signed with the company. Hogan's arrival was something TNA hoped would take them to new heights, and potentially be serious challengers to WWE's spot as the number one wrestling company in the world. However, that never happened, and Hogan's run with TNA is widely regarded as one of the worst in company history, to the point where TNA founder Jeff Jarrett called it a mess during a recent episode of his "My World" podcast, where he looked back on the 2010 Genesis pay-per-view, the first to take place after Hogan debuted on screen.
"I thought Hogan's debut couldn't have gone any worse," Jarrett said, who also wasn't a big fan of how Ric Flair's TNA debut was handled either. "Ric's kind of casually showing up, just nothing really bit, nothing. Not memorable, not a moment where you go 'holy crap Ric Flair is in TNA.'" Jarrett went on to explain that there are three main areas to focus on in wrestling, creative, booking, and promoting, and TNA failed on all three areas during Hogan's time with the company.
Hogan was originally meant to appear in TNA many years before his initial arrival. Back in 2003, he was involved in an angle with Jarrett that saw "The Last Outlaw" smash Hogan over the head with a guitar during a press conference in Japan. This was supposed to lead to Hogan appearing on TNA's first-ever three-hour monthly pay-per-view, Victory Road 2004, but he had to pull out due to a number of injuries, leading "Macho Man"Randy Savage to appear instead.
Please credit "My World" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
