RELATED STORIES FROM MNM INTERVIEW
-- TNA: What he would fix, pushing Joe, responds to Russo
-- WWE: Responds to Cena, talks McMahon, wrestlers wanting in TNA
-- Hogan not planning to wrestle in TNA

By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Hulk Hogan claims TNA isn't to the point yet of having a Monday night timeslot locked in with Spike TV, but he feels their "positive energy" every day that tells him they're getting closer to working out a deal.

Hogan is pulling back the reigns on what he said in January about wanting desperately to be on Monday nights after he says he's learned more about how the TV industry works.

"We're pushing hard for Mondays, trying to get there, a lot of variables, but it looks like it's much better than it did yesterday," Hogan said on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show yesterday. "I'm just starting to figure this crap out right now dealing with networks, ad sales, cross-overs, going to the top of the hours, quarter-hours."

Hogan said they've been "getting good news" for the last week as they push hard for Monday nights, but now he's shifting the heat to the "smart marks" - his scapegoat term the past week - for pushing for Monday nights.

"There's stuff that's already been scheduled, there's budgeting issues, there's shows for the new season, so it's not like 'Okay, let's go live on Monday nights.' Nothing is that easy. A lot of the fans, a lot of the 'smart marks' are saying 'we should go live Monday nights.' They have no idea what it entails, I'm just now having people sit me down after 30 years of wrestling and go 'Guy, you know what it's all about to work the match and be on the road.' Now you're dealing with the economy, the network, and the way the audience flips and changes the channel," Hogan said. "Right when you think you have it figured out what attracts the right demo, it starts to mold, and manipulate, and shape."

Hogan did admit TNA can't just "plug in the old NWO" and do the same storylines again like they did in WCW. He said they're learning from their mistakes a month into running TNA and figuring out how to present the product.

"It's not a cookie-cutter thing...you just lock down like you did when you ran against Vince (McMahon) with Ted Turner (in WCW). I thought that would work just to work it in and make a crack, but things are different than they two-three months ago because of the economy," Hogan said. "When you figure in the networks and the head of Viacom, and they're watching the minute by minute numbers for 18-34 (year olds), it's not like you could just plug in the old NWO and do it like we did when we punked Vince out. It's ever-changing moving parts, so we did learn from our mistakes; like when you get successful sometimes, you can get too full of yourself."

Hogan also gave a nod to the ratings dip this past Thursday on Impact when they lost approximately 350,000 viewers after the all-time ratings peak on Thursday nights on January 28.

"We have learned from our mistakes, and we are learning, almost like on the job training, because some of the stuff that worked two weeks ago, didn't work last week, so we're digging in and have our ears and eyes to the ground," he said.

Link: Download and listen to the complete interview on Monday Night Mayhem's radio page.

We suggest these recent related articles...

TV RATINGS: TNA Impact & ROH TV viewership - Week 19 on Dest. America - Impact surges post-BFG, ROH draws big audience

TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing

TNA NEWS: TNA announces TV tapings on January U.K. Tour