By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

TNA executive/TV star Hulk Hogan said in a newspaper interview that he thinks it's time for TNA president Dixie Carter to decide whether she wants TNA to be a "little dog" on the porch or to run with the big dogs, which would be WWE.

"It’s either hold ’em or fold ’em. You’re either in the wrestling business or not," Hogan told Patrick Lennon of The Star in the U.K. "Is Dixie Carter really in the wrestling business, or this is just a hobby? You either make the move or you don’t."

Hogan tried to draw a comparison to WCW adding to his viewpoint. "It’s the same place we were with WCW - you either run with the big dogs or be a little dog and stay on the porch," Hogan said. "The destiny of this company is in her hands. It can stay TNA, a powerful little company, or she can make the decision to move on to greatness."

Hogan said he believes TNA shifting to four major PPVs per year and moving television out of Orlando is a step in the right direction to "make the wrestlers more important." He added that he thinks it gives fans "a chance to sink your teeth into the characters and the company."

As for undersized wrestlers on the roster, Hogan said they would have been "bagging groceries" when he was in his prime and he was considered a medium-sized wrestler, but he believes he has changed with the times.

"The business has changed and it’s for the better. It’s more exciting because the guys can do more moves and are more athletic than we were," Hogan said.

[ LINK: Hogan's full interview here at DailyStar.co.uk ]

Caldwell's Analysis: (1) The TNA/WCW comparison is flawed - WCW had the very, very significant benefit of having a built-in audience using the TBS timeslot and an identity separate from WWE. Whereas, TNA had zero built-in audience when it started, has struggled to grow the audience beyond their hardcore fans, and they have yet to establish an identity separate from WWE.

(2) Hogan saying that "guys can do more moves" is just fluff. Without hearing how Hogan delivered the message, the assumption is that Hogan was offering a Hoganism excitedly leaning forward with his wide-open eyes picturing Rob Van Dam doing a flip-dive. But, if Hogan thinks of undersized wrestlers in the simple terms of "doing more moves," then he's operating with a flawed, dated, mid-2000s TNA mindset of throwing the X Division guys in the ring and letting them do a bunch of flips and dives without any story. That's what the X Division Title match felt like Thursday night on Impact with RVD, Kenny King, and Zema Ion just doing a bunch of stuff for six minutes as Mike Tenay said, "This is what the X Division is all about," without actually being able to define what that means.

It's a missed opportunity to develop the undersized wrestlers's characters, establish a real purpose for the X Division, and make fans excited to see under-sized wrestlers build to a match that counts just as much as a Kurt Angle match. It comes down to incorporating the "more exciting" athleticism and moves into a well-developed story that makes fans care about the wrestlers, no matter what their size is, which is something TNA has struggled with for years.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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