This past week Hulk Hogan managed to do what Hulk Hogan does best - getting people to talk about him.

At the age of 56, few thought Hulk Hogan would still be a relevant force in the industry in 2009 but this past Tuesday at a press conference in New York City he proved that assumption false after announcing that he would be joining the Orlando, Florida based TNA Wrestling promotion.

The announcement caught many off guard figuring that if Hogan were to sign another contract at this age that it would be with the WWE where there was the most money to be made.

Wrestling is in a weird state right now, some would say a stale one with audiences craving something different. Therefore the announcements of Shane McMahon leaving the WWE and Hogan and Eric Bischoff entering TNA have people excited because of the prospect of seeing something different (even hypothetical ones) than the national promotions are currently offering up.

Many credit Hulk Hogan with the surge in popularity of WCW in the late 90's where they became the biggest wrestling company in the world and generated more money in a one year period than any other company up to that point in time. The same man can also be cited as a major negative to the company in the long term where he exuded no desire to play on a team but rather promote Hulk Hogan and better his situation rather than the health of the promotion that employed him. I'm not going to characterize that approach as a complete negative because the nature of professional wrestling is an individualistic one and blame for Hogan's business attitude needs to be placed more squarely on management - Eric Bischoff from 1994 - 1999.

Hogan and Bischoff worked very well together in helping to create a WCW product that was very top heavy on names from the past that still had an audience that was willing to pay to see them and a solid foundation of underneath workers that routinely stole the show but were often beaten down by the system in place of the glass ceiling separating the bottom from the top.

The biggest questions surround the creative end of the company and who will be wearing which hat?

The bad blood between Hogan and the current head of TNA creative Vince Russo is well documented and even resulted in a lawsuit filed by Hogan following the July 2000 WCW ‘Bash at the Beach' event where Russo cut a promo on Hogan and went off the script to bash Hogan.

Hogan stated at the press conference that as long as Russo doesn't cross Hogan than he will be fine.

If Hogan is serious about this run with TNA than he will be heavily involved in the creative end and that will undoubtedly result in Hogan and Russo clashing heads and Russo cannot win that power struggle based on the commitment of Dixie Carter and Spike TV in securing the services of Hogan after six years of attempts.

There is no doubt a huge amount of panic is circulating around the TNA locker room just as there would any locker room that is experiencing a change in power at the top.

A positive in the favor of Eric Bischoff is that he has always had a much wider view of what a pro wrestler can be and utilizing varying degrees of talent. Vince McMahon has shown a tremendously narrow view in that regard when it comes to hiring practices and who receive pushes to the top mix. It would not be a stretch to assume that the X division would be given more of a focus with Bischoff's track record of success with the Cruiserweight division in WCW.  

TNA faces a very difficult balancing act over the next few months when it comes to the egos involved that are being brought in, the personality clashes that are inevitable with the names involved and current members of the TNA roster including a main event mix that could feature Hogan, Sting, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner.

The wild card in this deal is Ric Flair, who signed a three year contract with Eric Bischoff and comes as a package deal with whatever ventures Hulk Hogan is associated with and that would likely include TNA. Flair has stated he will not work for TNA out of respect to Vince McMahon but could find himself obligated from a legal point to work for whatever promotion he is directed to by Bischoff and Hogan.

It's a dramatic change of events for TNA, of which the effects of the changes will be felt immediately and reveal just how serious Hulk Hogan is about TNA.