The move by both Masa Chono & NWA-TNA management to bring Hulk Hogan into the fold for their respective companies is producing an enormous earthquake in the wrestling business - an earthquake that few people on the surface truly realize is happening. You have seen all the reporting on the Internet on Hogan's deal with New Japan, but none of the pieces of the puzzle have been put together yet. I will do that in this article, and hopefully give you a perspective from the Japanese as to what is happening.
Hulk Hogan's split from Vince McMahon has led to incredible bitterness on the part of both men. Hogan desparately wants to become the leader of the second big American wrestling company and wants to become Vince's top rival. McMahon is always keeping his eye out on Hogan and figuring out what moves to plot next. Hogan wants to compete with McMahon but do it with a project that he knows there is a chance of success and a business proposition where he can control his own deal and not spend a dime in the process. For Antonio Inoki, Inoki has always been both jealous and angry at McMahon since Inoki made a loan to McMahon of $1 million dollars in 1985 for McMahon to create Wrestlemania. When Wrestlemania was a huge success at MSG, McMahon immediately paid Inoki off and cut ties for good. Inoki was furious and has been looking at ways for revenge. This led to the wars of 1991, where New Japan tied with WCW and SWS tied with WWF. When the New Japan/WCW relationship got stronger under the watch of Eric Bischoff, New Japan paid up to $750,000 a year for the rights to the "nWo" gimmick which was used for nWo Japan. Chono & Mutoh were the two big names in that heel group. Mutoh left New Japan when Inoki continued to exert his influence, while Chono stayed behind due to his huge payday that he gets from the company. Facing more and more pressure from Inoki to produce a shoot-style product, Chono pulled the ultimate power play - he started negotiating with Hulk Hogan.
The move by Chono to bring in Hogan wasn't by design, initially. Chono had talked with Don Muraco about establishing a deal with Muraco's HCW (Hawaii Championship Wrestling). However, after one show (in late July), Chono was so disappointed that he immediately turned his eyes to Hogan. Hogan was the biggest free agent in the American wrestling business, and he (Hogan) had already received big money offers from Japan, including one from DSE (PRIDE). With Jimmy Hart managing talks, Hogan did what he does best - he played both sides to get the best deal possible. While negotiations continued between New Japan & Hogan's camp (with Brad Rheingans), Hogan was also talking with NWA-TNA. There were rumors of Hogan vs. Jeff Jarrett for a big PPV on 11/30. Once the rumors became more substantiated, New Japan became more interested. If they brought in Hogan to work for them, Hogan in turn could be their bridge to hook them up with NWA-TNA and get on American PPV/TV. And in the process, Hogan could politically control his career while making $3-5 million dollars if he plays his cards right. For both Chono & NWA-TNA, the idea of bringing Hogan into the fold benefits them both - but for very different reasons.
For Masa Chono, the idea of bringing in Hulk Hogan was relatively easy. The risk was low (he had marks in Japan flocking to finance the deal because Hogan to many people is 'wrestling' no matter what), and if the deal paid off at the 10/13 Tokyo Dome show, Chono immediately gained power and Inoki would lose it. The end result saw Hogan vs. Chono as the one bright spot with fans who saw the event. Hogan got over, and in the process Chono went over Inoki politically. Inoki's continuing vision of the shoot matches, of the shoot-style never caught fire in Japan. However, Hogan got a reaction. He got over. The shoot matches did not. In the process, Chono has managed to do something over Inoki that he hasn't been able to for a long time - change the direction of the company. It wasn't the vale tudo matches you saw in the press getting coverage, it was Hogan vs. Chono getting attention. It was pro-wrestling getting the spotlight from the vale tudo fights. Chono's gamble was simple - if Hogan got over, it would bring attention back to pro-wrestling in Japan. It would perhaps lead to a change in direction, and in a scary theory, Hogan could help revive the Japanese scene back to its roots. Chono's theory didn't need much time to be tested - it worked.
The day after the Tokyo Dome show, Antonio Inoki blasted the show. Inoki said that he was not happy with the attendance, he was not happy with what he saw, and he bashed the nostalgia of the wrestling matches (Hogan/Chono and the elimination match, which was a takeoff of the early 80s elimination matches). Inoki tipped his hand to the press - he was not happy with Hogan's involvement dominating the show. It took away from the vision he's been trying to promote. Inoki further came out and said that if the 11/3 Yokohama Arena show (with a lot of shoot/kickboxing fights and no Hogan) doesn't go according to his plan, he's going to fire a lot of people. That condemnation of his own company and vision didn't go over the heads of the average Japanese fan - they know what the deal really is. For Chono, it was a brilliant power-play. For Inoki, he's finding himself in the losing end of the stick with the attention being taken off of him. For Inoki, the only positive spin he can give on the matter is PR-wise in Japan. If the NJ/NWA-TNA relationship goes well and causes Vince McMahon problems, Inoki will be the very first person you see in the press proclaiming victory for his company teaming up with an ally to chip away at WWE.
For Hulk Hogan, working back in Japan is icing on the cake. He gets paid $250,000+ a match, Jimmy Hart gets a cut of the deal, he controls his own match politics (hence Chono using the 'matchmaker' gimmick in public), and he can make money by bridging NWA-TNA together with New Japan. However, Hogan made an even smarter move by associating with NWA-TNA. He knows that they are going to meet his price tag, and he knows that they will give him what he wants. He's given NWA-TNA the ultimate "sleep with the devil" proposition - if they go along with what he wants to do, he'll bring the power of name recognition to the table. He'll help NWA-TNA with getting the attention of American TV executives, and ultimate it will lead to a national TV deal for the promotion - something they need for survival. USA Networks, FOX, ABC, HBO, you name a network without wrestling on it - and you will find that there a lot of TV executives who suddenly become very interested in wrestling programming once the name of Hulk Hogan is mentioned. In the end, NWA-TNA will benefit short-term - in the long-term, Hulk Hogan benefits. It's always been that way, and always will be that. At age 50, Hogan is proving that he is still (far and away) the smartest man in the wrestling business.
Hogan's ties with NWA-TNA puts Vince McMahon in a very tough position. McMahon's company is free-falling, no momentum is being gained, and now his main opposition on PPV just got the biggest free agent with huge name recognition. The quandry Vince McMahon is in is simple - if he starts attacking Hogan and NWA-TNA publicly, all he does is legitimatize them. Doing that, he would elevate both parties which is completely against what he wants to do. However, McMahon is desparate and a war will definitely break out. If Hogan is successful in NWA-TNA, it may spark what the American business has needed since WCW's demise - competition.
For NWA-TNA, bringing Hogan into the fold is brilliant for international relations. More specifically, with the Japanese. New Japan will be willing to pay big bucks to start a talent exchange program where NJ will send midcard and low-card guys to work NWA-TNA PPVs in exchange for NWA-TNA guys being sent to Japan. For NWA-TNA, if they can send guys to Japan, it will give them major leverage in booking talent and bringing in top wrestlers. It will also give them the chance to book wrestlers and not have to pay for their salaries. That right there is the sweetheart portion of this equation.
Hulk Hogan sealed his fate with Vince McMahon when he told the Japanese press the day before the 10/13/03 Tokyo Dome show that he was not going to show up at Wrestlemania 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Hogan's words of "I'm bored with Vince. No more WWE. No more Vince." sealed his fate into the position he is in. For Hogan, he will be able to command what he wants, remain in the spotlight, and make millions of dollars doing it at age 50. For NWA-TNA, bringing in Hogan will ultimately land them what they desparately need for survival - money and a TV deal. For New Japan, bringing in Hogan will help Chono the booker steer the company away from press attention on the shoots. For Antonio Inoki, he may own his company but he just lost a lot of power in the process. His own positive spin is if his 'boy' Hogan ends up hurting Vince McMahon in the United States. If Inoki cannot regain the focus of his company towards shootfighting, he will create his own promotion and stay away from New Japan - which for true pro-wrestling fans is what they want..
-Zach Arnold
