TNA Wrestling: Wheels Starting to Move on Hulk Hogan's Face Change

The wheels are in motion for Hulk Hogan to finally show his true colors and turn face in TNA.

As reported weeks ago when Hogan stated online that he will turn face on Eric Bischoff and Immortal and beg the fans for forgiveness, the transformation is continuing in clearing the conscience of arguably wrestling’s greatest star ever to lace up boots.

Last night on TNA Impact, it was Kurt Angle who started with the mind games and the intimidation...the same mind games and forcefulness that Sting has been playing for over a month in an effort to reclaim TNA for deposed leader Dixie Carter.

Angle and Hogan met in the center of the ring to start the program. Angle called out the icon, stating he was tired of Hogan blowing his phone up, trying to get the Olympic hero to join Immortal and their quest to rid TNA of Sting.

It was more of the same tactics that Immortal had used to bring in Scott Steiner and Mr. Anderson into the fight with the Insane Icon.

Hogan spoke from the heart when Angle questioned his integrity and his ability to get the job done, and that if it was so important to Hogan to rid the company of the current world title holder, he should “get in the ring himself and do it.”

The crowd erupted when the statement was made, which lends to the idea that maybe Sting and Hogan will finally meet in the ring in a grudge match of sorts for both wrestlers with or without the world title on the line.

But for now, the concentration with TNA and its Impact program was the promotion of the Hardcore Justice PPV, which airs in 10 days.

The brand, which appears headed for changes in the near future because the network is rebranding its product, worked hard last night to continue to create angles and storylines that will culminate in title matches, confrontations and a few surprises over the next week and a half.

While Angle will meet Sting for the world title, it is not the only championship caliber match or feud that will spill out even more during the PPV.

Sting told Immortal in his “Joker” fashion that he had been chosen by the network to plan matches for the evening, which included the cage with Angle and Anderson and the X-Division “Final X” match between Abyss and champion Brian Kendrick.

Abyss has been taking heat since Kendrick won the title at Destination X and has been the odd man out in Immortal, taking verbal abuse from all sides, including Karen Jarrett and new member Mr. Anderson.

Abyss was ordered to win the title back so Bischoff would not have to work with the network’s idea of more development of the X Division.

And like a good story, Abyss lost the match and therefore will face more abuse from his stable mates, which leads me to believe there will be a face change in the near future. You cannot anger a 350-pound monster for too long before he gets a little mad.

While Immortal appears to be consumed with its feud with Sting and now Angle, it is also proof that it is only as good as its performers and bonds within the faction.

Bully Ray and Anderson do not get along and have proven to be oil and vinegar (yes, it’s a storyline), and because of the dissension between the two, Bully Ray was instrumental in Anderson losing the cage match last night.

Gunner still appears to be the best performer of the group, but he too lost last night in a Bound for Glory Series match against RVD.

The match was very even throughout with both men scoring advantages with their contrasting styles in the ring, but it was RVD with the 5-Star Frog Splash from more than half the length of the ring to securer the win.

RVD seems poised to make some noise in this tournament.

In the other BFG match of the night, Crimson faced his toughest competition of the tournament when Bully Ray came out and systematically beat down the youngster and did something he has not done in ages: he mat wrestled for some of the match, Ric Flair-style.

But in the end, Crimson, who is still “unbeaten,” defeated the veteran to move into second place in the series standings.

With Kendrick retaining the X-Division belt last night, he is now primed to defend the title against Alex Shelley and Austin Aries in the Three-Way Dance at the PPV.

In maybe the most entertaining vignette of the night, Shelley and Aries went verbal blow for blow (Kendrick cannot speak well and his microphone skills need work), where Shelley told Aries he should respect the division and understand the ground work that was formed before Aries won his contract into TNA.

Aries is a cocky and brash middleweight who gets better as he keeps talking. He reminded me of a young Eddie Gilbert from years ago last night.

The feud between Aries and Shelley is great to see, but right now Kendrick has the belt and in order for that feud to continue between the two other combatants, the champ must get out of the way.

Now that the cement has been poured, let’s just see what the footing is next week before the PPV before I change my mind that more needs to be done to build this event into something bigger.

But I do have to admit, I felt better about TNA’s position after watching last night’s program.