TNA: Is there a Face Change for Hulk Hogan on IMPACT?

One of the greatest things we saw on IMPACT this past week was the confrontation between Hulk Hogan and Sting. The intimidation by The Stinger and subsequent rant and face painting leads me to believe there might be a face change in the near future for Hulk Hogan.

Just follow me on this one.

When Sting was trying to save WCW from the NWO and Eric Bischoff, he became a darker, more intense character and tried to recruit wrestlers to help him in his battle.

Now, given that he is attempting the same thing as before in a different organization with the same set of writers and hierarchy, Sting is taking on a new vocal role that has fans screaming with joy.

In years past, it was Sting parading around like The Crow. Now, he is parading around as the Joker and painting faces. It shows a more creative side of Steve Borden that is not robotic and not staged.

It also shows the writers are trying to prove Sting as the savior of the company. It will be interesting to see if he recruits others (RVD, Scott Steiner, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles) to help in the cause like he did Luger, Savage, etc.

But because of his comments to Hogan that he needed to show the “real” Hulk Hogan and prove that he still had a heart, it comes to mind an idea that maybe the head games and the mental chess will get to head or as it seems, already has.

Usually, Bischoff and Hogan are joined at the hip on television. That was not the case this week and maybe battle lines will be drawn. Maybe Immortal will split. Maybe Ric Flair becomes the important player in all this conflict.

Boy, it seems like WCW all over again.

But here is the rub – WCW had more players involved that were pertinent and people like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are not around for this and those who would need to step up in those roles, mainly RVD, AJ Styles, maybe even Jeff Jarrett, don’t look the part or have the stroke (well maybe Jarrett) to pull this off. But Jarrett is too involved in the fight with Kurt Angle, which in my opinion has to stop!

Hogan remaining a heel does a lot of good for the network, but it also causes issues. He is great on the microphone and even better on camera these days. He works better as a heel for some reason. Even as he bleeds Red and Yellow, he is not a fan favorite anymore.

But cutting the “cancer” that is Eric Bischoff does a lot to open doors for more IMPACT success. It also shows wrestling matters to him.

Sting seems to be the only one that can get into his head right now. To others, he is just a figure head or puppet. And until the puppet realizes the mistakes he makes, then his value is diminished.

A face change makes him more of a character and one who can work for the greater good of the company.