SoCal Val On TNA Being Too Focused on WWE in the Past, The Misconception People Have Of What Hogan and Bischoff Did For TNA

August 22, 2017

FITE TV’s SoCal Val recently spoke with WrestleList, and below are some interview highlights:

On the early days of TNA and WWE Competition:

If I’m very honest, I think their focus was way too much about being second to WWE. Competition is always good but if you’re always looking at the person next to you and just trying to compete, trying to compete, trying to compete and trying to beat them, you lose sight of your own product. So I think that TNA was guilty of that off and on. Probably the best era from a wrestling standpoint was probably a little bit pre-Hogan era. Around 2005 to 2008 was the biggest time for us with Spike TV, and the X-Division was super hot.

On the misconception people have of what Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff did for TNA:

A lot of fans will come up to me and say “Eric Bischoff and Hogan – I don’t like what they did” and I say “Listen. You weren’t there. You have no idea what kind of professional guys Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are.” They were the easiest to work with; they were the kindest to all of us. They did a lot for us – I know that Hogan got us a lot of exposure and he was so pro-TNA and I think it was some of the best time professionally that we were there. So I loved that era and I think there’s a misconception of what Hogan and Bischoff did for us.

Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.

Nick attended New York University and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Drama.

Nick first entered the internet wrestling community back in 2004 when he became the co-host of The Voice of Wrestling Radio Show. From there, Nick made the transition from radio personality to editor when he began working with WrestleZone in 2008.

Nick is a member of two Off-Broadway theatre companies, Another Urban Riff, and the Drama Desk Award winning Godlight Theatre Company. Nick has appeared in over a dozen Off-Broadway plays since he moved to New York City, and has shot several short and feature length films. In 2010, he completed principle photography on a film titled "How to Score Your Life," which also features TNA Knockout ODB.

Inspiration in his life has come from many people including his family, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, The Beatles, and of course, Lassie.