Dixie Carter On Rock & Austin To TNA, Hogan's TNA Role, WWE Competition, More

TNA President Dixie Carter recently sat down with the United Kingdom's The Sun discussing January 4th's edition of TNA iMPACT!. Here are some of the highlights of the interview:

Whether Hulk Hogan will be more than an on-air talent:

"Absolutely. He is a great on-air talent, but his biggest contribution to TNA will come from him partnering with me. I can't imagine a door that the two of us could not open or a deal that the two of us could not close."

Whether he will help with the direction of the company:

"Yes, he is involved with everything from looking at new talent to how we are shooting the show.
The two of us, over the past several months, have literally ripped apart every single aspect of the company. I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it, and what better eyes than the greatest wrestler in the history of this business.. We're looking at what we can do better, what we can do differently and what we can try."

What will be defined as success or failure tomorrow:

"How I define success is just being there. Just the fact that we are there on Monday night is a huge success for us. It makes the exact statement that we want to make. This is a marathon not a sprint. The ratings, quite honestly, are irrelevant. Our success is being there and the quality of the show we put on. That's how I'll assess it as far as that specific night goes. But the real winner on Monday January 4 is the wrestling fans, because this truly is the classic David and Goliath set-up. We have Goliath bringing out the biggest guns that they could possibly bring.. And we're trying to put our best foot forward. You'll see a lot of surprises and a lot of great showcasing of TNA's top talent. The bottom line is that the fans are going to win that night and wrestling is going to win that night. And that's what we want to see happen."

Whether AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Daniels will still be in the Main Event when Hogan arrives:

"I think Terry has an amazing eye for talent and, with all those people your readers are mentioning, his goal is to make them household names. I can't imagine a better person or brain to have behind the amazing talent that those young guys possess. So that's actually one of the main reasons I brought him in. Again he's not coming in worried about Hulk Hogan and making sure Hulk Hogan is getting over, that's not his job. His job is to get TNA over. And to get TNA over, AJ Styles has to become a household name, Desmond Wolfe has to become a household name, Beer Money has to become a household name. "

Whether they are ready for any tricks WWE might have up their sleeves:

"They may say that they don't consider us competition or don't pay attention to us, but we deal with them playing those tricks with us all the time. Nothing is going to change in our game plan. We're going to continue to do what we do best and that's grow TNA one fan at a time. We're not taking on Vince McMahon. We're trying to give the wrestling fans what they want ? and that is to make wrestling better as a whole. The thing I'm most sick of is when somebody will put their hand over their mouth and say: "OK, I'll admit it, I'm a wrestling fan." Why do you have to admit you're a wrestling fan? Our goal is to make wrestling cool, hip and relevant."

Whether the full three hour show will be aired in the UK:

"I am getting asked this question non-stop and unfortunately the UK fans will see a two-hour edited version of the January 4 Impact on Saturday January 9. I hate the fact that is going to happen, but that's the reality of our situation. We're working to try and get the three-hour show in its entirety shown for free on Video Vault on tnawrestling.com for the UK fans and those around the world who also can't watch it live. It will be a delayed version, but we will find a way to make sure everyone gets to see that full three-hour show.

On WWE calling themselves an entertainment brand rather than a wrestling brand:

"Well we are a WRESTLING company. We have WRESTLERS telling stories through WRESTLING moves and storylines. How can you say you're not a wrestling company? It's time for us to stand up and be proud of that. Because if we're not proud of it, how can we make the fans proud to say that they're wrestling fans?"

Whether Rock, Steve Austin or Shane McMahon will ever be in TNA someday:

"There's nobody we won't go after. But they have to be right to come to the company. They have to be in it for the right reasons. They've got to fit in with what we're doing. If that's The Rock then fantastic. If it's RVD then fantastic. It doesn't matter. If somebody makes sense and has that work ethic and wants to embrace being a wrestler on a wrestling show and trying to do something different then we would love to have them. And, I promise you, we have many more exciting surprises to come."