Yeah it's a little unfair to hold TNA's lack of success against Hogan because there are sooooo many other factors that lead to that. It's silly as hell to even bring to the table.
He still appears on both morning and late night talk shows, he still has main stream media recognition despite the fact he does NOTHING outside of wrestling, and he even did a few Rent-A-Center commercials alongside Troy Aikman. Even his divorce made main stream news. And when his kid had that car accident that nearly killed his passenger, he was on CNN talking about him. He was on everything from Whitney to Howard Stern promoting his autobiography. He's not making as much money as The Rock, but don't kid yourself. He's still on a plateau all by himself in terms of public awareness. And it's his personal life that usually pulls people in these days, not his professional career. Good luck finding any media outlet that cares about Dwayne that much.
And if you're seriously going to knock Hogan because he's not in movies anymore like The Rock, have you SEEN the movies he was in? He's an awful actor. It's not his cup of tea. Once upon a time he could get away with it because he was the guy everyone wanted to see, during Hulkamania, so it didn't really matter if he could act or not. Despite his unrivalled fame in the wrestling world, he's just not that popular anymore. "Fame" and "popularity" are two different things and that's what some people don't understand.
Same as The Rock, look at the first movie he did while he was hot... "Scorpion King", by-far the biggest movie he ever did. Then as time passed, he slipped down to the ranks of "Tooth Fairy" and "Be Cool" and "Doom". The novelty wore off quickly with him as well. He's every bit as typecasted as Hogan which is why his movie roles keep getting goofier and goofier. Everyone knows people acknowledge him as a wrestler. What movie does everyone remember him for? Ask 10 people and you'll get 10 different answers. Hollywood did not make him a more polarizing figure at all. It simply made him richer, but good for him on that.
Hogan is unquestionably the bigger wrestling star. And when he dies, the media coverage will be on the same levels Michael Jackson's death was.
