By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA announcer Taz says he hopes Hulk Hogan's addition to the TNA creative side will lead to a more back-to-basics approach where TNA storylines are easier to follow and not over-complicated that the average viewer is lost trying to follow the stories.

"In my opinion, professionally, and on the record, I think that it’s not a bad thing if we get back to the basics a little bit. I believe let’s get back to the nuts and bolts of the business. I believe that’s what we need to do," Taz told Alfonso Castillo of Newsday in a lengthy interview. "And I don’t know if that’s Hulk Hogan’s vision. I’m not sure. But I hope so, because I think that’s the way we need to go. Let’s get back to basics a little bit."

Taz said he believes the current creative team has passion and "an extremely strong work ethic," but perhaps too much effort is being put into developing over-complicated storylines when a simpler approach would be better.

"You know, sometimes there’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen and the meal doesn’t get done. You know what I mean? So read between the lines of what I’m saying to you," Taz said. "So, there are some things that need to be worked out, sure."

Taz added his perspective from working for WWE as an announcer. He said he became accustomed to calling some "convoluted TV shows," so he's not intimidated by trying to make sense of multiple storylines that are part of the TV product.

"Am I a fan of that? No, I am not," he said. "I am a throwback guy. I am an old school, traditional guy, but I’m not archaic. What I mean by that is that I like wrestling. I like action. I like okay, wrestler A dislikes wrestler B, and they’re going to have a fight. Good. I get that. I don’t want to think too much. Let me get it. Let me see it. Let’s do it."

Taz added that he believes Hogan can help TNA get on the right track with storytelling. He said his experience with Hogan in WWE was that he has a vision for how to present wrestling.

"I don’t think Hulk Hogan is behind the times at all. I’m not buddies with Hulk Hogan, but when I was on Smackdown and Hulk Hogan was there, I got to know Hulk a little bit there. And to the contrary, he’s a very progressive thinker in the industry," Taz said.

The key in TNA is the talent roster and how to utilize the wrestlers on the roster. Taz said he believes TNA will eventually make stars with the right approach to presenting wrestling TV.

"I think that in TNA we’ve got a lot of guys who are talented enough to let their hair down and get over huge," Taz said. "You’ve got the creative teams in TNA and the creative teams at WWE trying to do segment after segment that’s awesome. ... It’s tough to top yourself every single month."

Caldwell's Analysis: After reading the very lengthy interview, I got the impression Taz will always be a company-guy through-and-through describing whatever action or storylines TNA asks him to call, but he also has an opinion on what he wants to see from wrestling. And I believe it's the right opinion that TNA must simplify their storylines if they're going to grow an audience. Wrestling is not "24" or "Lost." It's the most fundamental form of storytelling-based theater and TNA has moved so far away from the basics that only the hardcore of hardcore TNA followers have stuck with the product for the last four years. TNA will be on the right track if Hogan's words on a piece of paper - most notably the MMA discussion in an interview yesterday - take fruit and create a more simplified TV product.

Link: Read more on Alfonso Castillo's Newsday blog.

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