Dixie Carter talks about TNA's profitability, Hulk Hogan and life in the WWE

Sports Illustrated got up, close and personal with 49-year-old Dixie Carter and got her to open up about her humble beginnings, investing in TNA, becoming an on-screen character and more.

Here are some excerpts from the interview -

Getting on Spike TV -

“Once we got on Spike, we changed a lot of things and our revenues grew. We’ve been cash flow positive for the last four or five years.

“After that point, Panda stopped putting money in the company. We’ve funded it with every dollar we’ve made and maybe that’s kept us from growing quite as fast.”

Recent talent releases -

“Some people were let go… They didn’t resonate. They didn’t move the needle or the contract they wanted wasn’t something that was good for this company.

“Sorry, but this company has to be in business in 10, 20 years from now. I have to run a company and grow it. I’m to the point right now where things have to be a certain way for us.”

Going on the road -

“We went on the road thinking if we could sell 1,500-2,000 tickets, we’d be good. We went in with a very conservative budget. We didn’t come out here thinking we’d sell out arenas.

“The truth is we exceeded those budget numbers. We hit our revenue numbers, but we overspent when it came to loading out of the Universal studio.

“There was a two-month overlap that cost us… I think we’ve learned a lot from this. We learned that the show has to be shaken up, not the venue.”

If signing Hulk Hogan was worth it -

“Yes, I think Hulk has been worth it. He’s opened a lot of doors for us.

“When you’re about to lose a deal in an international territory, and one phone call from Hulk Hogan makes a man who doesn’t even speak your language melt and you get your deal back, that carries a lot of weight. There’s not another guy out there who could do that.

“If we did anything wrong with him, we used him too much on television. If he stayed with us, you’d probably see less of him.”

As a manager of the TNA clan, Carter, so it seems, is somewhat of a motherly figure to some of her wrestlers.

“TNA’s her baby,” said 36-year-old Hardy, the tortured artist of the group.

“In the WWE, you’re on the road every night, and it’s a busy, hard life,” said Hardy.

“Here it’s a lot more laid back because I have a three-year-old daughter and family time is more important to me. That’s probably the biggest thing with Dixie. She’s always flexible.”