Each week, WrestleZone columnist Michael Sullivan tackles an intriguing or controversial subject from the WrestleZone Forums.
From an initial forum post at http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=260683
Before I begin, I’d like to stipulate that I’m only talking about active wrestling contracts in this article. Obviously the WWE would love to have Hulk Hogan and Sting on Legends contracts. It doesn’t take a visionary to see that there’s money in a one-time-only Sting vs. Undertaker match.
But in terms of the day-to-day roster, the WWE is not interested in a heavy influx of TNA talent. Despite TNA’s oft-lamented reliance on revisiting WWE angles, there is no impending “Invasion” afoot. Triple H appears to be heavily invested in developing a specific type of wrestler – men and women under age 30, with athletic builds, and willing to spend extensive amounts of time going through WWE’s proprietary training system. Trips has even said in production meetings that “TNA [has] nobody” that the WWE currently needs.
So why would we even go through this exercise? Well, mostly because it’s kind of fun, imagining TNA’s biggest stars facing off in dream match-ups against the big dogs in the WWE. It’s also an extremely relevant time to have this discussion. Rob Van Dam recently returned to the WWE after a few years in the TNA hinterlands, and he was immediately given a big push (not coincidentally, he has been putting on arguably his best work since the mid-aughts). Moreover, it’s easy to make a case that the WWE should look seriously at importing new talent right now. John Cena and Sheamus are both injured, and a good chunk of the mid-card has been mired in mediocrity for a couple of years now.
In the WWE – right this moment – “Little Jimmy,” the imaginary friend of infrequently used midcarder R-Truth, is more over than the World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto del Rio. Surely in this environment, someone from the TNA roster could step in and excel.
