- There are a few big situations to watch as 2008 comes to an end, in that several top wrestling names could be jumping ship between WWE and TNA.
There is some smoke to the rumors of Mick Foley joining TNA as people close to the situation believe it is a strong possibility and TNA has began working on merchandising ideas for Foley. Mick can't be signed to TNA until September 1st and with all the No Surrender TV tapings done already, he won't be appearing on TV. Foley probably won't be appearing at No Surrender either as Jeff Jarrett and Sting are set to appear on the show and Foley would just be overkill.
Team 3D's contracts are set to expire soon and within TNA, everyone is betting that they stick around but some time off and a return to WWE for Team 3D is a very good possibility.
Kevin Nash is another interesting situation. It's believed that after Nash being removed from a planned main event with Samoa Joe and his personal problems with recent booking, the former World Champion is unhappy. Clearly the two sides have sent signs to each other that they can live without the other. We do know that Nash isn't booked to wrestle Joe at Bound For Glory and as of now, is not scheduled to wrestle at all on the company's biggest show of the year. No word yet if there would be any interest from WWE on Nash, but he is good friends with some key people in the company.
Awesome Kong signed a one-year deal with TNA about ten months ago and had spoken up at meetings in the past about how happy she was with TNA and said she was glad she didn't pursue an opportunity with WWE. WWE did have interest in Kong at one point but decided not to sign her because of her look and felt that a female wrestler like her couldn't get over in the United States. With WWE realizing the success of TNA's Knockouts division and seeing what they have done with Kong, she also could find herself on the WWE roster if things worked out.
Christian Cage's contract with TNA is also expected to be up soon and he also has been critical of the booking in TNA. Christian was burnt out on WWE's schedule when he signed with TNA a few years ago and was almost guaranteed a Heavyweight Title run, so that was a plus. One of the key factors in him leaving WWE was he would have time to do some acting work but after one movie there hasn't been much of talk about that so his motivation for leaving WWE could be gone. Christian had the chance to leave TNA before he signed another deal but chose not to. Right now within TNA, he is considered the most serious potential departure because the feeling is there is a big angle waiting for him in WWE and if he's offered it, there's a small chance TNA could keep him. A top spot with Edge on SmackDown could be a possibility. While he pissed some people off in WWE when he left, they have expressed interest in having him back. Christian told people in WWE he was taking time off and that he wasn't going to TNA, even though he had already signed his deal. There's a chance that WWE could forgive Christian for business decisions and have him back, if he wanted.
Ric Flair is also technically a free agent, but a long shot. TNA has planned to use Flair's name in the Sting storyline over the next few weeks, but that's just TNA being TNA, dropping names. It is a possibility the two sides could work something out for some kind of appearance, but there are no talks or anything at all like that right now. If Flair is under the impression that he can return to WWE with no hard feelings one day, then he probably won't do anything with TNA. Flair working with TNA is indeed a possibility, but a long shot.
Regardless of who goes where, there's always that advantage that TNA has of providing some of the older stars an easier working environment with a chance to make some nice money. On the other hand, WWE pretty much guarantees them bigger money, a bigger spotlight and that feeling of being back in a company like WWE again.
