Welcome to Seven Things, a list that will run weekly and consist of very eclectic topics. These are of my opinions and doesn’t express the views of others on WrestlingOnEarth.
One of the most interesting concepts in sports is trades. The ability to see athletes switch teams when both parties believe they are better from swapping players. Always a curiosity of mine, I frequently imagine a world where wrestling promotions make trades of talent.
In the past, we’ve seen an unofficial trade of “one night only” appearances by WWE and TNA. Ric Flair was allowed to appear at the WWE Hall of Fame despite being a member of the TNA roster and WWE active star Christian Cage appeared on a TNA PPV to cut a promo & introduce a highlight video package that celebrated TNA’s anniversary on the apropos named event Slammiversary.
That “trade” did not work out so well as Flair didn’t live up to his word to TNA (Ric Flair being unprofessional? Who knew?!) and certain parties being unhappy (TNA getting embarrassed? Who knew?!?! x 2) so obviously trades would realistically be problematic. Given money, contracts and many more factors, there is a sea of reasons that will prevent it from ever happening but it’s quite the fun topic to discuss. The criteria for these trades are simple. Sometimes wrestlers get stale or have been in a company so long, sometimes they just are not being used well, sometimes they seem to be a better fit to another company.
The top 7 trades should be based off some of these, if not all. Without further ado, here are my 7 Wrestling Trades in today’s wrestling climate.
Reminder: If you have any suggestions for future lists, feel free to share them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter: @typicalROHfan.
7. Jeff Hardy (to WWE) for Batista (to TNA)
While it may only be two months in, I think even the most diehard WWE supporters can admit the Dave Batista return did not work out the way WWE intended. Brought back as a face meant to spark Wrestlemania and somewhat fill the void of what The Rock has brought to the road to Wrestlemania last few years, Batista was greeted with utter disdain by the WWE faithful. A mix of liking their babyface stars at the time more than him, WWE severely overrating the legacy of Batista and just poor booking led to Batista having to turn heel and basically be a 2nd tier player in his own Wrestlemania program.
Meanwhile, Jeff Hardy is in TNA. As Willow. It doesn’t take much to put 2+2 together and see that Jeff is behind this idea. TNA’s last “legacy” asset, Hardy sells more tix than anyone else on their roster, a facet that TNA is struggling with. Without being able to offer as many things as WWE, TNA’s biggest pro would be to offer Hardy some creative respect and allow him to do something like Willow. The problem? Willow is crazy. And not good crazy.
Flipping these two would improve both of their uses. Hardy still can go when motivated and I believe fans would gravitate towards him more than Batista. For all his faults, Hardy is still a likeable dude and Batista still seems like the biggest douchebag on the planet. Batista just doesn’t fit well in today’s WWE and strange to say, would be better off working his style in TNA. Plus the Guardians of the Galaxy buzz is doubtful to be a big help to WWE as you can barely tell it’s even him in that movie. A promotion like TNA is more starved for the promoting that would be minimal in a WWE bubble but massive for TNA.