Recent WWE Transactions

The WWE made a lot of moves this week to their roster, their DVD release schedule, and their PPV calendar. As far as their roster moves are concerned, current wrestlers, a retired wrestler, and even a referee saw themselves released from the company. In total, 8 men left the company including a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. As far as the change to the PPV calendar, it has created a situation for wrestling fans that they haven't encountered in over 20 years.

WWE Releases 8 Performers
The WWE has wished 8 of their contracted talents the best in all their future endeavors this week. The biggest name to leave the company was Ric Flair. He was working for the company in an ambassador-type role since retiring earlier this year. They agreed to part company because Ric felt he could make more money and accept more booking appearances on his own. The other wrestlers released from their contracts were: Braden Walker (aka Chris Harris), Nunzio, James Curtis, Shannon Moore, Domino, Big Daddy V, and referee Nick Patrick.

While none of these maneuvers will have a dramatic impact on the company, I find some of them surprising. I really thought that Nick Patrick was a lifer with the company as he has been a part of the WWE since they purchased WCW in 2001. The other one that caught me off guard was the release of Braden Walker. In TNA, he was a part of America's Most Wanted, arguably the greatest tag team in that company's history. I would have thought that he would have lasted on WWE television for more than a few weeks.

As if all these moves weren't enough, the rumor mill is buzzing that Mick Foley may not resign with the company when his contract expires on September 1. Foley confirmed the rumor in an interview with the Long Island Press. Based upon Foley's statement as well as his being off of TV due to the beat-down Edge gave him last week, it is entirely possible that we have seen the last of Mick Foley in the WWE (until he comes back to promote another book).

New WWE DVD Titles
When Amazon.com posted last year that we would be seeing WWE DVD collections for Sting and Randy Savage, most fans immediately knew that they weren't going to happen. However, while those two DVD release are still listed on Amazon.com, two new DVD titles were added to their list this week and are scheduled to come out around the time that the other two were supposed to come out. They are History of the Intercontinental Championship and Viva La Raza! the Legacy of Eddie Guerrero. I'm interested to see what is on the Eddie Guerrero DVD. The WWE released a 2-disc DVD set in 2004 that contained a biography and some of his greatest matches. Sadly, Eddie Guerrero passed away a year later.

Armageddon vs. Turning Point
Wrestling fans fondly remember the Monday Night War between the WWE and WCW. After seven years of peace, the WWE has launched the first strike in the Sunday Night Wars. They have moved Armageddon from December 21 to December 14. Unfortunately for TNA Wrestling, they have their Turning Point PPV scheduled for that night. This is only the second time in wrestling history that rival promotions have held live PPV events on the same night. The only other time that happened was in 1987 when the WWE scheduled the first Survivor Series to go against Jim Crockett's first attempt at PPV with Starrcade '87.

At this point TNA has two options. They can either change the PPV date or compete head-to-head with the WWE. Both are no-win situations for the company. If they change the date then they appear weak, especially in light of all their big talk against the WWE over the past year. If they compete against the WWE, they will more than likely lose a lot of money and find out just how far behind the WWE they currently are.

_{Photo of Shannon Moore, who used to compete on the CW Network Show Friday Night SmackDown, is: © 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.}