Is Christian Cage Going to the WWE?

During last night's edition of TNA:iMPACT!, Christian Cage suffered a beat down at the hands of the Main Event Mafia after it was revealed that he would not be resigning with TNA and was looking at possibly heading back to the WWE. That attack can be seen here.

As is the case with these worked-shoot angles, there is a shred of truth to this story. Christian Cage does have a contract with TNA that is about to expire. However, whether or not he will be going to the WWE is another matter entirely. Since he is still under contract with TNA, he has not signed a new deal with the WWE.

Should TNA Resign Christian Cage?
Christian was one of the first of the big name defections from the WWE and has either been a part of the main event or very close to it since signing with the company three years ago. While losing his talent would obviously be a blow, the truth is that he has already feuded with almost every big name in TNA.
TNA was very smart in the way they wrote him off the show because if he doesn't come back then there is a good explanation for why he is gone. This is the exact opposite of when they lost Gail Kim who was the star of the Knockouts Division and just disappeared suddenly.
Of course with this being TNA, this could all be a swerve designed to get people talking. If he does come back, it can be a special moment. Recently, Kevin Nash was making a big deal about not wanting to resign with TNA and then magically appeared one night. Whether Christian stays or goes, give credit for booking this perfectly.

Should the WWE Sign Christian Cage?
When he was last in the WWE, he was stuck under the glass ceiling and appeared to be doomed to the mid-card. Christian made a smart move when he left the company. He is now viewed by the fans as being a credible main event star. The WWE can never have enough of those. While their disabled list pretty good right now, that could always change because there appears to be an annual injury bug that plagues the company. By having another main event star in their midst, they can rotate their talent in such a way that they are not overworking any of their stars.
If he comes back, he could be in the title picture of any of the three brands. I have to admit that I would love to see him make his return to the WWE when Edge comes back from his hiatus. Their tag team was incredible when they were both mid-card stars. If they reformed now, they would be the most important faction in the WWE since D-Generation X was separated by the draft.

What Should Christian Cage Do?
Since I don't know what either company is offering him or his financial status, I'm going to take a look at his choice through career and quality of life issues. Working for TNA, his travel would be much lighter. However, the company is starting to run more house shows so that issue is not as big of a deal as it was three years ago.
Another difference between now and then is that TNA has a lot more talent in the company. When Christian joined that company, he came in as the big fish in a small pond. Now the company has stars like the five men in the Main Event Mafia. The difference between those men and Christian is that they are all former World Champions in either the WWE or WCW.
Regardless of what anyone says, I would think that being a champion in the WWE is the ultimate goal of any wrestler. That is one of the few honors that Christian still does not have.
There is one possible drawback for Christian if he rejoins the WWE. How will he be treated in the WWE by the creative team? Will there be any hard feelings because he left the company and helped make TNA into a bigger company than they were? Looking at the WWE careers of Monty Brown and Chris Harris, that might make a TNA star a little leery about joining the WWE. However, the difference between Christian and those two men is that he became a star in the WWE and is still viewed by most as a WWE guy.

What's Going to Happen?
I honestly don't know. If I were a betting man, I would guess that he would be rejoining the WWE. Regardless of what happens, this is an exciting situation for both wrestling fans and great news for the wrestlers. There has not been a free agent discussion like this since WCW went out of business and gave the WWE a virtual monopoly over the wrestling business.

_{Photo: © 2008 Eric Cohen}