Anyone who doesnt think it would benefit both brands is not very smart.
The Flair, Christian exchange was just scratching the surface. Even though this wasnt a big deal, because both wrestlers didnt wrestle. It was a big deal in the fact that WWE and TNA agreed on something and worked together.
Way down the road I could see a scenario like this.
WWE and TNA agree to cross promote on 2 of there PPV's. WWE PPV and TNA PPV.
Vince could "invite" Dixie Carter to Raw. Vince could in his sexest way insult her and TNA.
Dixie could say her 2 best wrestlers could beat Vinces 2 best wrestlers. Something along those lines.
Vince could choose his top 2 wrestlers in Cena and Lesnar. Dixie chooses Abyss and Samoa Joe.
At the next TNA ppv you would have Samoa Joe vs. John Cena in the main event.
The following WWE ppv you would have Abyss vs. Lesnar.
There is a way to book the outcome of each match to benefit WWE and TNA.
The only argument people have as to why this shouldnt happen is because WWE doesnt want to promote TNA and make it bigger.
I think it would be good for business if TNA was bigger.
WCW vs. WWF was amazing TV. It made it much much much more fun.
I remember sitting on the school bus when my friend told me "The Giant" signed with the WWF.
TNA being better is good for the WWE.
Your point of view is based on pure, 100% fantasy booking. I like fantasy booking as much as the next fan but to think that this could work just because of how cool it sounds is foolish.
Pro wrestling has always beena cutthroat business at the end of the day. Back in the territory days, first and foremost, promoters were all about putting their company ahead of anyone or anything else. Talent exchanges happened every so often with cross promotional events being rare. When it was all said and done though, each promoter was in it for themselves. That's a mentality that hasn't changed all that much since those days.
Look at just a few of the egos that would be involved: Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Triple H & Eric Bischoff. All four of these men have MASSIVE egos and they're just four of the many cooks that'd be trying to tend this fire. Do you honestly believe that these men will put aside their own personal arrogance for the sake of helping each other grow? C'mon now...there's not enough optimism in the world today to believe that such a thing has even a slight chance of taking place anywhere in the near future. The entire idea would almost certainly wind up imploding, due in part to the egos involved. I have little doubt that the WWE side would want to make sure that, when it's all said and done, the WWE came out looking better and I've no doubt that the TNA think tank would want the exact same thing for their company.
Which brings me to my next point: Why would WWE want to realistically help these other companies? Featuring talent for one or two nights that your audience might not be familiar with, and that ultimately wrestles for other companies, sounds like a cool idea but it's not something that's going to realistically benefit the WWE. Companies like ROH & TNA would have an opportunity to benefit simply from having their talent appear on WWE television. Raw typically draws anywhere from 4.5 to sometimes in excess of 5 million viewers a week during certain times of the year. I'm sure that TNA & ROH would get a kick from having Bobby Roode & Davey Richards wrestle in front of that sort of audience. Could that lead to an increase of their audience? Possibly. Would it be of any benefit to the size of WWE's audience? Highly unlikely. Those wrestlers don't draw huge audiences for their respective brands, so they're not likely to bring in many viewers for WWE, especially for just a one or two time appearance.
Also, your pick for TNA's top two wrestlers in Samoa Joe & Abyss is laughable. Not tryin' to be a dick or anything but..seriously? Those are the two that you think should be the guys that should do this??? Cena vs. Joe?? Really?? Samoa Joe hasn't been relevant for years now and mostly continues to get by in TNA based on nostalgia for what he's meant to TNA's past. As for Abyss, the idea that an Abyss vs. Lesnar match would draw is ludicrous. It's a good example of the general disparity in star power & drawing ability, in which TNA has far more to gain out of such an idea overall than WWE does. I'm sure Dixie Carter would be more than happy to let WWE elevate her company to another level as long as it meant that her company came out looking every bit as strong or better than WWE. That's just not going to happen.
Also, have you forgotten that TNA has filed a lawsuit against WWE? Regardless of who is declared as being right and wrong in the courts when it's all said and done, WWE is maintaining that they're being sued for doing the "right thing", alleging that they returned the material and have claimed to have made no use of it. If the courts agree with WWE, then there's still the fact that Vince will remember this. We all know Vince McMahon's ability to hold onto a grudge is the stuff legends are made of. If the courts side with TNA, Vince will not only hold a grudge but he'll be royally pissed off that he lost at something to TNA. Remember that thing about egos I was talking about earlier in the post? The only thing worse than Vince McMahon on an ego trip is Vince McMahon with a bruised ego.
