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What's the story?
On a recent episode of E&C's Pod of Awesomeness, Edge said that he was courted by TNA and almost signed for them around 2008 to 2009.
In case you didn't know...
In 2005, Christian left WWE as he felt that his career was stagnating. Along with this, the idea of a less rigorous schedule with fewer tours appealed to him, so Christian joined TNA to give his body an easier ride.
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The heart of the matter
Edge revealed that during his run with WWE in 2008, just as his contract was coming up, he was approached by TNA. He said:
TNA reached out to me, and [Christian was] there, so they reached out to me, and they told me numbers, and schedule, and all of these things. And for me, at that point, schedule was the thing that I was like, 'well, that'd be a whole lot easier on the body' because I was getting pretty beat up.
Edge also said it was the fact that he was working in the Main Event scene combined with the faith placed in him by WWE officials that kept him around. WWE had become like a home to him and he could not bring himself to leave that atmosphere despite the lighter schedule.
Parallels from history
Other than his friend and companion on the podcast, Christian, many other wrestlers from WWE made the jump to TNA to get a better push and lighter schedule. Jeff Hardy made a second return to TNA in 2010 when he took time off from WWE to heal his injuries. The gruelling schedule had done damage to his body, and the shift was just what he needed to get back in form. Both the Hardys returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
Author's take
Looking back, maybe Edge should have taken time off from WWE to heal his injuries and have a run in TNA. His career came to a premature end in 2011 as his injuries would not permit him to take a bump. Then again, given his career and sheer energy, maybe retirement was inevitable wherever he was and the fact that he stayed in WWE meant that the fans got to watch one of his best feuds with the Undertaker, which was ongoing at this time.
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