Hello once again Splashers! For those of you who have read my blogs you might have noticed I have been gone for a couple of weeks. This was due to my laptop crashing, and costing me over $150 to fix. Well enough of the chit-chat, let's get down to it!

Whenever I read blogs or news reports that has to do with TNA, there is ALWAYS that one person who has to point out that TNA is filled with WWE leftovers. And the truth is they are 100% right! Now before that person starts geting a huge ego boost, and doing victory laps around thier computer this is where I start telling you things you might not want to hear. The truth of the matter is the WWE is also FILLED with "leftovers" from other wrestling organizations. In fact Vince McMahon made his first million by stealing the best talent away from the local venues and signing them with the company which was once known as the WWF.

Don't beleive it? The Monday Night Wars from 1995-2001, it was those years, and the final demise of WCW where the WWE bought out the WCW, where a huge surge of talent came into the company for many years. Let's take a look at some of these names and see if any of them look farmilliar to you...I'm gonna throw names out, just off the top of my head.

Chris Jericho
Before Chris Jericho was ever Y2J, he was the "Iatola of Rock & Rola". He won a few titles including the WCW TV Title, and the Crusier-Weight Title, however he never won the big WCW Title. One of WCW's biggest problems is that they never pushed any other talent. Jericho left for greener pastures in 1998 to the WWF/WWE.

Eddie Guerrero
As we all know Eddie sadly past away on November 13th 2005. He was another WCW wrestler who was being kept down from the politics in the back, and he even went in the ring with his luggage and told the company where to stick it and left for the WWE to one day become WWE champion at WrestleMania 20.

Rey Mysterio
Rey Myterio was known as Rey Mysterio Jr in WCW, and despite the fact at one point he was a double champion (WCW World Champion and WCW Cruiserweight Champion) for a short time, the cost was very high. In 1999 Rey Mysterio was in a Hair vs Match against Kevin Nash at Super Brawl IX. In the end Mysterio lost, and he was forced to remove his mask. He left WCW shortly after and arrived in WWE in 2001.

Mick Foley
Now I have not mentioned ECW much in this blog, and it's not that I don't reckongize that company, far from it. I just feel that just about everyone had been in ECW in the early 90's. That was where most wresstlers would go for thier first chance to break into the buisness. and Mick Foley was a big part of ECW. People think his Hell in a Cell matches were brutal...go look up his barbed wire matches against Terry Funk.

Mick wrestled under the name "Cactus Jack" in WCW from 91-94, and he was never happy with the company, especially when Eric Bichoff took over.

Jim Ross
We have been talking alot about wrestler, so I though I'd change the pace a bit. Yep that's right Good Ol' J.R. is even came from another company, before he came to the WWE. SHOCKING! isn't it? Ross worked with the NWA/WCW for many years, and was working his way up the executive ladder. Somehow in the scheme of things Eric Bichoff got a promotion, and that's when things started to go south for J.R. He left the company in 1993.

C.M. Punk
Here's a twist, C.M. Punk came from TNA. While there is no doubt the WWE has given him more opportunities, and a far better career than TNA did it just proves that WWE picking up TNA's talent as well.

Kharma
Here is another great TNA talent, formerly known as Awesome Kong. Kong had a great career in TNA and was a dominant force in the Knockout Division (That's Diva's in TNA for those of you who just don't watch TNA.) However her career in TNA came to an abrupt end, when she had a nasty dispute with Bubba the Love Sponge; a radio shock jock that was with TNA at the time. TNA management did not back Kong on the dispute, and ultimately she left the company.

Still not convinced? well here's a few of other names that has worked for televised wrestling organizations, and eventually came to the WWE/WWF.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
(aka - "Stunning" Steve Austin World Class Championship Wrestling)


The Undertaker
(aka "Mean" Mark Callous WCW & World Class Championship Wrestling)

Booker T

Chris Benoit

Dean Malenko

DDP


Those are the big names that are of the top of my head, and most of them are either past away, or are not on the active roster. I'm sure if I really hunted for more I could find others, but I think I got the point across. That the WWE has no problems picking up leftovers from other wrestling companies. Today the WWE has other venues to find new talent (NXT, Tough Enough, and the FCW), but that doesn't stop them frmo their traditional routes to finiding good talents.

In this Blog I've talked about how the grass has been greener in the WWE, but has the grass been greener for those who left the WWE for TNA? That's what I'm going to talk about in my next blog. So until next time Splashers...Keep on Splashin'! -Rick Starr