Scott D’Amore recalls signing Christian Cage to TNA in 2005
Scott D’Amore recently detailed signing Christian Cage to TNA Wrestling in 2005.
In the latest edition of his D’Amore Drop for Yahoo Sports, D’Amore spoke about the former Edge and Christian reuniting at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. He recalled how he and Christian would talk from time to time during D’Amore’s first stint with TNA, and D’Amore would always joke about taking his call by answering, “How’s my future NWA World Heavyweight Champion doing?”
D’Amore said:
“He’d laugh and then I’d continue in a very ‘TV lawyer’ voice: ‘If you completed all obligations to your current employer — and were free and clear of any other obligations to third parties — we’d be interested in exploring a mutually beneficial contractual relationship.’ I’d go on like that and Jay would laugh. Only, one day, he didn’t laugh.”
D’Amore said that Christian told him he had something to prove. He wanted to show he could be a legit main-eventer and someone a promotion could build a pay-per-view around rather than just “someone who went out and had to steal the show in the co-main.”
D’Amore says that Christian proved not only could he be a main eventer in TNA, but he also showed other wrestlers that TNA was a legitimate career alternative.
“Christian Cage’s TNA run — with feuds against Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe — is legendary. Jay coming to TNA, and having the run of his career up to that point, showed other talent in WWE there was somewhere else to go. Kurt Angle arrived less than a year later, and that whole never-to-be-forgotten TNA golden era arrived.”
D’Amore’s article also reviews AAA Triplemania, talks about Naomi and Jimmy Uso’s recent announcement, and more. The full article is available here. Up next for D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Pro promotion is MLP Sacred Ground on September 5 at the Six Nations Sports & Cultural Centre in Ohsweken, Ontario, on the traditional territory of the Six Nations of the Grand River.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.