Christian un-Caged
Former WWE star making waves in TNA
Off the Top Rope
Chris Graham

Christian Cage knows he might be a trailblazer after walking away from the WWE. But the newest addition to the TNA roster isn't thinking of himself that way.

"I always have tried to do what's right for me, and at this point in time in my life, I felt that this was the best move for me personally and professionally. If other people find themselves in the same spot that I was ... it's hard to say," Cage told reporters on a conference call last week.

Cage - "Captain Charisma" from his days in the WWE, where, despite his cachet with the fans, he was always on the outside looking in as far as main-event status was concerned - left the wrestling industry's hegemon in November after eight years.

The decision to leave was "a very hard decision," Cage said in advance of his matchup on Sunday's Turning point pay-per-view with former NFL gridder Monty Brown.

"I'm not going to lie. It was a very hard decision, and a decision that can very well alter your life," Cage said. "So it's a risk. But the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, and I believe that from my standpoint, from TNA's standpoint, from everybody's. I think it's going to be great, and I just couldn't be happier with where I am right now and with the direction that TNA is going."

The direction that the upstart TNA is going in was what drew Cage - who said he watched the promotion's transition to a national-television contract with Spike TV with interest.

"I had obviously been watching 'TNA Impact' since they moved to Spike TV, and was really excited and intrigued about the direction of the company. And thought that they were doing something and that they were onto something special and that things were starting to happen. And thought that if I could be a factor in helping build TNA and making it into something special, I'd like to take that opportunity," Cage said.

He also admitted to having some "frustration" with the direction that his own career was taking in the WWE.

"There was a little frustration as far as the creative side of it for me. The schedule was very hectic. It was being on the road with them for eight years straight for 250 days a year. There were other factors as well. Everything kind of came up at once," Cage said.

He didn't leave the WWE on bad terms, he said.

"I don't feel like it was bad terms. I feel like I was professional about it. It's not like I quit or walked away," Cage said. "My contract expired on Oct. 31, and I stayed and worked an extra day when I wasn't contractually obligated to do so. But because of the situation, there was no way that I wanted to leave anybody in a bad situation, especially the fans. So I feel like I left on professional terms."

Cage said he felt upon his entree into TNA like "the new kid at school."

"Being in the same place for eight years, you get a comfort level. Coming to a new place, and walking into a new environment, with a few familiar faces, but for the most part, performers that you've never met before, I kind of felt like the new kid at school," Cage said. "You know, when you move to a new school, a new town, and you don't really know anybody, and you just try to fit in. The feeling that I got was a good feeling, that everybody was happy to have me there, happy to have me on board. And I'm obviously happy to be there and happy to be part of the team."

The feeling in the locker room at TNA is that "everyone wants to work together to make this, to make TNA, this show on Spike TV, really work," Cage said.

"And it's a feeling that something exciting is happening. It's a great atmosphere to be around," Cage said.

Cage hopes that he finally gets the push toward main-event status that eluded him in WWE.

"I feel really confident and really comfortable with it, to be honest with you," Cage said. "I felt like I've always been confident in my abilities, and I thought that I had what it took to be a main-eventer. I've felt that way for the past three years. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to step up and be one of the main guys on the show.

"I look forward to the challenge, and I feel that I thrive on pressure situations, so I look forward to getting a few of those. It's a great challenge, a great opportunity for me, and I want to strike while the iron is hot, and make the most of it, and most importantly, entertain the fans. That's what it's all about," Cage said.

He was close to achieving that in his last few months in WWE - when it had seemed that a program with WWE champion John Cena was in the cards.

"Obviously, when I first mentioned Cena's name, in Madison Square Garden, that was kind of when the tide really seemed to sort of change for me and people started to see me in a different light and wanted to see me on a different level," Cage said.

"And every chance that I would get, I would mention Cena's name, and the crowd really started to react. It was kind of neat seeing a guy talking about another guy on a different show. It started to snowball, and I really wanted for the fans to give them that match, because I think if they really wanted to see me, I wish they had a chance to see Christian versus John Cena one on one. But it never happened, and that's the way it goes sometimes," Cage said.

Cage said he has no regrets about anything that has happened in the past few months.

"The way that I felt was that this was a chance to go somewhere and be a factor right away and to really help something be built, and that this was something that had a bright future, and I really wanted to be a part of that. Everybody in TNA really made me feel like I was wanted there, and they wanted me to be there," Cage said.