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WWE/TNA: What Does Ric Flair's Hall of Fame Announcement Mean for Both Companies?

Posted: Jan 13th 2012 By: mikeiles

In case you missed it Ric Flair recently announced (Well, spoke to a guy with a handy cam while signing autographs) that he was going to be at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony with the rest of the four horsemen. The question is; what does this mean?

Ric has always been his own man, doing what he wants when he wants, but he is under contract with TNA and unless he knows something he isn't sharing, he will still be under contract when the ceremony rolls around.

The way I see it, there are four possible scenarios here:

1) Ric Flair's contract runs out in time for the ceremony on March 31. I am pretty sure that TNA doesn't have a no-compete clause in their contracts like WWE, but with Ric Flair currently acting as Gunner's manager and the possibility of TNA having more plans for him, there is a chance his contract won't end in time.

2) TNA releases Ric Flair. I can't see TNA releasing Ric Flair just so he can go to the Hall of Fame ceremony. It just makes no sense for them.

3) Ric Flair ignores any obligation he has with TNA and goes to the Hall of Fame anyway. This one, in my opinion, is the most likely purely because of the stubborn streaks of the WWE and Ric Flair. If Ric does appear on WWE programming while under contract expect Dixie Carter to have a group of lawyers ready to sue both parties over obvious breaches of contract.

4) TNA strikes a deal with WWE. Dixie Carter isn't an idiot. She knows that the WWE wants Ric Flair and if she has him under contract that means she holds all the cards. The likely hood of WWE making a deal with TNA is small, but Vince had to be prepared for this before he announced the Horsemen will be a part of the Hall of Fame.

Now, this fourth one really interests me. If they did a deal, which will never happen as long as Vince McMahon is alive, what would it be?

Would there be financial restitutions? Could we see a trade of talent (throw a wrestler to TNA that they were going to release anyway) or even just a small favor, like removing a no compete clause from a recently released wrestler? What could WWE offer TNA in order for them to hand over Ric Flair?

Of course, with all that being said, I think I need to point out their is a fifth and most unlikely option; Ric doesn't show up. Can you imagine the fury from fans if the four horsemen are inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame without Ric?

What would the other horsemen do? Would they walk? Would the Hall of Fame finally be recognized as the pathetic joke that it is? I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, aren't I?

The simple fact of the matter is this, Ric Flair's employment at TNA will most likely end soon, but whether it ends quietly or with fireworks is the real question. Personally I hope for a bit of fireworks. What about you?