Earlier this week, it was announced that TNA was pulling its talent off the roster of Ring of Honor, just because the latter promotion is making its first inroads into pay-per-view later this year. Ring of Honor introduced fans to current TNA stars such as Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley, Homicide, and Jay Lethal. Ring of Honor also featured veterans like Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles. TNA's de-facto commissioner, Jim Cornette, served as commissioner for ROH as well for a time, raising his profile after he was unceremoniously dismissed by WWE. So why won't any of these men appear for Ring of Honor again?

Because TNA ownership, which could be either Jeff Jarrett or Dixie Carter, not necessarily both, perceives ROH's entry into PPV as a threat. ROH is using PPV differently than TNA or WWE. I've read that they'll run tape-delays of house shows, using PPV as an outlet to sell their DVDs. Right now, we don't know how much the consumer will have to pay for ROH PPVs, but the thought I have is that it will be considerably cheaper than either WWE or TNA's monthly live specials, which are budget-busters for Joe Average Fan.

We're at a time when TNA is trying to establish itself as a viable competitor to WWE, gradually moving toward relaunching the Monday Night Wars if/when they expand Impact to 2 hours and take the step of moving the series to Mondays. They went head-up with Raw when the latter aired on tape-delay on a Thursday in February, and got creamed in the ratings. TNA should be working more in concert with Ring of Honor by doing joint PPVs, not creating a chasm between the two promotions because of a misperception. If this creates heat between Ring of Honor's Gabe Sapolsky and Jarrett or Carter, it's going to hurt TNA long-term because it will lead to ROH developing a working arrangement with WWE. History would be repeating itself, with ROH in the same position ECW was in 10 years ago, and TNA has been perceived as Jarrett's reimagining of late-period WCW anyway. WWE already has signed Colt Cabana and CM Punk is now a top star for the McMahon-rebooted ECW. You can bet WWE is taking a close look at other ROH stars, such as Nigel McGuiness and Adam Pearce.

Think back to the brief run of Wrestling Society X earlier this year. I advocated that WSX & TNA might do well to unite. Unfortunately, WSX is now a faded memory thanks to MTV's short-sighted programming nerds. TNA appears to be putting the proverbial cart before the horse by severing its ties to Ring of Honor and taking away Shelley & Homicide. Daniels & Joe have already said their goodbyes to ROH, but neither wanted to burn their bridges. TNA may have just done that for them, whether they realize it or not. If TNA doesn't get their act together, however, Spike TV could take a look at ROH and decide that there might be something better to fill the time on Thursday & Saturday nights. Never mind Mondays, because it's still a ways off.

They say a man's reach far exceeds his grasp. Right now, that applies to TNA, because they're still not ready to reach that top rung on the ladder if they want to compete with WWE, and they may have just cut off an important lifeline that could've helped them get there.