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Last time I wrote up a similar title, it was in the form of a question.  It should've been a rhetorical question as this situation has become a statement. 

About a week ago, it was announced by Dixie Clark herself that Christian Cage had decided to depart from TNA and return to the WWE.  According to one article, Christian Cage had become difficult (in my opinion he probably already had an offer from the WWE and wanted to see what TNA could do to match it).  Of course, you always want to leave the door open for someone as talented as Christian Cage, but unfortunately for TNA, his prime years will be last spent in the WWE.

One cannot help but speculate as to what propelled him to make this move.  Here's a few reasons I could fathom:

• TNA offered no meaningful growth at this phase in his career.  Unfortunately, TNA has placed their emphasis on Kurt Angle and the title on an aging Sting.  Obviously, they want to build their internal talent so moving the title on Christian Cage is probably an impossibility at this point.
  
• The WWE more than likely made a killer offer.  Of the people of his generation, Christian Cage still has yet to capture the world title in the WWE.  With Jeff Hardy now on top and Cage's close friend Edge now a clear main eventer, it'll be an excellent time for Cage to make his long awaited return.
• He got his side projects out of his system and is ready to commit to the big time.

That all said, I think TNA really made a huge mistep in resigning Sting and not moving Kurt Angle into Sting's role while Christian could've played #2 in the organization.  Sting's value in the company just doesn't work; he doesn't work, just shows up, doesn't talk, doesn't even sound convincing in his role.  For the reported amount of money Sting is earning, TNA should really sell him off and go for other relevant people that have been on the WWE's chopping block.  Either that or attempt to pull in more indy's workers (I think getting the Briscoe Brothers would be an excellent step for instance).

I can't fault Christian Cage for making his decision either.  Of all the people who trickled in as big name stars, Christian Cage had consistently upped his game plan over the past few years at TNA.  His matches have improved with him adding new moves or transitional spots in his matches.  His psychology is definitely better than Kurt Angle's at this point.  Also, Cage has age on his side and can keep up with all the X-Division (TNA's true core and soul) without fans worrying whether or not Cage will break his neck.  His interviews are always top notch with Chris Jericho being one of the few that can exceed him in the industry at the moment.

The other problem, which numerous writers have consistently and insistently pointed out to TNA, is that the booking is just rotten at this stage.  Or I should say more specifically the "writing" is rotten.  The question has nothing to do with the talent; the talent is solid and probably the best in the industry from top down.  However, the talent is completely stimied in stupidity in terms of the storylines.  The excessive off camera work and lengthy interviews have severely cut into the product's main focus, which is in ring action.  Everyone knows that in ring action is the only clear pure advantage TNA can have over the WWE at this stage of the game and TNA has shot themselves in the foot by this misprioritization.

In Christian Cage's case, he attempted to make the best of his situation whenever possible.  But he was relegated towards the end to being an upper midcard person, taking the backseat to people like Angle, Foley and Booker T.  For someone who actually improved their game plan, he was not rewarded appropriately and has probably made the best choice in switching his allegiance.

This is a huge loss for TNA.  Hopefully, TNA will look internally and start reorganizing themselves.  With Sting and Scott Steiner practically at the end of their journeys, TNA ought to focus on the promoting the few names that have managed to become branded over the past few years.  It's clear that at this point, bringing in ex-WWE talent will not raise ratings as expected.  It helps on a smaller scale at things like signings and adding a few extra seats at events, but the cost in those talents are not adding up.

Paul Heyman has written numerous articles on the subject and expressed his number one frustration with TNA's lack of branding themselves.  TNA should really take a long hard look at what they have done these past few years and see if their plans are on track with their ambitions.  A growing company like that should not be leaking those type of names.  They can clearly do better than this but for some reason they are not.