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TNA, or Impact Wrestling as they are known, is having a hard time at the moment. In fact, they have been having a hard time a lot in recent years, whether it be wrestlers leaving the company, bad business decisions or poor attendance, which has left the company under a lot of criticism. But now and the past, they've had one hell of a roster that has given us some of the greatest matches and moments over the last 16 years.
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To give credit where credit is due, despite TNA's well-known money issues throughout their existence, they have still managed to sign some of the biggest names in history of the industry, and pretty much all the big names in the business between 2002 - 2013, who weren't either working for WWE at the time, retired with no intention of being in the business again, or deceased.
Let's take a look at the top 10 biggest signings in TNA Impact Wrestling history.
Note: I will not be ranking these based on how big they are, rather how big of an Impact that had in TNA.
#10 Booker T
WWE and WCW legend and former 6-time World Champion Booker T made his TNA debut in November 2007 at the Genesis pay-per-view, as the big surprise mystery partner for Sting in his tag team main event against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash. The Stinger had spent 3 weeks hyping Booker's debut as a huge name from Kurt Angle's past.
Although the majority of fans knew Booker was to be the mystery partner, his appearance still did not fail to disappoint. Booker had been a mainstay on WWE TV for years and had received his requested release from WWE the previous August. He was joining the company coming off the heels of a most highly successful year performing as 'King Booker' and was looking to continue his momentum with a strong run in TNA, even dubbing himself 'Booker TNA'.
Overall, Booker's 2-year run was a little disappointing, but still decent nonetheless. His feud with World Champion Samoa Joe was hampered by some sluggish and averages performances, but his run with the Main Event Mafia faction made his entire run with TNA worthwhile. Booker has said that he feels he made some positive changes to TNA, such as bringing in catering to shows.
Booker T left TNA in 2009.
#9 Kevin Nash
Other than company founder Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash was the first major superstar to sign with TNA.
While the company had previously signed the like of Raven, Jeff Hardy and even Dusty Rhodes as a part-time performer and booker, Kevin Nash was the first star to sign with TNA who had been a major name and former World Champion in every company he had previously wrestled in.
Kevin Nash debuted at TNA's first ever live 3-hour pay-per-view, Victory Road, in November 2004. His announced debut was quickly outshined by the surprise debut of Randy Savage, but after Savage's run was short lived at just three appearances, all the attention soon went back to Big Sexy.
Nash feuded with Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Championship in 2005, and nearly even won it at one point, had two serious injuries not kept him down. He returned in 2006 as more of a comedy character, that provided much entertainment and later had many big moments for himself and TNA with the Main Event Mafia angle, and Hulk Hogan.
Kevin Nash left TNA in late 2010.
#8 Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam signed with TNA in 2010, upon learning that WWE would only want him to return to a full-time schedule.
RVD was pretty much the hottest free agent in wrestling at the time of his signing, in fact, he had been for several years, having parted ways with WWE in the summer of 2007. RVD's debut with TNA had been suspected by many for months before it happened, with at one point Hulk Hogan even offering Rob a TNA contract live on the air on a radio show in early 2010.
The ever-popular RVD debuted to much fanfare on the March 8, 2010 episode of Impact Wrestling, where he defeated Sting in less than 10 seconds. His debut was strangely handled, but it wouldn't kill the momentum he already had and after just 6 weeks with TNA, RVD would defeat AJ Styles for the World Championship.
Rob had a very successful Championship run and would also hold the X Division Championship during his run, as well as top feuds with Sting, Abyss, Robert Roode and even old ECW rival Jerry Lynn.
Rob Van Dam left TNA in 2013.
#7 Mick Foley
Mick Foley's signing with TNA was actually almost far bigger than it was.
Mick had actually given verbal agreement to a deal with TNA back in 2005 and had even discussed his debut scenario with Jeff Jarrett, which would have been he confronting Jeff on the Impact debut on Spike TV. However, Mick was lured back to WWE with the promise of a return to TV and WrestleMania 22 angle and match, and promptly turned down his original agreed upon contract with TNA.
Mick would finally sign with TNA three years later in 2008. Jeff Jarrett was building up Mick's arrival as the biggest signing in company history. Foley made his full television debut for TNA in October 2008 and would serve as the special enforcer for the Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett match at Bound For Glory and the following week announced himself to be a big shareholder in TNA, which would give him General Manager like an authority on TV.
Mick would go onto wrestle on TNA TV for the majority of 2009, including defeating Sting for the TNA World Championship at that years Lockdown event. Mick held the title for two months, and would then later have big feuds with Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff and more.
Mick Foley left TNA in 2011.
#6 Ric Flair
After an emotional retirement and last WWE match in 2008, Ric Flair came out of retirement in 2009, for a four-date tour of Australia with Hulk Hogan's short-lived independent promotion, HULKAMANIA, where he faced Hogan each night. He then signed with TNA at the end of 2009 and debuted for the company on the first show of 2010.
Ric Flair is one of the greatest performers in history, so that alone made his signing with the company one of the biggest in TNA history. Ric would wrestle a handful of matches for TNA, including his last ever match, but would mostly act as a manager.
Ric Flair received his requested release from TNA in May 2012.
#5 Christian Cage
Christian was probably the most underrated performer in all of WWE by the time he left the company in October 2005.
From the moment he left, TNA immediately started hyping up that the biggest acquisition and jump in TNA history would happen at the Genesis event that November. No one may have been surprised that it was Christian, but they were still very ecstatic about it.
Christian may not be as big as a superstar as the others who have come before him on this list, but his debut with TNA still means more than any of their's ever will. Christian's arrival would set the tone for the next near three years for TNA, which would be full of big TNA debuts, several of which would be inspired by how well they booked him.
Christian, or Christian Cage as he was known, would be a 2 time NWA World Champion in TNA, was always featured in the main event, always feuding with big players like Kurt Angle, Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and more, and although he lost some match, he would be pinned for 2 years.
Christian left TNA in late 2008.
#4 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy debuted to what was then the biggest reaction in TNA history on the second-anniversary show in 2004, going to a no contest with AJ Styles. The reaction Jeff received prompted Jeff Jarrett to immediately sign him to a contract.
Jeff helped improve TNA's numbers pretty early on. By the time he left TNA in 2006, they had moved onto other, bigger superstars, but his return to TNA in 2010 would be huge. Jeff returned to TNA on the big January 4 live special of Impact. WWE were completely miffed and even tried to talk Jeff into negations the following day when word reached them about his TNA debut.
Jeff would stay with TNA for the next 7 years, where he would be a multi-time World Heavyweight Champion and remained the company's top merchandise seller for the majority of his run.
Along with Matt, Jeff Hardy left Impact Wrestling in February 2017.
#3 Sting
Sting was a monumental signing for TNA. Sting helped the Jarrett's in the early days of TNA, wrestling several matches for the company in 2003.
Sting made his surprising full-time TV return in 2006, and immediately brought in more viewers and big buzz for the company as a whole. Many in WWE were completely taken back by Sting returning to the ring and there were even some reports of speculated jealousy within WWE that TNA managed to sign him.
Sting had a very successful seven-year run. Sting was a 5 time World Champion in TNA, was always featured in the main event, feuding with every big name to come before and after him, and was the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012.
#2 Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan almost debuted for TNA back in 2003. Jerry and Jeff Jarrett began making overtures to Hogan, culminating in Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion, launching an on-air attack on Hogan in Japan in October 2003. The attack was supposed to be a precursor to Hogan battling Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view. However, due to recurring knee and hip problems, Hogan did not appear in TNA but would remain in on again/off again negotiations until November 2004.
One of the best well-kept secrets in TNA, it was announced that Hogan had signed a contract to join TNA on a full-time basis on October 27, 2009. The announcement brought much media attention to TNA, which included Hogan making several big talk show appearances. Hogan was hoping that his involvement with TNA and ideas for the company would bring their ratings up to WWE level and beyond, but they would never rise above 1.5 million viewers in the U.S.
Despite this, and the financial issues that followed, Hogan still brought so much to TNA.
Hogan left TNA in 2013.
#1 Kurt Angle
The Kurt Angle signing for TNA brought them up to the point of finally being called 'The other company' by many fans. Before Kurt Angle, the biggest signings TNA ever had were Christian Cage, Jeff Hardy (who was already gone by his arrival) and Sting, who was a part-timer.
Angle made his TNA debut on October 19, 2006, and immediately brought an increase to TNA's viewership with him. His signing brought TNA the most media attention they had ever had up to that point and many eyes were on the product to see what would become of Kurt. It was believed by many that Kurt signing with TNA was the clinch for Spike TV increasing Impact to 2 hours long. TNA's viewership always maintained strong viewership throughout 2007 with Kurt being full-time on TV and his merchandise sales were easily outselling everyone else.
Kurt was naturally incredibly successful in TNA, holding most Championships, including becoming a 6 time World Champion. Kurt did just about everything anyone could in the company.
Kurt Angle parted ways with Impact Wrestling in 2016.
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