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Not a day goes by that you don't go on social media and come across wrestling fans somewhere talking about those who have come and gone in WWE and didn't reach their full potential. And while I often think of those too, many often forget that Impact Wrestling has also had a lot of talented performers to work for them over the years, who also were not used to the best of their in-ring abilities.
Many of these talented performers either worked their way from the very bottom of Impact's ranks, had been some of the best performers in Ring of Honor history, or had even previously shown great potential in WWE.
Despite having all the attributes that have the makings of a great career in 'Dixie Land', these few were never given the opportunity to scratch the Impact surface.
So here are 10 wrestlers that were wasted by the former TNA Wrestling.
#10 Tyrus
Former WWE and Impact star, Brodus Clay, who performed for Impact under the name Tyrus, joined the then TNA Wrestling in 2014, shortly after he was released from WWE.
Tyrus was used as a bodyguard for his entire first run with Impact, first with EC3, then Matt Hardy, Eli Drake, and finally, Bruce Prichard. The former 'Funkasaures' announced last August that he had requested and received his release from Impact Wrestling because the company wasn't treating him right, however, he returned to Impact Wrestling on the latest set of tapings.
Let's hope they can put him to better use this time around.
#9 Petey Williams
'Maple Leaf Muscle' Petey Williams was a very talented performer. A former two time X Division Champion, Petey received a strong early push in Impact as part of the heel stable, Team Canada. Despite this, Petey proved to be very popular very early on, thanks to his devastating finishing move, a flip piledriver called the Canadian Destroyer.
Following Team Canada's demise in 2006, Petey wasn't featured very prominently in the following months until late 2007, when he became the protégé of Scott Steiner. Following the end of this team, Petey became more of a background player and left the company in 2009.
After a brief return in 2013, Williams retired from wrestling in June 2014, at just 33 years old, opting for a life in Canadian law enforcement. However, much like Tyrus, Petey returned to Impact late last year, hoping for a more successful run. So far his appearances have been sporadic.
#8 Sonny Siaki
Sonny Siaki was not only a part of the very first NWA: TNA show on June 19, 2002, but also wrestled the very first match in company history, as he teamed up with Jimmy Yang and Jorge Estrada as the Flying Elvis trio, where they defeated Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, and AJ Styles in an action-packed tag team match.
After just two weeks, Sonny departed the group, showing early promise as a cocky heel. Siaki would go on to win the X Division Championship and briefly feuded with some of Impact's top talents as a part of Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Extreme stable. Siaki would spend the remainder of his career in the mid-card, often not involved in storylines.
Siaki parted ways with Impact in 2005 and retired from professional wrestling in 2008, after a three-year stint in WWE's developmental territory.
#7 Tomko
The former 'problem solver' for Christian in WWE, (Tyson) Tomko emerged from the crowd on the November 23th edition of Impact, aiding Christian Cage during a match with Sting. Reprising his role as Christian's problem solver for a number of months, Tomko would form a tag team with AJ Styles 2007, and the two men would go on to enjoy a six-month reign as World Tag Team Champions.
Following the demise of the team, it appeared Tomko was in line for a top babyface push, following tension between him and his new leader Kurt Angle. Tomko would pin Angle in a singles match which ignited the live audience. However, hopes of a babyface Tomko in the main event were quickly dashed when he assisted Angle in retaining the Impact World Championship over Christian at Impact's Genisis pay-per-view.
It was later revealed that Vince Russo had booked this finish just out of shock value and had no real plans for Tomko as a top face or heel.
After a brief feud with Christian, Tomko fell into the background and quit the company shortly thereafter due to being unhappy with his position. After a failed attempt to return to WWE, he returned to Impact Wrestling, only to be featured in an even smaller role, and he left the company once again in early 2010.
#6 Monty Brown
A former American football star who competed in two Superbowls, Monty Brown wrestled for Impact in the very early days of the company, back when they were NWA: TNA, but never officially signed a contract until March 2004.
Monty immediately showed early promise and was given a strong push early on. Dominating competitors with his signature 'Pounce' move, Brown entered the NWA World Title rankings but failed to beat the champion, Jeff Jarrett.
Shortly thereafter, Brown would turn heel, aiding Jarrett in his feuds with Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash. Brown would eventually turn face and once again pursue Jarrett and the NWA Championship, however, plans for a Championship run for Brown came to an end when Christian arrived in the company after departing WWE. Brown once again turned heel and joined Jarrett, and many believe Christian stole Brown's spot.
Monty would leave Impact shortly after his feud with Christian in 2006 and briefly joined WWE under the name Marcus Cor Von, before retiring in late 2007.
Following his retirement, Brown started his own clothing brand and also became a personal trainer in Michigan.
#5 The Rock 'n' Rave Infection
The Rock 'n' Rave Infection comprised Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave, with manager Christy Hemme. Hoyt and Rave joined together in 2007, but would quickly lose every match they competed in over the next few months.
After managing to get a big victory over top tag team LAX, they would once again go on to lose every other match they had. Both men were released by Impact within one day of each other, in February 2009.
Hoyt would later have an even more forgettable run in WWE from 2009 to 2010, under the name Vance Archer.
#4 Matt Morgan
The lack of push for 'The Blueprint' Matt Morgan remains one of Impact Wrestling's biggest mysteries. After wrestling for WWE in 2003 and 2005, it is understandable why the then green Morgan never received the big push in WWE.
After improving his craft and time spent wrestling throughout Europe, as well as in New Japan and All Japan Pro Wrestling, Morgan made his full time return to the ring in 2008 for the then TNA, and appeared to have all the tools to be a huge star.
Very athletic for his size, this former two- time World Tag Team Champion had turned a lot of heads in his performances against Christian, Abyss, Team 3D, and in the best match of his career, with Kurt Angle at Bound For Glory in 2009. Morgan was often said to have been a favourite of both Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan, which makes it even more surprising the big push never came his way.
He returned to Impact in April 2017, aiding Jeremy Borash in his feud with Josh Matthews. Matt revealed he had verbally agreed to a new contract but after just two more appearances, he announced he wouldn't be returning full time due to a major change in the Impact touring schedule.
#3 Nigel McGuinness
After his deal with the WWE had fallen through due to failing a pre-screening physical test, Nigel McGuinness stormed onto the Impact stage in October 2009 under the name Desmond Wolfe.
The former Ring of Honor World Champion immediately made his presence known by attacking Kurt Angle, igniting a big feud between the two, which saw two near perfect wrestling matches at Impact's Turning Point and Final Resolution events. From there, Wolfe didn't really go any further.
Although a member of the Ric Flair Fortune stable, Wolfe would generally lose any big or stipulation matches he was in, and after a short-lived tag team with Magnus, Wolfe revealed he had tested positive for Hepatitis B and never wrestled for Impact again. Wolfe briefly served as the commissioner and a colour commentator on Xplosion, but was released from his contract shortly after.
After a couple years as a colour commentator for Ring of Honor, he finally signed with WWE in an announcer's position in January 2017.
#2 Raisha Saeed/Alissa Flash
Melissa Anderson debuted for Impact Wrestling in January 2008, as the manager/handler for Awesome Kong, Raisha Saeed. While still playing Saeed, in May 2008, Anderson also wrestled under the name Alissa Flash. While Saeed rarely wrestled, Alissa Flash frequently wrestled for Impact from May 2008 through late 2009. However, she only ever picked up two televised victories as Flash.
Following her requested release in January 2010, Alissa went on to wrestle as Cheerleader Melissa throughout the independent scene where she held various women's championships and was even ranked Number 1 of the 50 best female wrestlers of 2013.
#1 The Young Bucks
Matt and Nick Jackson debuted for Impact Wrestling on January 14, 2010 under the names Max and Jeremy Buck, known as Generation Me. The team would spend almost the entirety of 2010 feuding with the Guns over the Tag Team Titles, and after several months of on again/off again mini-programs on Impact, the team asked to be released from their recently signed two-year contracts, citing creative frustrations as the main reason why.
Max and Jeremy would go on to have much better success under their old real names and alias, The Young Bucks for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor as members of the Bullet Club. To date even they have lost count how many Tag Team Championships they have held since.
