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2020 has been a crazy year, to say the least, and the wrestling world has been no different. When the world shut down due to the pandemic, WWE, AEW and IMPACT all managed to continue their weekly programming.
Then in May, WWE made the decision to release a large number of on-screen and backstage talent. Wrestlers such as Rusev, Sarah Logan and Zack Ryder were a few of the wrestlers that were let go, while long term referee Mike Chioda, and backstage producer and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, were also released.
The news came as a big shock and was widely criticized by many fans. But WWE's loss was IMPACT's gain as they snapped up many of the underutilized talents. AEW also benefitted from WWE's slate of releases.
The releases and signings have meant that wrestlers are able to appear for multiple companies in the same year, a scenario that has not been seen in a long time.
In this article we will look at five wrestlers who have wrestled in both IMPACT and WWE in 2020.
#5 Eric Young has wrestled for both WWE and IMPACT in 2020
In 2016, Eric Young made the decision to leave TNA/IMPACT after twelve years with the company. A month later Young made his NXT debut as a surprise opponent to challenge Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship.
Young then formed the stable SAnitY along with Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross. The manic quartet ran roughshod over NXT's tag team division eventually winning the tag team titles off The Authors of Pain in an excellent match at WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III on August 19, 2017.
SAnitY went on to be a massive part of the first-ever NXT WarGames match and they dropped the titles to the Undisputed Era two weeks later.
In 2018, the group, minus Nikki Cross, were brought up to SmackDown and that's where things got messy. Despite an amazing gimmick in NXT it was never allowed to fully blossom on the main roster. Although things started well with a feud with The New Day, SAnitY were hardly seen on television and only wrestled in dark matches and house show live events.
The group disbanded in 2019 and Young became a solo act. Unfortunately, this did little to improve his status, and he became a regular on the Main Event until his release.
Eric Young was released from WWE in May
Eric Young made his triumphant return to IMPACT as a surprise entrant in the five-way elimination match at Slammiversary XVIII.
Just a month later he became the IMPACT World Champion for the second time. Since then he lost the title to Rich Swann at Bound for Glory. But he is back wrestling regularly on TV and allowed to be himself creatively, which is much better than the tail end of his WWE run.
#4 Heath Slater wrestled for both WWE and IMPACT this year
Heath Slater was unfortunately one of the names on the long list of WWE releases in May of this year. Slater had been with WWE for 12 years, which made his release all the more shocking.
Slater was a part of the precursor to NXT, Florida Championship Wrestling. In 2010, he made his main roster debut as part of Nexus. The Nexus invasion is a memorable period in WWE as it was the first time that NXT became more that just a gameshow segment on RAW.
Heath Slater was a member of Nexus in WWE
Throughtout his WWE career, Slater found varying degrees of success in a variety of tag teams and factions.
His team with Justin Gabriel, first under the Nexus name, and then as The Corre resulted in success and he won the WWE Tag Team Championships three times. Following this he joined Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal as part of 3MB.
Two years later he joined another faction, The Social Outcasts, along with Curtis Axel, Adam Rose and Bo Dallas. The faction disbanded at the 2016 WWE Draft in which Slater was not picked for either RAW or SmackDown. In an attempt to win a contract for either show, it led to his "I Got Kids" catchphrase and his most popular run in the company. He won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with Rhyno which resulted in him finally getting a contract with the Blue brand.
His last appearance on WWE was on July 3 when he lost to McIntyre in 24 seconds. Just two weeks later Slater appeared on IMPACT under the name Heath as free agent and would team up with Rhino once again. The two went on to campaign for Heath to be signed to the company.
He got the contract when Rhino won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match at Bound for Glory making Heath one of several wrestlers to have appeared for WWE and IMPACT this year.
#3 Brian Myers has wrestled for both WWE and IMPACT in 2020
Brian Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins in WWE, made his IMPACT debut on July 19 in a losing effort against Eddie Edwards for the IMPACT World Championship. Since then he has performed regularly for the company after signing with them on July 22.
This current run in IMPACT is Myers' second with the company. In 2015, he appeared for TNA over the space of three months where he captured the TNA Tag Team Championships with Trevor Lee (Cameron Grimes).
WWE also released Brian Myers in 2014
Like all on this list, WWE released Myers in the mass releases conducted earlier this year. This release was his second from the company, his first coming on May 22, 2014. However, this time around, he had more than wrestling to fall back on.
Along with Matt Cordona, Myers has established himself as a successful podcaster and YouTuber. The duo achieved popularity with their shows highlighting their avid toy collecting hobby. The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast has 93.2K subscribers and watched all over the world.
Myers' last appearance for WWE was on the Elimination Chamber Kickoff show with Zack Ryder against the Viking Raiders.
#2 Deonna Purrazzo has wrestled for both WWE and IMPACT in 2020
Deonna Purrazzo was one of several women released by WWE this year. However, it was a blessing in disguise as she made a huge impression when she turned up in IMPACT Wrestling. Within just three matches she was the Knockouts Champion defeating Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary XVIII.
Purrazzo was vastly underutilized in NXT and has shown WWE just what they missed with her performances in IMPACT.
Deonna Purrazzo's last match for WWE was on April 6 against Nia Jax on RAW
WWE released Purrazzo after two years with the company. She was a participant in the second Mae Young Classic, reaching the semi-finals and she became a fixture on NXT with two appearances on RAW as well.
Before signing with WWE, Purrazzo had made a name for herself on the independent wrestling scene for multiple promotions, including IMPACT. Therefore when WWE released her, many expected her to end up in either IMPACT or AEW.
Purrazzo announced that she had signed a long-term deal with IMPACT Wrestling on October 21.
Purrazzo has established herself as one of the most prominent players in IMPACT and women's wrestling as a whole. She is now a two-time Knockouts champion and a focal point in the Knockouts division.
#1 The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, have wrestled for both WWE and IMPACT this year
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows became the hottest free agents after their release from WWE. Multiple companies expressed interest in signing them, and they chose IMPACT.
Anderson and Gallows release from WWE came as a huge shock. They were stablemates with AJ Styles as The Club/OC and had appeared in one of the main events of WrestleMania 36 alongside The Undertaker. Although nowhere near used to their full abilities in WWE, they were still a high-profile act in the company signed to mega-money deals.
The Good Brothers joined IMPACT Wrestling in July
When the news broke, that IMPACT had signed the Good Brothers, it was a massive success for the company and one of their most viewed videos on social media.
Since leaving WWE, The Good Brothers have been very vocal about their time in the promotion and many of the missed opportunities and broken promises they endured there. On the other hand, they have praised IMPACT for allowing the creative freedom and how the company supports their talent.
Since joining IMPACT, they have become the focal point of the tag team division and won the world tag team championships by defeating The North at Turning Point on November 14.
The Good Brothers' move to IMPACT has undoubtedly been beneficial to the popular and well-respected duo.
