6 Wrestlers you forgot once wrestled in TNA/Impact Wrestling

TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling, has been home to some of the biggest stars in pro wrestling over the years, from the likes of Hulk Hogan and Sting to Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner.

During the promotion's lifespan, a number of younger wrestlers also wrestled for them, who later went on to become big names in other promotions.

Today, we take a look at some popular wrestlers who once wrestled for TNA but whose runs in the company are sometimes overlooked.

#6 Vader

First on our list is the late great Vader. Vader created a legacy for himself both in the States and in Japan during his storied career but his short time in TNA is often overlooked.

Vader only wrestled one match during his time in TNA and was brought into the company during its infancy in 2003. Vader was brought in to team up with Dusty Rhodes as the two legends joined forces to take on the Harris Brothers. The duo handily beat their younger opponents and Vader was gone from TNA less than a week later.

#5 Tommaso Ciampa

We move on to former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa is the only one on this list to have appeared on WWE programming and Impact/TNA at the same time, back in September 2015.

Ciampa was making appearances in NXT at this time (including the first Dusty Rhodes Classic) but he wasn't officially signed to a WWE contract. This meant he was free to wrestle for other promotions and this included a triple threat match on Impact television (the match was actually taped in July).

Ciampa went on to sign with WWE and has risen to become one of the top stars on the NXT brand. His feud with Johnny Gargano will go down as one of the best in the history of the black and yellow brand.

#4 Lex Luger

Signing Lex Luger was one of the first big shots WCW fired in the Monday Night Wars. Having Luger debut on the first episode of Monday Nitro, just after his WWE contract expired was a move of pure genius. Despite being booked near the top of the card during his WCW run, the Fed didn't pick up his contract after WWF bought out WCW in 2001.

Intead of a return to WWE during the Invasion angle of 2001, we saw Luger turn in TNA instead in late 2003. This was the same year Miss Elizabeth passed away from a drug overdose in Luger's house.

Luger's first run in the company lasted only one night as he teamed up with Jeff Jarrett to face the team of AJ Styles and Sting. Luger returned in early 2004 to send AJ Styles through a table. His next appearances in the company came in 2006. He was on televison on and off for a couple of months as he helped Sting prepare for a title match.

Luger's final TNA appearance came in 2012 when he inducted Sting into the TNA Hall Of Fame.

#3 Hiroshi Tanahashi

Next up is 'The Ace' Hiroshi Tanahashi – now a living legend in his native Japan. Tanahashi's run in TNA came as a result of their partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Tanahashi's first appearance in TNA came in 2006 where he lost to AJ Styles.

Tanahashi returned to the States for his excursion in 2008. This excursion did not go the way New Japan would have expected or liked. He was on the losing side of a tag-team match-up on his debut. The rest of his run in the company was just as disappointing as he repeatedly stared at the lights for full-time TNA performers.

Tanahashi ended up cancelling the rest of his excursion later in the year after NJPW announced that he would be facing Mutoh in a title match.

Tanahashi went on to become one of the greatest pro wrestlers in Japanese history, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a staggering 8 times. As of the year 2020, he's still at the top of his game and recently faced Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

#2 Kazuchika Okada

Kazuchika Okada's disastrous excursion in TNA was one of the factors that forced NJPW to cancel their talent sharing deal with the company.

Okada was a highly regarded prospect when New Japan sent him over to the States in 2010. He made his debut in a dark match in a losing effort against Alex Shelley in February. Okada's first televised match came in April when he and Homicide were defeated by Generation Me (The Young Bucks).

Just like Tanahashi in 2008, Okada was mostly booked to put over full time TNA wrestlers during his run.

In 2011, Okada was involved in an angle as Samoa Joe's cameraman before being repackaged as Okato. Okada's last match came against Alex Shelley before he returned to Japan. Okada went on to become the biggest star in modern-day Japanese wrestling, transforming himself into his Rainmaker persona.

Despite how he was used by TNA, Okada has spoken favourably about his time in the company, saying that it helped him come up with his Rainmaker persona.

#1 CM Punk

CM Punk is arguably one of the biggest stars WWE created in the last decade. The 5-time WWE world champion recently returned to work for WWE Backstage and we could possibly see him return to the ring in the future.

Before he signed for the WWE in 2005, Punk had a run in TNA which some fans may have forgotten. Punk's run in TNA only lasted around a year. Punk found success in the tag-team division and was someone fans at the time predicted could have a bright future in the company.

However, Punk ended up leaving after a controversy with Rob Feinstein. Punk was wrestling for both TNA and Ring of Honor at the time and was asked to choose between wrestling for TNA or Ring of Honor.

This came after a directive from TNA management that wrestlers under contract could no longer wrestle for ROH. Punk chose the latter and quickly established himself as one of the fastest rising stars outside the WWE.