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WWE's recent set of releases has got everyone talking about where the likes of Braun Strowman, Lana, Ruby Riott, Buddy Murphy, Santana Garrett and Aleister Black will go next.
However, it's also got the wrestling world talking about companies like AEW and IMPACT Wrestling snapping up former WWE stars, and whether or not they should be doing that or attempting to grow their own stars.
Now, that's an argument I'm not really interested in because I don't think it matters where someone used to work, and ultimately we should all be happy that so many wrestlers are able to find work and pursue a career outside of WWE.
But it did get me thinking about how many wrestlers that used to wrestle in WWE at one point or another are currently working for other companies, and today we'll be looking at IMPACT Wrestling.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at every former WWE Superstar who now currently appears for IMPACT Wrestling as per their current active roster page. (Josh Matthews isn't on there, and neither is the recently debuted Steve Maclin.)
#20 Brian Myers formerly known in WWE as Curt Hawkins
Bryan Myers was formerly known as Curt Hawkins and enjoyed quite lengthy runs in WWE from 2006-2014 to 2016-2020. During that time Myers [Hawkins] became a two-time tag-team champion, both times teaming up with Zack Ryder with these title wins falling ten years apart.
Myers also enjoyed a WWE record 269 match losing streak that ended at WrestleMania with his second tag-team title win. Not long afterwards, both Hawkins and his tag-team partner Zack Ryder were released from WWE due to pandemic budget cuts.
Myers, who worked for TNA in 2015, then made his return to the company, now called IMPACT Wrestling, in 2020, where he has remained ever since.
#19 Matt Cardona formerly known in WWE as Zack Ryder
As we've just mentioned him, let's move onto Matt Cardona. He spent fifteen years in WWE from 2005-2020 and had a tumultuous time throughout his tenure with the company. The height of Ryder's success came off the back of his YouTube web series which garnered him a cult following that led him to win the Intercontinental and United States Championships as well as the aforementioned two tag-team title wins with Curt Hawkins.
Following his release in 2020, Ryder debuted as Matt Cardona for AEW, where he made a few appearances throughout the rest of the year. Following on from that, Cardona made a surprise appearance for IMPACT during their Hard To Kill pay-per-view in January 2021, and has been with the company ever since, even reigniting his rivalry with his former-tag team partner Brian Myers.
#18 Current Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo
Former WWE prospect Deonna Purrazzo originally enjoyed a successful period of time on the independent circuit, which also included spells with Ring Of Honor, Stardom and IMPACT Wrestling (then called TNA).
She would then work with WWE as a regularly used enhancement talent between 2014-2017 before she officially signed with WWE and joined NXT from 2018-2020 where she was marked as a promising future star.
However, Purrazzo was released as part of the April 15th 2020 cuts having wrestled just sixteen televised matches during her time with the company.
Purrazzo then went to IMPACT Wrestling again where she quickly became Knockouts Champion and, after losing the title for a brief period of time, she is now currently the reigning champ at the top of the company's women's division.
#17 Matt Striker
Matt Striker has made a career for himself after his time in WWE as a wrestling commentator and part-time wrestler on the independent circuit. He has provided commentary for NJPW and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and is currently on IMPACT Wrestling's commentary team as well.
Before that, Striker was perhaps best known for his time in WWE, where he incorporated the fact he was a teacher to help build on a heel character before he was moved to ECW and became part of the 'New Breed Vs ECW Originals' storyline. He would later become a commentator and host for WWE.
#16 Former WWE European Champion D'Lo Brown
While we're on the subject of commentary, Matt Striker's partner at the IMPACT announcing desk is former WWE star D'Lo Brown.
Whilst D'Lo Brown is doing a stellar job for IMPACT, he is definitely best known for his stint in WWE between 1997 - 2003 where he became a one-time Intercontinental Champion and four-time European Champion.
Brown has journeyed around several wrestling promotions but rejoined IMPACT in 2019. After having a few Aces and Eights-related storylines dropped due to COVID and other reasons, he now finds himself providing commentary.
#15 Tenille Dashwood, formerly known as WWE's Emma
Tenille Dashwood signed with WWE for around six years, signing in 2011 and getting released in 2017. She was renamed simply as Emma during her time with WWE and had a memorable partnership with Santino Marella and was involved in the infamous debut and canning of the Emmalina character.
Dashwood's last match was against Asuka in a rematch from the Tables Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view on the 23rd of October, 2017 and she was released just days later on the 29th October.
She initially joined Ring of Honor following her WWE release, but a year later she was written off of the show and joined IMPACT Wrestling where she's yet to win any gold.
#14 Former SAnitY leader Eric Young
Eric Young probably shouldn't be on this list as he was a TNA and IMPACT star before he became a WWE Superstar.
However, Young did spend a while in WWE with the highlight of his time with the company being the formation of the stable SAnitY, of which Young was the leader, who became a staple of NXT television.
Young came from IMPACT Wrestling as a former world champion, but he was unable to capture any singles championship gold during his time with WWE, only winning the NXT Tag-Team Titles. After his departure from WWE, as part of the April 15th 2020 budget cuts, he rejoined IMPACT Wrestling and immediately found championship success again.
He has since formed a new stable, Violent By Design, that features another former WWE star.
#13 ECW Legend Rhino
At 45 years old, Rhino impressively finds himself as one half of the current IMPACT Wrestling World Tag-Team Champions thanks to his joining of the Eric Young-led stable Violent By Design.
But before he won the tag-team championship at IMPACT Wrestling, Rhino was hitting people with Gores in WWE and ECW. He became the first person to win the SmackDown Tag-Team Titles alongside Heath Slater.
However, Rhino's run in ECW from 1999 to 2001 where he won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Television Championship, both titles that retired with Rhino as champion.
#12 Former WWE Nexus member Heath Slater
Heath Slater debuted for WWE as part of NXT when he was in a weekly contest to determine a winner, who would get a WWE contract. However, he'd become part of history when he was part of the Nexus stable and invasion angle, winning three tag-team titles during that time. He eventually became a member of 3MB and SmackDown Tag-Team Champion with Rhino before being released.
Heath surprised everyone by showing up at IMPACT Wrestling's July 18th 2020 pay-per-view Slammiversary. He'd go on to reprise the same storyline he used in WWE about trying to earn a contract/spot on the roster that Heath earned after reuniting with his former tag-team partner Rhino, who won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match to do so.
#11 ECW legend Tommy Dreamer
We're done with Rhino's former tag-team partner Heath, now let's do Rhino's fellow ECW original Tommy Dreamer.
Dreamer is the definition of a wrestling journeyman, having wrestled just about everywhere there is a wrestle. He's appeared for All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, WWE, House of Hardcore, ECW, NWA and, of course, TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
Dreamer is currently on his second return to IMPACT, where he still wrestles occasionally but mainly operates as a backstage producer and member of the creative team.
#10 Kimber Lee
Kimber Lee shone as a star in Shimmer, Shine and Chikara before WWE took notice of her and signed her up in 2016. She made sporadic appearances for WWE, most notably during the Mae Young Classic where she made the Quarter Final, before she was released in 2018.
After a brief stint with Stardom, Lee then debuted at IMPACT Wrestling in May 2020 and is still with the company now having signed a long-term deal with them. She'll be challenging for the Knockouts Tag Team Championships at Against All Odds in a few days.
#9 Daivari
Daivari wrested in WWE between 2004 and 2007 before being released from his contract. He was brought back in 2011 but only for a dark match before being released again, and was then brought back again between 2018-2020 as a producer.
Having wrestled for TNA in 2008-2009, Daivari made his return to the company in 2020 after taking part in the aforementioned Call Your Shot Gauntlet match that was eventually won by Rhino. However, it was Brian Myers who would eliminate Daivari.
Daivari is still signed with IMPACT Wrestling.
#8 Madman Fulton formerly known in WWE as Sawyer Fulton
Madman Fulton was in WWE for five years and was an original member of the stable SAnitY led by Eric Young. However, after suffering an injury he was eventually replaced in the stable without explanation by Killian Dain, before being released from the company.
Fulton then joined IMPACT Wrestling in 2019 where he initially joined the stable oVe as an enforcer for them, before he'd eventually go on to align himself with Ace Austin and act as an enforcer for him.
#7 Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann
Rich Swann was an extremely promising talent in WWE with his aerial ability and high-flying technicality, but an unfortunate incident in his personal life ultimately led to the former Cruiserweight Champion's release from the company.
A few months after his release Rich Swann would debut for IMPACT Wrestling in June 2018 and it didn't take the wrestler long to capture gold, claiming the X-Division Championship.
More recently, IMPACT Wrestling built Swann up as a top babyface and main event star, eventually leading to him capturing the Unified IMPACT World Championship, which he has subsequently lost to Kenny Omega.
#6 Daughter of WWE icon Rachael Ellering
Paul Ellering's daughter Rachael Ellering spent four years with WWE between 2016 and 2020 where she competed in both Mae Young Classic tournaments. However, shortly after officially signing for the company in 2019 she suffered a torn ACL and was sidelined for over a year before being released as part of pandemic budget cuts.
Ellering made her debut at IMPACT Wrestling a couple of months ago on the April 22nd, 2021 episode of IMPACT where she saved Jordynne Grace from a beatdown. At IMPACT's Rebellion pay-per-view event, just three days after her debut, Ellering won the Knockout Tag-Team Titles with Grace, against Keira Hogan and Tasha Steelz (Fire 'N' Flava).
#5 Sami Callihan formerly known as Solomon Crowe
Sami Callihan has been one of IMPACT Wrestling's most consistent talents in recent years but before that he was known as Solomon Crowe and spent two years in WWE's NXT.
However, WWE withheld Crowe from appearing on television for over a year and then when they finally did let him appear, using a hacker gimmick that didn't really take off, they released him shortly afterwards.
The wrestler, who had appeared for Evolve, DragonGate USA, Combat Zone Wrestling and Ring Of Honor prior to his WWE stint, then found himself at IMPACT Wrestling in 2017 and has been there since.
#4 Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP
TJP is an undeniably talented wrestler who was crowned the inaugural Cruiserweight Champion in WWE after winning the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. He spent three years in WWE before returning to IMPACT in 2019.
But he's another wrestler, like Eric Young, who was arguably a bigger star in TNA/IMAPCT Wrestling already, long before he signed with WWE in 2016. That's because TJP appeared as masked characters Suicide and Manik from 2004 to 2016 and even won the TNA X-Division Championship.
TJP, who has also made returns for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Major League Wrestling, alongside IMPACT Wrestling, will go on to become a two-time X-Division Champion in 2020 after bringing back his Manik alter-ego.
#3 Shera
Mahabali Shera is another star who left IMPACT Wrestling to go to WWE, only to end up back at IMPACT Wrestling after being released by Vince McMahon's company. Shera was only at WWE for just over a year from February 2018 to April 2019.
Shera would return to IMPACT Wrestling that same year, well that same month even, as the company announced his return. He would appear during the company's tapings in Mexico, helping the Desi Hit Squad before the stable was disbanded. He later returned to help Rohit Raju against TJP.
#2 Former WWE and IMPACT Tag Champions The Good Brothers
Luke Gallows had already had several spells with WWE before he rejoined the company with NJPW star Karl Anderson as part of the tag-team The Club. The pair will have moderate success in WWE before eventually rejoining former Bullet Club leader AJ Styles as a faction before their eventual release in April 2020.
The pair shocked the world by then showing up at IMPACT Wrestling a few months after with everyone assuming they'd go to AEW where other members of the former Bullet Club were. However, they announced two-year contracts with IMPACT where they perform to this day as The Good Brothers.
#1 W. Morrissey formerly known as Big Cass
Big Cass was a big part of WWE between 2011 - 2018. Most notably in a tag-team partnership with fellow WWE release Enzo Amore that saw the pair get incredibly over in WWE.
Big Cass found himself being released from WWE after making a few mistakes that had allegedly rubbed WWE officials backstage up the wrong way. One cited incident was the fact he attacked a little person performer against Vince McMahon's express orders.
He made his debut for IMPACT Wrestling in April 2021 at their Rebellion pay-per-view. Using the new ring-name W. Morrissey, he aligned himself with Eric Young's Violent By Design stable and picked up the win for his team by pinning Willie Mack.
With Slammiversary coming up in July 2021 and and a whole bunch of former WWE Superstars now free agents, this list is almost certainly going to get bigger, so stay tuned!
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