TNA has always been in the shadow of the WWE. Founded in 2002 by Jeff Jarrett, TNA looked to bring back the Monday Night Wars. However, due to a poor roster and some syndication issues with broadcasters, things just couldn’t fall in place for them. Some of the biggest TNA wrestlers, however, have also represented the WWE at some point in their career.
Before we begin the list, some honourable mentions go out to Booker T, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Test, Eric Young, Christian Cage, Damien Sandow and Rob Van Dam.
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#15 Bully Ray
Bully Ray’s run in the TNA may be one of the biggest success stories of the promotion.
He came to TNA after his release from the WWE along with D-Von and took the Impact Wrestling scene by storm. Although the duo was known for their tag team matches, Bully Ray turned on D-Von and went on to become the World Heavyweight Champion in TNA, a laurel that he had never achieved in the WWE.
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#14 Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner was unable to carry over his success in the WCW to WWE. Add to that a leg injury and him jobbing to Triple H and it was a sad show for Steiner.
However, Steiner joined TNA two years after his release from the WWE and aligned himself with his real-life friend Jeff Jarrett. Steiner went on to have a surprisingly good feud with Samoa Joe fuelled with intense promos and put Joe over in one of the more memorable TNA feuds.
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#13 Matt Hardy
A year ago, Matt Hardy would be better remembered for his WWE ladder matches with brother Jeff Hardy and an intense rivalry with Edge. After his release from WWE, Matt joined TNA and did some of his best work.
But the icing on the cake was his ‘Broken Matt Hardy’ gimmick that may very well be the best gimmick of the year. He put up some great matches with Jeff or ‘Brother Nero’ so much so that WWE is rumoured to have started negotiations to bring him back.
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#12 Jeff Hardy
Jeff hardy had grown to become a top star in the WWE. In fact, his rivalry in the WWE with CM Punk made Punk a bonafide star. However, Jeff was fighting a battle against substance abuse at the time and left the company after his heated feud with Punk.
Hardy made an appearance on the first live episode of Monday Impact in 2010. He has since been actively involved with the company winning the TNA Heavyweight Championship for a total of three times.
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#11 Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode is a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, one-time TNA King of the Mountain Champion, and eight-time World Tag Team Champion. Roode has often made it clear that he does not get into the ring for cheers, stating instead that he’s only there to get the job done.
Roode is in fact, the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion with a title reign of 256 days. He made his debut in the WWE at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II earlier this year and there is only one word to describe his tenure with the WWE so far – ‘Glorious’.
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#10 Drew Galloway
Drew McIntyre was the Chosen One. Heavily supported by Vince McMahon, McIntyre was pushed but was eventually lost in the shuffle. During the last year of his career with the WWE, he was poorly booked and had formed a stable with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal called 3MB.
After jumping ship to TNA, Drew has achieved, what many believe to be his true potential. After leading The Rising stable, he broke off on his own, and went on to capture TNA’s World Heavyweight Title.
#9 Austin Aries
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived was one of the hottest free agents following his departure from TNA Impact Wrestling. WWE announced that Austin Aries had signed with the company in January.
Making his debut as a face, Austin quickly turned heel and has since been a regular feature of NXT programming.
#8 EC III
Not many in the WWE would have pegged NXT rookie Derrick Bateman as a top guy. However, TNA noticed his potential and signed him. He was pushed right from the start with a ‘rich, spoilt brat’ gimmick and grew to become one of the most hated villains in the company.
He eventually turned face which was also received a favourable reaction from the fans.
#7 Samoa Joe
Joe is another one of those superstars that made his way to the top through the Indies. Samoa Joe has held the the ROH World Championship, ROH Pure Championship, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, the TNA X Division Championship five times, and the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice.
He also beat Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. For a 280 pound man, Joe is surprisingly agile and devastating.
Joe has become an integral part of the NXT roster and is locked in a bitter rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura. There are rumours of Joe being drafted to either RAW or SmackDown in the near future.
#6 Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley was billed as the next Brock Lesnar in the WWE. However, he always looked uncomfortable in the babyface persona and was deemed average in the ring at best. His most memorable match in the company was the WrestleMania 23 clash with Umaga in the Battle of the Billionaires where he represented Donald Trump.
Lashley joined TNA shortly after parting ways with WWE but became a regular on Impact Wrestling only in 2014. He found a new heel gimmick, improved his wrestling style and has since dominated the TNA landscape.
#5 Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was the biggest thing going on in wrestling in the late 80s and early 90s. Using a mix of backstage politics and fanfare, Hulk managed to stay at the top of the wrestling industry for over two decades.
Hogan has had an on and off relationship with both WWE and TNA. He will, however, always be remembered for his Hulkamania run during the early years of WWE and for his nWo stable in WCW with Hall and Nash.
#4 Ric Flair
Ric Flair is arguably the greatest wrestler of all time. Ric held a total of 16 World Championships, a feat that is still unequalled. During a career that spanned over four decades, Ric wrestled in a number of promotions such as NWA, AWA, WCCW, WCW, WWE and TNA.
The Nature Boy is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer and one of the most respected wrestlers in the wrestling community. His TNA run was pretty ordinary but by then, Flair had already cemented his legacy.
#3 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
He is an Olympic gold medallist and one of the biggest stars that TNA can boast of. He has held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for a record six times. Kurt will perhaps go down in history as one of the most technically sound wrestlers to represent the wrestling industry.
#2 AJ Styles
AJ Styles is perhaps the best wrestler in the world right now. The current WWE World Champion perfected his craft while at TNA. Touted by greats like Ric Flair and Kurt Angle as the best wrestler in the world, AJ Styles held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice for a combined reign of 220 days.
Ever since his debut in the WWE earlier this year, Styles has not had one bad match and currently holds two pinfall victories over the company’s top babyface John Cena in singles competition.
#1 Sting
Perhaps one of the biggest names in wrestling for a better part of two decades, Sting is the only man to be inducted into the Hall of Fame by both WWE and TNA. When WCW went down, the Stinger unlike many of his colleagues refused to join the WWE.
Instead, he made his way to Impact Wrestling where he was well received and went on to become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion four times in his career.
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