10 WWE Superstars Who Did Better In TNA/Impact Wrestling By Hakeem Fullerton

 

Intro: Kurt Angle, Gail Kim, Christian Cage, Bobby Lashley these are just some of the names that people think of when you talk about wrestlers who either started in or found popularity in the WWE only to jump ship to TNA/Impact and achieved far more success and accolades than they ever did in Vince McMahon's company. 

Impact's history is filled with wrestlers who have jumped ship from WWE only to become more successful in their careers then they've ever could of imagine.

So, here are 10 WWE Superstars Who Did Better in TNA/Impact...

10. Mr. Anderson 

In the mid 2000's Mr. Anderson (then known as Mr. Kennedy) would become a rising star on both Raw and Smackdown but things began to change for Kennedy/Anderson as he rack up a number of injuries and drug suspensions that ultimately derailed his career, including the now infamous Vince McMahon illegitimate son storyline.

The final straw came when Anderson delivered a back suplex maneuver on Randy Orton during a May 25th 2009 episode of Raw which ended up being Kennedy's return to in ring action but also his last appearance in the WWE.

The story has it that John Cena and Randy Orton complained to management over Kennedy's recklessness in the ring after the latter took what he believed was a botch back suplex during a 10 man tag team match and Kennedy was released from his contract on May 29th 2009.

Anderson debuted in TNA at the Genesis 2010  PPV where he defeated 'The Monster' Abyss in one-on-one action. During the early beginnings of the Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff regime Anderson was treated like a mega star thanks to his feuds with Abyss, Kurt Angle, RVD, Bram, Eli Drake and Jeff Hardy while embracing an attitude that can best be described as being a complete and utter asshole (in kayfabe) to those who crossed his path both in and outside of the ring.

Anderson would win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on two different occasions in 2011 before engaging in a Philadelphia Street Fight with former WWE alumni Bully Ray at Bound for Glory of that same year and then again in 2013 on few episodes of Impact during the finals months of the Aces & Eights Storyline.

Impact's resident asshole would be around until March of 2016, when he failed a drug test that ultimately got him released from the company.

After returning to the independent scene for a few years, Anderson would head to Billy Corgan's NWA promotion where he has become a popular name alongside former Impact talents Nick Aldis, James Storm and Eli Drake however, he was recently announced for the One Night Only TNA show happening in April so Impact fans both old and new will get the chance to see the former TNA world heavyweight champion in action.  

   

9. Ken Shamrock

In the late 90's, Ken Shamrock was an intense force of destruction during the WWF's attitude era with the former MMA fighter feuding with names like Vader, Owen Hart, Steve Blackman, Val Venis, Jeff Jarrett and most famously The Rock for the Intercontinental Championship however after being taken out with a kayfabe injury, Shamrock would never wrestle in the WWE again and decided to return to the world of MMA.

In 2002 and 2004, Shamrock found sometime in between his MMA career to compete for the newly created NWA TNA promotion where he would become the companies first ever world champion and held unto that belt before losing to Ron 'The Truth' Killings; In 2019 Shamrock would make his return to the company (now known as Impact Wrestling) when feuded with Moose following a heated exchange on Twitter which culminated in a match between both wrestlers at Bound For Glory which Moose would win.

Unlike the previous two times that Ken appeared for the company, this one lasted a whole lot longer as 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' would compete against names like Joey Ryan, Madman Fulton, Eddie Edwards,  Rich Swann and Sami Callihan before turning heel and joining forces with Callihan to unsuccessfully challenge for the Impact World Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary 2020.

Speaking of 2020, at that year's Bound For Glory pay per view Ken Shamrock was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame with special guest appearances from names like Mick Foley, Bret Hart, a few of Ken's friends and former rivals from MMA and the biggest or perhaps the greatest guest to congrat Shamrock for his induction was Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson himself.

Overall, Shamrock's combined three runs in the company has seen him achieve success in way that he wasn't able to do in the WWF/E.

   

8. Winter/Katarina 

You can be forgiven it you totally forgot this former Knockouts Champion was even in the WWE at one point because considering her time there and her time in Impact, it's pretty much night and day.

Katarina or Katie Lee Burchill as she was called at the time was paired with Paul Burchill as siblings who had an implied incestuous relationship with each other which went over as well as you could imagine. Aside from a number of forgettable matches on TV and PPV, Katarina's time in the company was forgettable at best and she was let go in April of 2010.

Katarina would get signed by TNA in October that same year under the name of 'Winter' and her first run in the promotion was weird to say the least with things ranging from being Angelina Love's biggest admirer, to literally mind controlling and even drugging Angelina to become a soulless but aggressive zombies and even associating herself at one point with a former cast member of the Jersey Shore in 2011...like I said weird stuff.

Amongst all of that madness, Winter would become Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Angelina Love in 2011 and then months later Winter would defeated Mickie James in two consecutive pay per views to become a two time Knockouts Champion before leaving the company in 2012.

Suddenly out of nowhere in 2018, Grado returns to the company and his got a girlfriend who just so happens to be none other than Katarina (who went under her real name during this time); The pairing of Katarina, Grado and later Joe Hendry was popular amongst fans until the former Knockouts Champion revealed that she had feelings for Hendry and not Grado but Hendry was having none of it which lead to Katarina hiring a luchador by the named 'Murder Clown' to take care of Hendry and Grado which he did.

The final months of her second run in Impact, Katarina would become the first rival to the newest knockout on the roster, Jordynne Grace which helped in introducing the new star to Impact fans who had never seen her before.

While her time in TNA/Impact was filled with some bizarre moments, she did however become Knockouts Champion twice, had an amazing theme song and became a welcomed addition to the roster, plus she didn't have a incest angle during her run so there's that.

  

 

7. Scott Steiner

I could just mention Scott Steiner's math promo as more than enough reason to include him on this list, but there is so much more to Big Poppa Pump's time in Impact then just being The King of Memes.

Scott and his brother Rick would wrestle as a tag team in the WWF from 1992-94 where they became two tag team champions and wrestled against teams like The Beverly Brothers, The Headshrinkers, Money Inc, and The Smoking Guns; Steiner would soon be gone from the WWF after being eliminated from the 1994 Royal Rumble.

Fast forward eight years later and Steiner would return to the WWE where his outrageous promos can genuinely be seen as the biggest highlight of his second run in the company as most if not all of his matches during this time were the drizzling shits and as such he would leave the WWE for good in 2004 after being eliminated in that years Royal Rumble match...how ironic.

Steiner would then debut for TNA at Destination X 2006 where he aligned himself with Jeff Jarrett and later Christian Cage in the role of bodyguard before reuniting with his brother Rick Steiner to feud with Brother Ray and Brother Devon of Team 3D for much on 2007; The next year, Steiner would associated himself with former X Division Champion, Petey Williams and his 'freak' Rhaka Khan during which is when the legendary or infamous (depending on who you ask) math promo would occur.

The biggest highlight of Scott's time in the company came when he joined the Main Event Mafia and continued to make memorable comments like calling Samoa Joe 'This Fat Son-A-B#tch' to doing ring announcements on a episode of Impact that needs to be seen to be believed.

Scott would make on and off appearances for Impact throughout the 2010's with each one of them being a highlight in of it's own; Simply put it, Scott Steiner's time in TNA/Impact has become so memorable that his it's completely washed way the stink that was his second run in the WWE.   

6. Matt Hardy

It's almost been forgotten now, but back in the mid to late 2010's Matt Hardy became the most talked about wrestler in the United States thanks to his run in TNA which gave him a whole lot of leeway to produce a gimmick that would change his career going forward.

While his first run in 2011 was decent, aside from the issues he was dealing with in his personal life, it's his second run that is the most memorable and as such is the focus of this entry.

After returning to the company following his time in Ring Of Honor and the independent scene, Matt and his brother Jeff would reunite as a team where they won the TNA tag team titles two times while also having matches against teams like The Cult Of Lee, Team 3D, The Wolves and Decay.

Matt Hardy would later become TNA World Champion once in the main event of Bound For Glory 2015 and then again in 2016 with the second reign seeing Matt adopt a new heel persona which he calls "Iconic" Matt Hardy or "Big Money" Matt.

While all of these is impressive, it was a new eccentric side of Matt Hardy that would defined his career in the eyes of modern wrestling fans.

Weeks after a grueling I quit match with his brother on Impact, Matt  would return as a damaged and deranged man known as 'Broken' Matt Hardy and after numerous matches including the famous or infamous (depending on who you ask) Final Deletion which became to most talked about thing in wrestling at the time and the gimmick continued to evolve so much that Matt was finally able to become more popular than his brother for a number of years.

Matt along with his brother Jeff would leave Impact in 2017, just in time for a quick return to Ring Of Honor and for that year's WrestleMania event; While legal issues would drove a wedge between the Hardy Family and Impact's parent company Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the issues would be resolved in early 2018 with Matt Hardy expressing kind words regarding his time in the company and the current Impact product via social media.

In 2020, Matt Hardy sign with the All Elite Wrestling but would return to Impact for a number of appearances in early 2021 as part of the partnership between both companies.

 

5. Taryn Terrell

If you don't remember anything that Taryn Terrell did in WWE aside from being the smiling generic blond haired general manager of WWE's ECW brand than I don't blame you.

From 2008-10 Taryn took part in a number of forgettable matches before becoming the general manager of WWE's version of ECW; So when she first appeared in TNA in 2012 many remembered Taryn as that blonde chick in WWE and not much else but by the end of her time with the company she became a new wrestler that everyone was talking about.

After starting her TNA run as the new referee for the Knockouts Division Taryn would eventually get into a feud with Gail Kim which lead to their critical acclaimed Last Knockouts Standing Match at Slammiversary 2013, which was a career defining match for her as the fans began to respect Taryn as her progression within the company continued following her feud with Gail. 

Taryn would go on to defeat both Gail Kim and Jessicka Havok in a triple threat match to become Knockouts Champion for the very first time in her career and she would hold onto that belt for a record breaking 291 days becoming the second longest reigning champion in the company's history before Taya Valkyrie's year plus title reign overshadowed Taryn's.

Terrell would also turn heel in the mid 2010's creating and leading the all female stable known as "The Dollhouse" until the group split in 2016.

Taryn would make a couple of returns to the company with the most recent one being her brief time in 2017.

While some of the names on this list achieved some level of success and notoriety before or during their time in the WWE, Taryn Terrell didn't have that kind of luck, she started out in TNA as just another WWE reject who was probably looking for a easy paycheck but, in the end she became as one of the best female wrestlers of the early 2010's. 

4. Bully Ray

The big man from Hell's Kitchen, New York has been wrestling for decades competing in some of the biggest wrestling promotions both in and outside of the U.S. but his work in Impact in the 2010's that earns Bully Ray a spot on this list.

After turning on his tag team partner Devon in late 2010, Brother Ray or Bubba Ray would soon turn into Bully Ray, who was an extension to the loud and brass persona that the ECW original had throughout his career. 

Bully Ray would get into feuds with wrestlers like Devon, AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Abyss and Austin Aries while also joining the faction known as Immortal from 2011-12; After Immortal disbanded in early 2012, Bully Ray would soon become babyface following the invasion of Aces and Eights and Bully's relationship with Hulk Hogan's daughter, Brooke.

However, good guy Bully Ray wouldn't last long as he revealed himself to be the president of Aces & Eights after turning heel on the fans and becoming the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion; Bully would remain in the world title picture even after Aces & Eights disbanded but was in 2014 where he turned face again  and began his war with Dixie Carter which ultimately culminated in the TNA President getting put through a table.

The numerous feuds, matches and shocking moments that happened to Bully Ray during his singles run helped to redefine his career as more than just a tag team wrestler.

  

3. EC3

EC3's first failed run in the WWE occurred back at the original NXT where he performed under the name of Derrick Bateman and ended up doing very little of importance while at the same time getting up got squashed by names like Ryback and Darren Young before he was let go back in 2013.

After a number of video packages hyping his debut, Bateman became Ethan Carter The Third aka EC3, the nephew of then TNA president Dixie Carter and debuted at Bound for Glory in 2013 defeating a wrestler who would later become the future Peter Avalon in AEW.

From here, EC3 would have an impressive 100 plus day undefeated streak defeating wrestlers like Matt and Jeff Hardy, Lashley, Rockstar Spud, Bully Ray, Sting, Drew Galloway, Mike Bennett and even Kurt Angle, who EC3 would beat to win his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

After a run with the TNA Grand Championship, EC3 would be gone from Impact in early 2018 and return to the WWE appearing on the NXT brand before heading to main roster...and to call his second run disappointment would probably be the nicest way to describe it as Ethan was so horribly underutilized by the WWE that the 'biggest accomplishment' he had during his second run was becoming 24/7 champion for a couple of minutes.

Thankfully for EC3's case he would be let go from the WWE as part of the infamous Black Wednesday incident back in 2020 and has since reappeared in Impact and later debuting for Ring Of Honor.

2. Sami Callihan

Considering his time in NXT saw him appear almost exclusively on WWE live events with even the man himself saying that WWE tried to turn him in a b###h, is it any wonder why Callihan makes it onto this list.

After making his debut at Bound for Glory 2017 and becoming the leader of OvE, Sami Callihan became one of the most controversial but in demand wrestlers by the end of the 2010's.

While Callihan's participation in the OvE vs. LAX feud was a good way for him to start his time in the company, it was his infamous baseball bat shot on Eddie Edwards that changed everything; A moment that occurred following a match between Sami and Eddie on the March 1st 2018 episode of Impact when Sami hit Eddie in the face with a baseball bat completely missing the steel chair that he set up and fracturing the orbital bone in Eddie's in right eye.


The incident unsurprisingly drew a hell of a lot of criticism from fans, journalist and wrestling personalities alike but the incident also turned Callihan into the most hated and talked about wrestler outside of the WWE in fact the publicity of this incident ended up helping Impact Wrestling as the growing resurgence the company was facing thanks to a new regime, got everyone wondering: What's going to happen next?

And let's not forget the matches that Callihan has had with names like Pentagon Jr., Brian Cage, Rich Swann, Eddie Edwards, Ken Shamrock, Tessa Blanchard and Trey Miguel with many of those matches being some of the best not just in Sami's career or Impact's long and storied history but also some of the best matches in modern day pro wrestling.

Not to mention, Callihan has become one of the new leader locker room leaders within the company along side his rival Eddie Edwards and former Knockouts Champion, Rosemary.

Simply put it without the help of Sami Callihan and a number of others names that are currently still working with the company, Impact Wrestling would not be enjoying the boom period they are having right now.

1. Rich Swann

At one point in time, someone like Sami Callihan would have topped this list but as deserving as Callihan would be there just so happens to be one other person deserves and that's Rich Swann.

Rich Swann became well known to mainstream wrestling fans thanks to his work in the WWE where he spent the majority of that title competing for the Cruiserweight Championship until a highly publicized incident would lead to the WWE releasing him from his contract.

Following his dismissal from the WWE, Swann initially considering retiring from pro wrestling all together but after working in the indies for a little bit and then signing with Impact in 2018, Rich would take his career to a whole new level.

From 2018-early 2020, Rich Swann was seen competing in the X Division and tag team division with the former resulting in Swann becoming X Division Champion and the latter seeing the debut of Willie Mack to the company at Bound For Glory 2018; After suffering a leg injury at the Bash At The Brewery 2 event, Swann was taken out of action but would return at Slammiversary later that year which began his friend with a returning Eric Young and eventually becoming the Impact World Champion.

Swann would also make history at the 2021 Sacrifice event when he defeated Moose to become the first ever Unified World Champion in recent company history and later taking on Kenny Omega in an interpromotional title vs. title match at Rebellion.

Rich Swann's story both in and outside of wrestling is filled with tragedy, opportunity and success which makes him a compelling underdog who constantly defies the odds and for that he is one of the best examples of a former WWE superstar doing better for themselves in TNA/Impact Wrestling.  

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