Top 10 TNA Stars that went to WWE

After the fall of WCW in 2001 there was only one major Wrestling Promotion in the world. WWE had won the war and had a firm grasp of the wrestling world. However, Jeff Jarrett yearned for another option. In 2002 he went into business with his father Jerry Jarrett and created Total Nonstop Action. For 17 years now, TNA has scratched and clawed its way to survival. In all honesty how many people thought TNA would make it 17 years? They have been bounced around from more television stations than Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have been bounced out of bars. However, they still stand to this day and have delivered us many great talents. This list only contains wrestlers that were in TNA prior to going to the WWE. This list is also ranked on how well these wrestlers did in both companies. Let us know what you think in the comments and enjoy this Classic!

10. Kharma (Awesome Kong)

From dominating one company just to fade out of the next just doesn’t seem right for Kharma. She was built like a true bad ass in TNA. After some failed attempts at winning the TNA Knockout’s Championship she added a manager by the name of Raisha Saeed. With the assistance of her new manager Kong was finally crowned TNA Knockout’s Champion. After a series of open challenges that saw “crowd members” fight for the championship along with a prize of $25,000, Taylor Wilde kept challenging and finally won. Kong eventually retained the belt later to become a two-time TNA Knockout Champion. Kong and Saeed would also become TNA Knockout tag team champions. After some backstage politics and disagreements Kong asked for her release. This opened the door to WWE, and she debuted as Kharma at Extreme Rules attacking Michelle McCool after her match. She then started running down the roster on SmackDown and Raw, but she revealed that she was pregnant and had to take a leave of absence. She made a surprise return during the 2012 Royal Rumble and eliminated Michael Cole and Sin Cara. This made her the third ever women to be an entrant in the Royal Rumble alongside the likes of Beth Phoenix and Chyna. This was her first and only official match in WWE as she was released from her contract shortly after. It’s unfortunate that Kharma didn’t get a long run in WWE as I’m sure they had big plans for her. She did well in TNA, but that’s not always the case when you make the jump to WWE.

9. Mike Kanellis (“The Miracle” Mike Bennett)

The Miracle splashed onto TNA’s scene claiming that he was the Jesus of Professional Wrestling. He made his debut at One Night Only defeating Robbie E. He then had a great feud with Drew Galloway and earned Kurt Angles respect shortly after. His next feud came against Ethan Carter III and Bennett was the one who ended Carter’s unpinned streak. He then won his first and only title at TNA by defeating Eddie Edwards for the X-Division Championship. Bennett was in the World Championship conversation, but never sat at the top of the mountain. After a year in TNA Bennett did achieve a lot, but he and his wife Maria announced their departure from the company. The pair debuted at Money in the Bank to this weird 80’s love music and just introduced themselves. Now being billed as Mike Kanellis, taking his wife’s name which was a nice move, he just hasn’t amounted to anything. He had one PPV match against Sami Zayn with Zayn going over, and then got moved to Raw. Since then he has reemerged on 205 Live, and one can only hope he finds success there. He has gone through a lot with his drug abuse problems but has been clean for a while now and has gotten himself in tremendous shape. Even though his booking was better in TNA, the likelihood of him getting clean there was slim. WWE takes great care of their talent and moving to WWE may have been the best move for Mike, Maria and their baby daughter.

8. Zelina Vega (Rosita)

Rosita debuted in 2011 and was booked as the storyline cousin of Sarita. Shortly after debuting Rosita and her cousin won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. After winning the championship she stated that there would be a Mexican takeover of TNA. Looks like she was used to takeovers before she went to WWE. She formed an alliance with her cousin, Hernandez and Anarquia who called themselves Mexican America. The faction didn’t last too long as Rosita and Sarita’s contracts expired, Anarquia left the promotion, and Hernandez turned face. Thus, bringing Rosita a new opportunity wrestling on the indies before she signed a contract with WWE. She made some appearances as one of Adam Rose’s ‘Rose Buds’ and lost a match against Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship on an episode of NXT. She found her calling under the name Zelina Vega. She was the feisty heel manager of Andrade Cien Almas and started taking him to the top. During NXT Takeover: WarGames she interfered in Andrade and then champion Drew McIntyre’s match. She performed a spectacular hurricanranna driver on McIntyre which would later help Andrade win the NXT Championship. She did the same to Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia which helped Almas retain his championship. Now Vega is on SmackDown with Andrade and has performed in some mix tag matches that have shown her skills are still there. The sky is the limit for Zelina and it’ll be interesting to see her future in the company.

7. Austin Aries

Double A has succeeded in every promotion he’s been a part of. Even his brief stint in WWE showcased his talents, but they just didn’t push him in the right direction. Aries has grabbed every belt imaginable in TNA besides the Knockout’s championship, but who knows it’s 2019 maybe it’ll be done. He’s won the Tag team championship’s one time with Bobby Roode. He is a six-time X-Division champion, a three-time TNA World Heavyweight champion, and a one-time Impact Grand champion. He has had three stints with TNA cumulating to a total of seven years with the southern promotion. After his second stint with TNA he went back to ROH and then finally landed with WWE. His debut match was at NXT Takeover: Dallas where he beat Baron Corbin. He eventually got a match for the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: The End. He lost the match and started a feud with No Way Jose which ended with Aries submitted Jose at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II. Aries had an injury which made him drop out of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but he surfaced on the main roster during a cruiserweight match at Roadblock: End of the Line. Double A eventually became the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship against Neville on the preshow of WrestleMania 33. He lost the match and then the rematch at Extreme Rules. This led to a frustrated Aries not liking his creative direction. The true story of his release isn’t known, but Aries has continued his career just fine without WWE. Even though it was a short time with WWE at least he can say he had a match at WrestleMania…on the preshow.

6. Sting

Okay before you freak out because Sting is number six remember that this is looking at his success in both companies. Let out your frustrations in the comments if it helps you but hear me out. The Icon was the godfather of TNA. He was the man who never left and always stuck with the company. Sting was the biggest WCW star never to go to WWE until 2014. Unfortunately, it was a little too late as the Vigilante was on his last legs. However, focusing on his achievements in TNA is a long list. Sting spent 11 years with TNA. Just put into perspective that TNA is 17 years old, and he was there for the first 11 of them. He was building block for that company and he helped keep them afloat. He was NWA Champion once, TNA Tag Team Champion once, and a four-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Sting is one of the most unselfish people in wrestling. If he had a mind like Hogan or Jarrett, he would have doubled all those reigns. Sting isn’t someone who cared about being the guy, he just wanted to work and help his company out. He’s a true legend and his time in TNA will never be forgotten. TNA even inducted him in the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012 while still being an active member on the roster. His time finally came to an end in 2014, and he made his debut in WWE at Survivor Series attacking Triple H and costing the Authority the match. The Icon and The Game had a match at WrestleMania 31 which saw the war of the mid 90’s relived. The NWO and Degeneration-X collided in a crazy match that saw Triple H get the win over Sting. In true WWE fashion, doing everything in their power to make sure WWE stands tall of WCW they ruined Stings debut. The Icon would get the chance at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. This is where it ended. Sting suffered a severe neck injury during the match that made him finally call it quits. He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame and the Icon will live forever.

5. Xavier Woods (Consequences Creed)

Mr. Creed showed his charisma and potential in TNA. Playing off the Rocky themed gimmick while using his true last name showed a good fit for the PhD holding wrestler. Consequences performed in the tag and X-division in his four years at TNA. He first teamed with Ron Killings, and went by the name Rasheed Lucius “Consequences” Creed. After Killings release, Creed went away for a bit and resurfaced in the X-division with a more condensed name. Creed never won the X-division Championship, but he did find gold while partnering with Jay Lethal under the team name of Lethal Consequences. The two nabbed the belts from Beer Money, Inc. However, Storm and Roode won the belts just 3 days later and Creed was soon to be released. He then signed a developmental deal with WWE and went by the name of Xavier Woods. After three years he finally debuted on Raw with his old tag partner R-Truth. This tag team didn’t last long like their partnership in TNA, but Woods went on to have a few opportunities as a singles star. He competed at WrestleMania 30 in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a Vacant United States & Intercontinental l Championship Battle Royal, and even a WWE World Heavyweight Championship qualifying match. This all led up to the creation that was supposed to fail, The New Day. They started out as a weird preacher choir group trying to be faces but got booed every night. They took this and ran with a new heel persona. They finally captured their first Tag Team Championships against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd at Extreme Rules. The trio would go on to become five-time, five-time, five-(oh you get it) champions! Their most impressive statistic is their record-breaking title reign of 483 days. The group has been together for five years now. That’s much longer than any other stable that’s been together. Most fans want them to stay together forever, but Vince might grow tired of the unicorn trio. Xavier Woods will go down as one of the best tag team specialists in WWE, and his on and off-screen charisma shows why he is such a fan favorite.

4. Eric Young

The man with more gimmick changes than Mick Foley and more loyalty than a Golden Retriever. Eric Young is an interesting character. From Team Canada to Super Eric to the bearded deranged Eric Young and many more gimmicks, Eric Young has proven himself as one of the TNA greats. He titles reigns speak for themselves including: Two-time NWA Tag Team Champion, Three-time Television/Global/Legends Champion, One-time TNA Knockout’s Tag Team Champion (yes you read that correctly), Two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, One-time X-Division Champion, and of course the gran daddy of them all the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once. Young did just about everything in TNA and for twelve years he helped build that promotion. It was time to step into WWE. Young debuted as a single star in NXT, but shortly after he created the group Sanity. The team of Young, Wolfe, Fulton and Cross did well for themselves. They had some good matches at NXT Takeover’s, and their leader Eric Young had a win against Tye Dillinger but eventually started a losing streak to Dillinger and then Roderick Strong. Eventually Fulton had an injury that saw Young replace him with the hairy beast of Belfast known as Killian Dain. At NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III Young and Wolfe won the NXT Tag Team Championships from the Authors of Pain. The team participated in the first ever WarGames that was the perfect match for the insane group. Now they have surfaced on SmackDown and not doing much, but Eric Young has achieved gold in both WWE and TNA. I know a lot of Eric Young fans have high hopes for the rest of his career in WWE. Let’s hope his achievements don’t end in NXT.

3. Bobby Roode

The Glorious one has shined like the diamonds in his robe since TNA. From a Tag Team specialist to a glorified champion, Bobby Roode has always had the skill set to be the main guy. A twelve-year career at TNA left him decorated like Michael Phelps with all that gold. A one-time King of the Mountain Champion, two-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and a six-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. The Beer Money Inc. CFO had a great career at TNA and truly shined when he went on his own. It was his time to make the jump and shine in WWE. At NXT Takeover: Dallas, Roode was shown in the crowd as everyone freaked out. It wasn’t until four months later he made his television debut. Another fourth months later and he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: San Antonio to become NXT Champion. He eventually lost the strap to Drew McIntyre at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III. That let the door open to his main roster debut. The Glorious one arrived at Smackdown with a babyface persona that just didn’t seem to fit him. He went on to win the vacated United States Championship against Jinder Mahal on SmackDown. He lost the title to Randy Orton and got moved to Raw. Roode’s main roster run hasn’t been the best so far, but he’s regained some relevancy by teaming up with Chad Gable and recently becoming Raw Tag Team Champion. Bobby Roode is in the later stages of his career, so it’s hard to say how much left he has in the tank. He’s been a great talent to watch and he sure has come a long way since Team Canada in TNA.

2. Samoa Joe

It all started with an undefeated steak. Eighteen long months before the Samoan Submission Machine had pinned or submitted. This feat came from Kurt Angles Ankle Lock. Within this streak Joe won the X-Division Championship twice. Joe also took part in the only five star rated TNA match by Dave Meltzer with his classic triple threat match with Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles. Joe’s ten-year career in TNA saw him capture the X-Division Championship five times. He was Television Champion once, TNA World Tag Team Champion twice, and TNA World Heavyweight Champion once. Samoa Joe continued to overcome injuries and accomplished just about everything in TNA. He left the company and took a liking to Triple H’s promotion in Florida. NXT would be his home for two great years as he was the first ever two-time NXT Champion. He also won the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Finn Balor. Since being brought up to the main roster Joe has continued to be bitten by the injury bug. He is still pushed as a major threat, and one day he will get that major title. He’s challenged Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, and TNA rival AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. It’s only a matter of time before Vinny Mac pulls the trigger on Samoa Joe.

1. AJ Styles

Could it be anyone else? A Phenomenal choice one might saw. AJ Styles will go down as one of the best Profession Wrestlers to ever do it. He has overcome all odds and his work ethic and talent wouldn’t be denied for long. He has more championships than anyone else on this list. I mean the guy pretty much had a championship and a division made for himself. Let’s count the gold, shall we? Styles is a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, two-time TNA Television Champion, two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and of course the inaugural and six-time X-Division champion. The guy is a damn workhorse that helped keep that company afloat. Now AJ would have stayed, but per Styles he said they offered him a contract with a 60% lower salary. So, what does he do? Becomes an even more global superstar and dominates Japan, and then makes one of the best Royal Rumble debuts every. Aside from seeing Roman Reigns’ confused face. Thanks Kevin Dunn. Since Style’s debut he has won the United States Championship twice, been on the cover of WWE 2K19, and oh yeah, he had two WWE Championship reigns and one of them lasted over a year! Most people never thought that AJ Styles would make it to WWE let alone being the face that runs the place. It’s been amazing watching him in both companies, but Styles has certainly made himself right at home in WWE.

There’s no doubt that TNA has provided WWE with some amazing talents. What once was never to be mentioned on WWE programming is now a promotion that is a thriving option for wrestling fans. We’ve seen many former WWE talents head to TNA and become something greater. Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre and Ethan Carter all come to mind as talents who hone their craft and come back to WWE better than ever. Tell us what you think about the list and we’d be happy to chat with you. Thanks for reading this Classic!