10 Forgotten TNA Appearances By Ex-WWE Stars

3. Chris Kanyon

AJ Lee TNA
TNA

Forever tagged with qualifiers such as "the sad case of..." and/or "the tragic circumstances surrounding...", the unfair obstacles Chris Kanyon faced in his life in and out of wrestling were inexorably linked to his death in April 2010.

Kanyon suffered from significant mental health issues during a time such things were barely part of mainstream conversations let alone concentrated on as such a high priority in assessing overall wellbeing. The industry never gave him anything even resembling a fair shake after WCW closed either, and by the time he'd been chewed up and spat back out by the WWE system, the former United States Champion and persistent popper seemed destined to fade from view.

A TNA one-off was a glaring exception. Working as "Chris K" as a way to keep the Kanyon name in his own hands if a deal didn't materialise, "The Innovator of Offence" was presented as a ghost from Raven's past during the latter's feud with authority figure Larry Zbysko. The two fought at Turning Point 2005, with World Title hopeful Raven scoring the win in what ended up being Kanyon's last televised or pay-per-view encounter.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett