10 Most Confusing WWE Castoffs That TNA Signed

8. Rikishi

When Rikishi was let go in WWE in 2004, he had already worn out his welcome by a couple of years. He was popular in the year 2000, and really, that was it.

He flopped quite badly when the company tried to make him a main event star, and he was sent back to play the role of a large man who danced, rubbed his butt in others' faces, and teamed with Scotty 2 Hotty. That fun had long passed, though, and the two seemed to remain on the roster as more than a clerical oversight than anything.

For some reason, TNA picked him Rikishi in 2007 and it was like a Stinkface to the entire roster. For starters, he couldn’t go by "Rikishi", which is the only name that he was over with (see The Sultan and Fatu) and he decided to go with Junior Fatu. Besides being in his early 40s at the time, he had packed on even more weight since we last saw him, and was painfully slow in the ring. What was the benefit to signing him again?

Rikishi didn’t come cheap either, and TNA wasted no time in putting him over Bobby Roode. He wanted a raise despite not doing anything of note, and then left the company.

So basically, they put an out-of-shape, past his prime novelty act over a promising homegrown talent WITHOUT HAVING HIM UNDER A LONG-TERM DEAL? Everything about his hiring was foolish, and was a net negative due to him being perceived as a bigger star than the majority of their young roster.