10 Signings That Could Have Saved TNA

3. CM Punk

CM Punk wrestled a handful of matches for TNA, but he left for Ring of Honor to become one of their biggest stars ever. Then he went on to shake up WWE (and the entire wrestling business) a few years later. If only someone in TNA saw his incredible, raw talent and begged him (if they had to) to sign a long-term deal. Imagine how different the wrestling world would be today.

Punk is loyal, but he also wanted a platform to prove that he’s the best in the world. TNA could have featured him on a national scene for years before WWE would have ever been interested, as they seemed highly reluctant to bring him into the fold in the first place.

Punk could have been a standout in the X Division in the first few years of TNA, facing off against the likes of A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn, before moving into the main event scene. Imagine an alternate wrestling world where Punk cleanly defeated the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Kevin Nash and Booker T.

For fans who were sick of the increasing lameness of WWE in the late 2000s with Cena in charge, and the obnoxious reformed DX as the biggest supporting characters, they could have turned over to TNA to see the Straight Edge Superstar in the main event, and for once believed in the promotion as a true alternative.