10 TNA Superstars That Failed To Make An Impact In WWE
Is there anything worse than having the dream job turn into a nightmare?
TNA Wrestling has developed a notorious reputation for picking up ex-WWE talent once they have been released from their WWE contracts. While this is not entirely unfairly received, TNA often do a good job with the talent they inherit and former WWE stars are frequently utilised to great effect once they enter the Impact Zone.
Conversely, the same cannot be said for WWE. In fact, Vince's lot has a long history of not only wasting TNA talent but also ruining them altogether at times. While this practice has seemingly come to an end in recent years - with AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, and Eric Young all enjoying great success in WWE today - the list of TNA performers that were chewed up and spit out by the Titan machine is a depressing reading.
Nevertheless, this fact remains. Contrary to what WWE may want you to believe, not everything the company touches turns to gold and Vince and co. don't always have the Midas touch when it comes to making stars. Take a look at these ten examples for proof of just that.
10. Chris Harris
Chris Harris is the shining example of the phrase "the grass isn't always greener on the other side". A fixture of TNA from the very beginning, 'The Wildcat' was a hugely successful tag team wrestler as part of America's Most Wanted with 'Cowboy' James Storm.
Whether heel of face, AMW could get the job done and proved it time and again throughout their six NWA Tag Team Championship reigns. Harris and Storm were also part of TNA's 2004 Match of the Year against Triple X at Turning Point. The end of AMW in 2007 saw Harris go solo to varying success before he signed with WWE in 2008.
Debuting under the name Braden Walker, Harris looked to have gained some weight since his time in TNA and didn't seem like a man ready for the opporunity of a lifetime. That assessment proved true and he wrestled just two matches in ECW before disappearing from WWE TV, never to be seen again.
The sheer brevity of his run made him a magnet for ridicule online and he became the butt of many jokes in the aftermath. Despite this fact, TNA gave him a second chance in 2011 when he became Matt Hardy's tag partner in his feud with Beer Money at Sacrifice. Sadly for Harris, he was not kept on after the PPV.