10 Worst TNA Champions Ever

To be fair, Ken Shamrock wasn't a terrible choice to be TNA's first champion. Yes, he was a former WWE star, but the fact that he had left that company (and pro wrestling) almost three years earlier and of his own volition made it seem like the fledgling promotion had pulled off a coup by snatching him up. For years, fans had wondered when Shamrock would come back, and now he had, competing for a brand-new organization.

TNA, which ran weekly Pay-Per-View events in its early days, headlined the first show with a Gauntlet for the Gold match (a Royal Rumble where the last two men have a standard bout) for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Shamrock won the title, defeating Malice (WCW's The Wall) to capture the belt and give it some legitimacy straight from the outset.

Unfortunately, the rest of Shamrock's run didn't live up to his victory. He continued to feud with Malice for the next few weeks, but wasn't as committed to a pro wrestling return as fans had hoped. At TNA's eighth weekly PPV, Shamrock lost the title to Ron Killings (WWE's R-Truth), then disappeared from the company, despite having signed a one-year deal initially.