10 Wrestlers WWE Should Retain If They Buy TNA
1. Ethan Carter III
Speaking of guys WWE let slip through their net, TNA have allowed Ethan Carter III to transform into one of America’s most entertaining wrestlers. He’s a great wrestler, but he’s second-to-none on the microphone, and working as Dixie Carter’s over-privileged, over-entitled nephew helped EC3 unlock vaults of charisma that fans had no idea existed before.
Carter immediately became one of TNA’s top heels after debuting, though he’s just as comfortable in his current babyface role. A former two-time TNA Champion, Jim Ross recently described him as “the only reason left to watch Impact Wrestling.” That’s a tad harsh given the show’s recent improvements, but it’s high praise for a man who never got a fair shake of the stick in NXT, particularly from a man of Ross’ reputation.
As Derrick Bateman, EC3’s WWE run was largely unproductive. He was given few opportunities after appearing in seasons 4 and 5 of NXT, with his most notable contributions coming in a God-awful love triangle angle with Johnny Curtis and Maxine. Bateman was relegated to developmental shortly after, and was released from his WWE contract in mid-2013.
It’s inconceivable that WWE wouldn’t be interested in signing EC3 should the opportunity arise. He’s a genuine main event level talent who oozes star quality, and it wouldn’t take long at all for them to build him up as an upper-midcard threat. It’ll be up to Carter to decide whether or not he wants to return to a company that treated him so poorly before, but surely even Vince McMahon isn’t blinkered enough to miss his upside for a second time?