10 WWE Rejects Immediately Pushed By TNA Impact Wrestling
1. Raven
The template for how TNA would treat anybody with even a modicum of recent WWE prominence, Raven's surprise arrival on the January 22nd 2003 TNA weekly pay-per-view saw him leapfrog the entire roster into the main event, predictably getting involved in a feud with Jeff Jarrett over 'Double J's NWA World Heavyweight Title.
Admittedly, his appearance was something of a shock considering he'd still been on Vince McMahon's payroll just two days earlier.
Free from the traditional no-compete clause after negotiating his own release, he attacked babyface Jarrett after his improbable handicap title defence over Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme goons Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, Lo-Ki, Don Harris and BG James.
Reverting back to a variation of his traditional ECW look after wearing black tights for his final WWE stretch, he then stole the title belt and marched off with a jubilant Russo, who obnoxiously hollered 'We got f**king Raven!' as if to speak for TNA's real-life management team as the show went off the air.
The programme itself wasn't a total disaster, with an April pay-per-view main event between the two doing one of the best weekly buyrates the company would achieve under the flawed model. After failing to achieve his 'destiny' of winning the title though, a heel Raven was damaged goods, with the company only briefly rekindling the spark he'd once had during a short 2005 run with the prize.