10 WWE Rejects Immediately Pushed By TNA Impact Wrestling
3. Brian Christopher
It's not as though Jerry 'The King' Lawler's son didn't have a right to be in TNA through talent alone when the company sprung to life in 2002, but the fact he was spotlighted in such a manner highlighted a dangerous mistake the company would repeatedly make with WWE's cast-offs.
Despite a hugely successful run alongside partners Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi as part of the astonishingly popular 'Too Cool' unit, Brian Christopher's stock with the organisation was never as high as he thought it was.
When Scotty was sidelined with an ankle injury in March 2001, it ultimately signalled the end of the team. During his partner's rehabilitation, Christopher was caught trying to transport drugs across the border into Canada ahead of working a show, and was promptly shown the door by a WWE overflowing with talent in the wake of the WCW and ECW closures earlier that year.
Having linked up with Jeff Jarrett and Jeremy Borash in early 2002 for the short-lived World Wrestling All-Stars promotion, Christopher (now wrestling as Brian Lawler) lost main events against 'Double J', Scott Steiner and others, which artificially supplanted him as a topline wrestler outside of WWE.
TNA bewilderingly subscribed to the theory themselves, positioning him as a major star during their early days. After several failed efforts at the NWA World Heavyweight title alongside 'Next Generation' (read: inferior to their fathers) stablemates David Flair and Erik Watts, Lawler was shunted down the card before his 2004 exit from the promotion.