10 WWE Stars Who Managed To Shake Off The 'TNA Stink'

7. CM Punk

Consequences Creed Xavier Woods
TNA.com

A generation of wrestling fans will never forget the days of online buzz and excitement surrounding videos featuring independent wrestlers such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Amazing Red, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Chris Hero, and AJ Styles. Upon each new match that was viewed, the buzz around these performers only intensified. But still, there was always doubt over whether these fledgling talents would ever make it to the bright lights of WWE.

In the case of CM Punk, he looked like the furthest thing imaginable from what Vince McMahon traditionally looked for in a talent back during those days. As such, Ring of Honor and TNA looked like it might be as good as it ever got for the 'Second City Saint.'

Of course, we all know that Punk would indeed end up in WWE by 2005 and, after his fair share of ups and downs (hey, Simon Miller!), would go on to make himself the hottest star in the industry for a spell. For a year though, Punk was performing in TNA as part of Raven's Flock knock-off, the Gathering. And if it wasn't for the shocking Rob Feinstein controversy, the 'Straight Edge Superstar's time in TNA would have continued on past March 2004.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.