10 WWE Superstars That TNA Unsuccessfully Tried To Sign
'Mike, what the hell is Ray Mysterious doing in the Impact zone?!?'.
To this very day, TNA President Dixie Carter still has to spend time swatting away criticism of her company’s predilection towards WWE expats.
In her defence though, the issue is nowhere near as prominent as it was five or so years back. Nonetheless, the list of WWE cast-offs populating TNA’s ranks is still a rather lengthy one, including the likes of Kurt Angle, the Hardys, MVP, Lashley, Mr. Anderson, Drew Galloway, EC3 and Tyrus.
But if TNA had gotten their way, the company’s former-WWE fraternity might have been boasting even greater numbers still. Over the years, the Tennessee-based enterprise has made many an overture for former WWE personnel, with one such example happening as recently as this week.
Make no mistake, this article isn’t intended to be yet another internet-based bashing of TNA—it stands to reason that as the premier company in pro wrestling, the WWE’s talent is of a very high standard, and who wouldn’t want such quality on their roster?
But either way, the list of stars that TNA has unsuccessfully approached makes for interesting reading nonetheless. This article assembles that very list and brings to you ten former WWE Superstars that TNA attempted to sign.
10. Rey Mysterio
News broke earlier this week that TNA had made a very recent attempt to sign former WWE Champion—and odds-on future Hall of Famer—Rey Mysterio.
Given the luchador’s storied history with WWE, it’s hard to imagine him stepping foot in the six-sided ring, but TNA clearly felt they had a good chance of turning that image into a reality.
A business case, assembled by Carter and John Gaburick, was pitched to Rey drawing on the increased visibility that TNA could provide for his merchandise. But with his net worth standing at an estimated $8.5million, it seems highly unlikely that Rey would be in any great need of boosting his merch sales.
The offer also included the promise of being built as a major star and having the flexibility to work anywhere he chooses on days off from TV tapings.
But the smart money will still be on Rey heading to Lucha Undergound, where he can reinvest his time into giving something back to the next generation of lucha libre sensations.