10 WWE Superstars You Didn't Know Were In TNA
1. Shinsuke Nakamura
Despite being labelled a newcomer to the US wrestling scene by WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura’s venture across the pond when he signed in 2016 wasn’t his first foray into American wrestling. In fact, his first foray into a North American wrestling company actually came with TNA Wrestling in 2008.
Taking place on an episode of TNA’s secondary show, Xplosion, Nakamura defeated Elix Skipper on January 28th, 2008. Incredibly, Nakamura was also IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the time, having beaten Hiroshi Tanahashi three weeks earlier.
After the appearance on Xplosion, Nakamura travelled back to New Japan Pro Wrestling; however, it wouldn’t be long before he rubbed shoulders with TNA talent once more. "The King of Strong Style" would find himself sharing the ring with TNA Champion and IWGP 3rd Belt Champion, Kurt Angle, just one month later.
In a historic cross-promotional bout, Nakamura put his IWGP Heavyweight Title on the line against Angle’s IWGP 3rd Belt Championship in a unification bout to merge both versions of the IWGP Championship. On that night in Tokyo, Nakamura would be victorious and walk away as undisputed IWGP Heavyweight Champion, defeating the reigning TNA Champion to do so.