12 Wrestlers Who Did Their BEST Work In TNA & IMPACT

There was a moment when it seemed as though WWE had faith in Bobby Roode. The Glorious Canadian was given a banger of a theme tune and a monster push in NXT, winning the NXT Championship fairly quickly and defending it against a variety of top opponents. He then went to the main roster and won the US Championship, although the hope of a big-time WrestleMania match with Randy Orton went out the window when the creative team remembered that getting everyone on the card was more important. A shame.

Roode has done okay in WWE. Give him a C+. In TNA? A*, all day long.

Placed as the muscle of Team Canada but clearly one to watch, Roode a potential top star who needed a little more experience before becoming The Man.

It all came together in 2011. Roode won the very first Bound for Glory series, earning himself a shot at Kurt Angle and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Fans were shocked when Roode came up short at Bound for Glory, but it worked out. James Storm beat Angle for the title before losing the strap to Roode, who turned heel. It was marvellously done, and Roode was set for life.

Bobby Roode was the defining TNA World Champion of his era. He carried himself like a star and was booked like one too, an old-fashioned heel champion who talked the talk and backed it up with style and panache. His WWE run pales in comparison, no matter how glorious that entrance theme is.