It's no secret that TNA have never been shy of scooping up former WWE superstars, often with damaging regularity with regards to their homegrown talent. Of the 18 men ever to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, 8 made their names in WWE (or 7, if you're reluctant to include Rob Van Dam). The list includes such prominent names as Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and both Hardy brothers. Unlike most talent raids on this list, however, this trend hasn't always yielded positive results. TNA's long-term reliance on familiar WWE faces may have generated an initial burst of interest from old fans, but has often hindered their development of new stars of their own. Despite being a leading figure for the promotion since his 2002 debut, it took AJ Styles seven years to finally become a world champion, at which point he was almost immediately turned heel and coupled with Ric Flair. In the early days of TNA, this problem was often even worse. Although the promotion gained a following due to the vast talent on display, from names such as Styles, Christopher Daniels, Petey Williams, and the Motor City Machine Guns, they were shoved down the card to make room for tired has-beens such as X-Pac, Billy Gunn, and the ever-present Jeff Jarrett.
