8 Misconceptions About TNA You Probably Believe
3. They Only Sign Former WWE Stars
Everybody does!
It is categorically impossible for a major wrestling outfit to not have a roster that is comprised largely of talents who had previously wrestled under the mangled banner of WWE. AEW had a four-year problem with hiring whichever WWE castoff was available that week, resulting in a lopsided roster that featured both the Bryan Danielsons and the Parker Boudreauxs of the pro wrestling spectrum. ROH, pre-AEW buyout, was a haven for lowly ex-WWE stars. Even New Japan(!) has fallen victim to the WWE plague.
But TNA, like their listed compatriots, is not strictly the home of WWE's unwanted treasures (and whatever you'd class AJ Francis as). Across 2024 and 2025, they have either signed or begun to regularly feature:
- Leon Slater, a 2023 Gut Check winner from Bradford, England, whose body of work at the tender age of 20 years old is criminally ludicrous.
- Mance Warner, a gifted, grizzled athlete whose contributions to the art of deathmatch wrestling in North America have helped convey the notion that not every over-the-top plunder brawl needs to follow the same arbitrary formula.
- KC Navarro, a buzzworthy cruiserweight standout who is as consistently eager to showcase his beligerent personality as he is to show out on major platforms.
- Maggie Lee - the now-M By Elegance - a towering figure whose standing within the Knockouts division has already been felt considerably.
Even when TNA does pluck from TNA's pool of "budget cuts", it is never done as a means of filling a spot on a show; TNA will always have a plan for its slew of signings that doesn't come at the expense of its existing crop.