10. CM Punk
As the voice of the voiceless, CM Punk has carved out a nice little legacy for himself in the past 10 or so years. Punk started his career in ROH in 2002 and had an epic feud with Raven. He eventually became the ROH Heavyweight Champion as well as a 2 time ROH Tag Team Champion. Needless to say, the WWE took notice. In 2006 Punk joined the WWE's ECW brand where he quickly raised some eyebrows. A year after his ECW debut he defeated John Morrison to become the new ECW Champion. After losing the title to Chavo Guerrero, Punk went on to win the Money in the Bank ladder mach at Wrestlemania 24. That was the beginning of his status as a superstar. Since then Punk has won several more titles, became the leader of The Straight Edge Society and The New Nexus and is now one of the WWE's most polarizing superstars. Punk has had some legendary feuds with Cena, Triple H, Daniel Bryan and now most recently with Brock Lesnar. Punk's stock continues to rise as he's one of the WWE Universe's favorite superstars.
Stats: 1 time ROH World Champion 2 time ROH Tag Team Champion 1 time ECW Champion 3 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion 2 time WWE Champion 1 time WWE Intercontinental Champion 1 time WWE Tag Team Champion 2 time Money in the Bank winner 2008, 2009 19th Triple Crown Champion
9. Sting
Since he started wrestling, Sting has been at the top of his class. Since joining TNA in 2003. it's been no different. The first official inductee into TNA's Hall of Fame, Sting has been their main draw for several years. It's really quite amazing that even at the age of 54 he's still capable of wrestling at such a high level. Often referred to as the face of the company, Sting has held several championships since he's been there. Helping bring legitimacy to the brand. His peak may have been in the 90's but Sting continues to prove that age is only a number as he continues to feud with TNA's best young stars. Sting will easily go down as one of the greatest superstars of all time and undoubtably the greatest wrestler never to have been part of the WWE. Sting's done it on his own terms, and for that, you have to respect the man.
Stats: 5 time TNA World Heavyweight Champion 1 time TNA Tag Team Champion TNA Hall of Fame Class of 2012
8. Triple H
Remember when Triple H made his return to Raw in MSG in 2002 after he tore his quad? I do. That was one of the loudest poops I've ever heard. If you haven't experienced it I strongly recommend youtubing it. After his return, he faced Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 18 where he won to become the new Undisputed Champion. After losing the belt to Hogan he later went on to become the first WWE Heavyweight Champion, a belt which was given to him at the time by Bishoff (so yes we have him to blame for having 2 World Titles). In 2003 HHH formed a power faction called Evolution which dominated in the 2 years they were together. This was followed with a DX reunion in 2006, in which they feuded with Rated-RKO. Then after going their separate ways again, HHH once again claimed gold by beating Randy Orton and claiming his 11th World title. An impressive feat that not many men can claim. After that he made several more brief appearances before focusing on his backstage role, behind the scenes. Now making the occasional appearance in the occasional match, HHH might not be what he once was but he'll always be known as a dominating figure in the 21st century. Trust me, nobody wanted to play The Game.
Stats: 8 time WWE Champion 5 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion 5 time WWEIntercontinental Champion 3 time WWE Tag Team Champion 2002 Royal Rumble winner 2nd Grand Slam Champion 7th Triple Crown Champion
7. Shawn Michaels
Michaels retired in 2001 only to come back in 2002 and join the newly formed NWO where he quickly began feuding with his long time friend Triple H of Evolution. Michaels and HHH had a great feud spanning 4 months. After returning from an injury, Michaels started feuding with Jericho which cultivated in them having an epic match at Wrestlemania 19, a match in which Michaels won. He then proceeded to have a feud with Kurt Angle, which ended by him losing to Angle at Wrestlemania 20. In 2006 DX was reformed and started a feud with The McMahons. Michaels proved that he could still go in the ring as he continued to kick the ass of The McMahon's goons, The Spirt Squad. Michaels later went on to win the WWE Tag Team Titles against Rated-RKO proving once again that he was The Showstopper. Shawn's last main feud came against Ric Flair in a retirement match at Wrestlemania 24. Before delivering his patent super kick, Michaels was seen muttering the words "I Love You" as he went on to defeat Flair, thus ending his in ring career. Shawn Michael's best matches may have came in the 90's but in the 21st century, Michaels proved that he still had it, having several great matches along the way. Forever known as Mr. Wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest of all time, in every era he wrestled in.
Stats: 1 time World Heavyweight Champion 3 time WWE Intercontinental Champion 6 time WWE Tag Team Champion 4th Triple Crown Champion 1st Grand Slam Champion WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011
6. Kurt Angle
The first ever Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle is a wrestling machine. The cyborg of TNA has been at the top of his game since becoming a professional wrestler in 1998. He's held several WWE Championships and has had some incredibly memorable feuds with The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and Brock Lesnar. Becoming the WWE Champion in 2002, Kurt Angle was in his prime, or so we thought. He held several more WWE Championships before finally deciding to part ways in 2006. Inciting too heavy of a work schedule and not enough time off. Enter TNA. The best hire Dixie Carter ever made was bringing in Kurt Angle. TNA's cyborg has been a main event caliber wrestler ever since joining the company in 2006. Kurt is a multi time TNA Champion as well as being known as The Godfather of the Main Event Mafia faction. Kurt continues to perform at an unbelievably high level and will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers ever to lace up a pair of boots.
Stats: 1 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion 1 time WWE Tag Team Champion 10th Triple Crown Champion 5th Grand Slam Champion 5 time TNA World Heavyweight Champion 2 time TNA Tag Team Champion 1 time TNA X Division Champion 2 time King of the Mountain winner TNA Hall of Fame Class of 2013
5. Ric Flair
Woooooooo! The Nature Boy Ric Flair has done it ALL in wrestling. It sounds unbelievable but The Nature Boy has been entertaining us since 1972. The Natch is a legend in every sense of the word. His best may have been behind him entering 2001 but The Natch proved he still had some gas left in the tank. Flair reappeared in the WWE in 2001 as a co owner of the company. The storyline was fun and refreshing and The Nature Boy played his part to perfection. Eventually Ric lost his part of the company to Vince in a match with help from Brock Lesnar. It was then in 2003 when the faction Evolution was formed. The powerful group lasted 2 years and helped Flair gain the tag team titles with Batista. After their disbandment, Flair went on to team with Rowdy Roddy Piper and claimed tag team gold once more before losing the belt to Rated RKO. In 2008 Vince issued a "lose and your fired" stipulation to every match Flair had from then on out. It all came to a crashing halt at Wrestlemania 19 when Flair lost to his friend Shawn Michaels. Flair would eventually make his return and join TNA and lead the group of Fortune. Flair would act as a mentor to the young up and coming TNA talent for over a year. Not to be forgotten, he recently made a WWE return acting as a mentor to The Miz. I juts hope we haven't seen the last of The Nature Boy, quite possibly the greatest entertainer of all time. Wooooooo!
Stats: 2 time WWE Tag Team Champion 1 time WWE Intercontinental Champion WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008 AND 2012