When Jeff Jarrett created Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2002, few expected the promotion to survive for a year, let alone remain in business for two decades. The company provided an avenue for a lot of talented wrestlers to hone their craft and many proceeded to reach the very pinnacle of professional wrestling. The likes of CM Punk, Mickie James, Xavier Woods, and AJ Styles are just a few superstars who got their break in TNA. known today as IMPACT! Wrestling, before moving on to bigger and better things.
However, several wrestlers made a splash in TNA but failed to get a break in a major promotion like WWE or AEW. Chris Harris was a phenomenal talent in TNA but bombed in the WWE under the horrible Braden Walker gimmick. Similarly, Madison Rayne’s current AEW run is forgettable compared to her stint in TNA during the 2010s.
While the likes of Harris and Rayne had multiple matches in WWE or AEW, this list takes a look at 5 top TNA/IMPACT Wrestling stars who never got a chance to sign an in-ring contract with the two major US promotions.
5. Nick Aldis
Nick Aldis made his mark in professional wrestling as the leader of TNA’s British Invasion stable and won the tag titles twice and the world championship once during his first stint there. He would then join the NWA to become the big fish in a small pond and after spending five years there, returned to Impact in 2022.
Aldis has never wrestled in WWE or AEW even though he defended his NWA Worlds title at the All In PPV that led to AEW’s creation. Considering that he is only 36, Aldis has plenty of time left to make his mark in a major promotion. Having lost to IMPACT World Champion Alex Shelley in a title match recently, rumors are circulating that Aldis is already done with the company.
Having had an acrimonious exit from the NWA in 2022, Aldis is more likely to join WWE or AEW in the future – but, surprisingly, he hasn’t got an offer from them yet considering that he first held a prestigious spot in IMPACT 15 years ago.
4. Abyss
A true TNA original, Abyss was present on the very first TNA show and remained with the company for the next 17 years, eventually leaving in 2019 to take up a producer role in the WWE. While he has made occasional on-screen appearances on WWE TV as a secondary character, he wrestled his golden years at TNA/Impact as their resident monster.
There were rumors that WWE considered Abyss as a WrestleMania opponent for The Undertaker, but Abyss seemed content remaining in TNA. He was featured in some key angles with the likes of Hulk Hogan and is a TNA Hall of Famer, but a move to WWE could have given him global exposure. Now 49, Abyss is no longer an in-ring competitor and can be proud of how he had a successful career without having a run in a major US promotion.
3. Rosemary
While Gail Kim is generally considered to be the best female TNA competitor ever, Rosemary makes a rather strong case to be regarded as the best female talent from TNA never to have wrestled for WWE or AEW. Rosemary has been with the company for 7 years and while TNA/IMPACT has always chosen ex-WWE talent to immediately win their top title, it is to her credit that she has managed to stay relevant during her entire run there.
Rosemary has had a women’s title and three tag team title reigns in the company, but she really stands out for her character work. Her dark and crazy persona created two stables in the company and she has become a strong fan favorite. She would be a great fit in AEW which suffers from the lack of a strong women’s division, but it is likely that at age 39, she chooses to finish her career wrestling for IMPACT where she is considered a marquee player.
2. Petey Williams
Petey Williams can be considered to be a true pioneer in professional wrestling simply for popularizing the Canadian Destroyer finishing move in the 2000s. The maneuver was so over with the fans that entire matches would be built around whether Petey could hit it on his opponents.
But Petey was more than just a move – he was an excellent heel and his run with the X-Division title in the mid-2000s as the cocky Team Canada member gave the championship a lot of prestige. It is surprising that he won just two titles in TNA and was unfortunately sidelined as a comedy sidekick to Scott Steiner when a lot of ex-WWE stars came over to TNA in 2007.
Petey is actually signed to the WWE currently as a producer and was featured as one of the officials who got speared by Bobby Lashley during the latter’s feud with Seth Rollins in December 2022. However, if Petey had been signed by the company a decade or so earlier as a competitor, he could have enthralled the crowd with his legendary finisher and it could still thrive today as a legitimate finishing move rather than as a transitionary move that the likes of Adam Cole uses.
1. Chris Sabin
Despite being a Triple Crown winner in TNA, Chris Sabin has never got a proper shot in the WWE or AEW so far. Sabin first announced his arrival in the professional wrestling world with fantastic matches as part of the TNA X-Division in the early 2000s where he feuded with the likes of AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels.
Sabin would go on to win the X-Division title a record nine times, while also forming the ultra-popular Motor City Machine Guns tag team with Alex Shelley, which yield three tag team title reigns. He would also capture the TNA World title in 2013 by defeating Bully Ray to one of the loudest pops in TNA history. He would also have successful stints in ROH and NJPW, but a proper stint in one of the major US promotions has eluded him so far.
Sabin did have a one-week stop as a guest coach at the WWE Performance Center in 2019, but nothing came out of it and he opted to re-sign with IMPACT that year. The Machine Guns would have their best run in Impact during that time and they even wrestled a tag team match at AEW’s All Out PPV in 2022, which had fans excited about a sustained program against AEW’s FTR. While Sabin did make a blink-and-miss appearance before the PPV at AEW Rampage, he remains a hugely underutilized talent on the main stage.
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