The history of TNA featured many great performers trying to add more success to their legacies. TNA emerged as the second biggest promotion in the United States behind WWE. Any wrestler that didn’t have a role in WWE wanted to gain a top spot in TNA to hopefully grow the company. Even though things didn’t necessarily work out in the long run, the names to work there were impressive.

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We will look back at the wrestlers that did well as the face of the company, and those that missed the mark. The best stories showed that some wrestlers helped TNA and did great in the top role. Others unfortunately either fell short of gaining the role or did poorly when receiving it. Find out what caused each scenario with five wrestlers that thrived as the face of TNA, along with five that failed to have the role.

10 Thrived: Kurt Angle

The move from WWE to TNA made Kurt Angle the biggest acquisition in company history. TNA felt Angle was the right man to lead them into the future. Even though the company didn’t necessarily grow in the way expected, Angle did a tremendous job in his role.

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Feuds against Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode and many others made Angle a great face of the company. Fans loved witnessing Angle perform at the highest level as he tried to help build new stars. Angle was one of the better wrestlers in this position.

9 Failed: Matt Morgan

Matt Morgan always had the potential to tempt wrestling promotions into viewing him as a future star. The WWE run of Morgan left a lot to be desired and that was unfortunately something that would continue when he joined TNA.

Morgan received a major push in 2009 when getting a storyline against Kurt Angle. TNA even placed him in the world title picture against Jeff Hardy at one point. Morgan just never gained the momentum and continued to struggle until his eventual retirement from the company.

8 Thrived: Drew McIntyre

The TNA run of Drew McIntyre allowed him to showcase his main event potential after leaving WWE. McIntyre was a great addition to the company and won the TNA Championship. The run saw him become the face of the company as they tried to rebrand after leaving Spike TV.

McIntyre’s time in TNA played a huge role in his reputation growing to stronger levels. WWE would waste no time bringing back Drew when his contract ended for him to become a free agent. Fans of Drew in WWE today should be grateful for the TNA run boosting his name value.

7 Failed: Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe always had the fan support in TNA, but the creative team always held him back. The undefeated streak of Joe ended at the hands of Kurt Angle before he could win the TNA Championship. Joe eventually did win the title by defeating Angle in the most financially successful TNA PPV.

The title reign of Joe was booked poorly and ended at the hands of Sting. TNA never gave Joe a fair chance to become the face of the company. Joe was always a secondary main eventer below the top pushed names for most of his run.

6 Thrived: Johnny Impact

The new era of Impact Wrestling saw Don Callis and Scott D’Amore gaining power. Johnny Impact was the wrestler they most banked on when trying to rebuild the company’s image. Fans of the show got to witness a great title reign from Johnny in the company.

Johnny’s stint as the face of the company was quite successful and helped Impact to start to gain a positive reputation. Before his eventual departure for WWE, Johnny had tenures as the best face and the best heel on the Impact roster.

5 Failed: Monty Brown

Things were trending positively for Monty Brown when he broke out as the first homegrown TNA star. Brown’s background in the NFL saw him adapt quickly to the wrestling industry. The progression of Brown gave him a major push in the main event picture.

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Brown was expected to win the NWA Championship and become the face of TNA, but the signings of Christian Cage and Sting moved him lower down the card. TNA turned Brown heel and his momentum completely went away. Brown left the company shortly after and never fulfilled his full potential in wrestling.

4 Thrived: Christian Cage

Christian-TNA

The addition of Christian Cage to TNA saw the company gain their first big talent that chose to leave WWE for the new company. Christian realized that he would not have a main event run in WWE and wanted to prove his worth in TNA.

Things worked out for Christian as he always entertained as a main event player. Christian winning the NWA Championship allowed the company to gain momentum heading into the Spike TV days. The eventual heel turn came when Kurt Angle joined the company on the face side.

3 Failed: Mr. Anderson

Mr Anderson Bully Ray

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff made Mr. Anderson one of their first major signings when gaining control of TNA. Anderson received a couple of huge pushes during his time in the company. Jeff Hardy’s heel turn saw Anderson become the major rival for him moving forward.

Anderson winning the TNA Championship was meant to be a huge moment, but it just never paid off in the way they expected. Fans didn’t buy into Anderson as being worthy of such a role. TNA made a mistake and unfortunately paid for it as the company continued to decline.

2 Thrived: AJ Styles

The most successful and beloved face of the company in TNA history was AJ Styles. Fans loved witnessing the homegrown star breakout and have classic matches with ease. Styles bounced from the X-Division to the main event picture depending on what the company needed.

The title reign of Styles in 2009-2010 made him the face of the company as momentum grew. This ended when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff took over. Styles was forced to turn heel and end his time as the face of the company due to the direction of the new management.

1 Failed: Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam joining TNA saw him receive a huge push right away. The biggest win of RVD’s TNA career came within a few months when ending AJ Styles’ TNA Championship reign. TNA hoped Van Dam would thrive as the face of the company given his prior success and body of work.

RVD unfortunately lost a few steps and was no longer the top tier performer fans knew. The title reign did not see any improvements in the ratings or attendance figures. Van Dam did poorly in the role and vacated the title without even losing it to another wrestler.

NEXT: 5 Former WWE Superstars Who Succeeded In TNA (& 5 Who Flopped)