Whether you know it under the original name of NWA:TNA, TNA Wrestling, or "the company AJ Styles wrestled for, between 2002 – 2014," the promotion currently known as Impact Wrestling has never been shy about hiring former WWE talent. Almost everyone who has been released from WWE since Impact’s formation in 2002 has found their way through their doors. Impact has been home to almost everyone in the business at some point in the past 16 years, from stars of the past like Ric Flair and Scott Hall to current stars like Johnny Gargano and WWE Champion AJ Styles.

While most have found a home with Impact, even if it was temporary, some found their way back to the home of U.S. indie wrestling, Ring of Honor. ROH has produced many of the industry’s best, like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins, and many former WWE wrestlers have also gravitated towards ROH, such Cody Rhodes.

However, for some former WWE wrestlers, WWE proved to be the end of the line. Whether for personal or professional reasons, some former superstars did not go to either Impact or Ring of Honor, and instead just gave up on wrestling. Even some wrestlers with familial ties to the WWE or the world of wrestling as a whole decided to call it quits after just one run. Some of those wrestlers were promising talents that could have benefited greatly from a run in ROH or Impact. Regardless of where their life has taken them, if you’ve ever wondered what happened to one of your favorite wrestlers, hopefully this list can give you an answer.

25 Impact - Austin Aries

via mandatory.com

After what many fans considered to be a lackluster run in the WWE's cruiserweight division, it was refreshing for fans of A Double to hear that he would be returning to the indie wrestling scene.

After a brief stint on the independent circuit, Aries returned to Impact as a "Belt Collector," displaying all of the championships that he had acquired during his brief independent run.

Aries went on to win and both the Impact World Championship and Grand Championship, unifying the belts by retiring the Grand Championship.

Aries still works for Impact wrestling, and was recently their World Champion.

24 ROH - Bubba Ray Dudley

via espn.com

Known as Bully Ray when he's not with the WWE, Bubba Ray Dudley has spent just as much time in the WWE as he has out of it. Bully Ray started his career in ECW known there as Buh Buh Ray Dudley, before jumping ship to the WWF with D-Von Dudley in 1999. After his first release from the WWE, Bully Ray had a considerable stint in Impact, capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice. He returned to the WWE in 2015, but was released again in 2015. In 2017, Bully Ray began his work for Ring of Honor, where he currently works.

23 Gave Up - Damien Sandow

via twitter.com

Damien Sandow looked like he was going to be a big star in WWE. He had the gimmick, he had the promo ability and was good enough in the ring to warrant a high spot on the card. He even managed to get a silly gimmick like being The Miz's stunt double over. When WWE released him in 2016, fans expected him to become a huge star on the indies, but it didn't happen. He had a forgettable stint in Impact as Aron Rex and has recently announced his wrestling career's on pause to pursue an acting career.

22 Impact - John Morrison

via 24wrestling.com

Also known as Johnny Mundo and Johnny Nitro, the former John Morrison currently works in Impact as Johnny Impact.

Morrison left WWE in 2011 after his contract expired. WWE reportedly wished for him to sign on for 3 more years, but Morrison cited creative frustrations and injuries as reasons for why he decided to not re-sign.

After leaving WWE, Morrison has had a very successful career in the indie wrestling scene, capturing the Lucha Underground championship as Johnny Mundo and he recently captured the Impact World Championship from Austin Aries.

21 Gave Up - Eva Marie

via wwe.com

From the moment Eva Marie set foot into WWE, she seemed like a bad fit for what the company was trending towards. When the WWE started taking their women's division more seriously, Eva Marie stood out like a sore thumb, and after months of inaction, she was quietly released from the company in 2016. Unsurprisingly, Eva Marie didn't go down the indies path and has instead gone to modelling and acting. It's highly unlikely she'd be pursued by any wrestling promotion if she chooses to give the business another try.

20 ROH - Scotty Goldman

via wikipedia.org

Scotty Goldman is a deep cut for most WWE fans. For fans who only follow WWE, Goldman is only a small spot in the long history of WWE, as he only appeared on television for 7 months, from August 2008 to February 2009, when he was released. Goldman never captured a win the WWE, losing to the likes of Brian Kendrick and Umaga.

Goldman returned to the independent wrestling scene in early 2009 under the more recognizable name of Colt Cabana.

A Ring of Honor alumnus, Cabana made his return to ROH in 2016, and is still employed there today.

19 Impact - Josh Matthews

via cagesideseats.com

A longtime WWE employee, Matthews's career began in 2001 as a runner-up to Maven in WWE Tough Enough. He was hired in 2002 and was an announcer for Velocity. Matthews would go on to provide play-by-play and color commentary for multiple WWE shows, including ECW, NXT, and Saturday Morning Slam. Matthews was released in June of 2014, and would debut as Impact Wrestling's lead announcer in January of 2015. In his time with Impact, Matthews has been a part of a high-profile feud with Jeremy Borash and was gifted the Impact Grand Championship by Matt Sydal before the title was retired by Austin Aries.

18 Gave Up - Enzo Amore

via wwe.com

As many fans know, Enzo Amore had no prior in-ring experience before being signed with the WWE, instead by signed on his promo skills alone. Amore was released from the WWE in early 2018 while he was Cruiserweight Champion. Many fans wondered in Amore would go to the indie wrestling scene and possibly reunite with former partner Big Cass after Cass's release, but Amore has said that he instead wishes to focus on his music career. Under the name Real1, Amore has released two songs, "Phoenix" and "Bury Me A G."

17 Impact - Solomon Crowe

via youtube.com

Solomon Crowe only made a few televised appearances for the WWE, and his appearances were exclusively on NXT. He had an untelevised feud with Kalisto, competing against the future Lucha Dragon on and off for a year in NXT dark matches and at live events.

After an uneventful NXT run, Crowe was released from WWE in 2015.

Solomon Crowe has since had a successful career, wrestling in Lucha Underground as Jeremiah Crane/Jeremiah Snake and in Impact Wrestling under his more famous independent name, Sami Callihan.

16 Gave Up - Cameron

via intouchweekly.com

From the moment she set foot in the door at WWE, fans only saw her as the woman who told Stone Cold her favorite match of all time was Melina against Alicia Fox. While she certainly made the effort to improve in the ring and learn more about the business, Cameron just couldn't put it all together on the main roster. She was released back in 2016 and hasn't returned to wrestling. She has been on TV, appearing on The Challenge: Champs Vs. Stars, back in 2017.

15 ROH - The Hurricane

via si.com

The Hurricane was a WWE veteran, an employee since his contract was acquired by WWE after the purchase of WCW in 2001. The Hurricane even had a successful 9-year career in the WWE, capturing the European Championship, the Cruiserweight Championship, and the Hardcore Championship. Many fans thought that The Hurricane would be making a return to the WWE after his appearance in the 2018 Royal Rumble, but, in June, Ring of Honor announced via their website that they signed him as "Shane 'Hurricane' Helms."

14 Impact - Jimmy Jacobs

via youtube.com

In March of 2015, prominent Ring of Honor alumnus signed with the WWE as a writer, officially beginning his work there in April.

In 2017, after an Instagram post of a selfie that Jacobs took with the Bullet Club, Jacobs was immediately let go from the WWE.

However, instead of returning to his Ring of Honor home, Jacobs instead signed with Impact Wrestling in 2017 as a wrestler and backstage producer. Jacobs also acts as the on-screen manager of wrestler Kongo Kong.

13 Gave Up - Ho Ho Lun

via wwe.com

Ho Ho Lun was one of the more promising signees from the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament in 2016. Even though he lost in the second round to Noam Dar, Ho Ho Lun was still signed by the WWE. Ho Ho Lun was a well-known wrestler in Europe, Japan, and Asia, and he was officially announced as a member of the 205 Live roster in November of 2016. Lun was never able to make a prominent mark on 205 Live, however, as he requested his release from WWE in 2017 to care for his sick mother.

12 Impact - The Jackal

via wrestlingnewsworld.com

The Jackal was a lower mid-card wrestler in the WWE from 1996 to 1999. He never garnered much success, with his biggest claim to fame being the leader of the stable "The Parade of Human Oddities" or "The Oddities", known then as "The Jackyl." However, under his real name, Don Callis, he has found much success as a commentator. In 2017, Don Callis officially replaced Steve Corino as the English color commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Additionally in 2017, Callis was new executive vice president of Impact Wrestling, alongside Scott D'Amore.

11 Gave Up - Alex Riley

via popculture.com

Many felt that Alex Riley was going to be a big star, but after his feud with The Miz never quite got going, Riley soon found himself back in the lower-card. He eventually went to NXT for some seasoning and WWE even tried him out as a color commentator. Riley has been pretty outspoken as to why his WWE tenure didn't work out. He's since shifted his focus to acting, and even had a small part in the Netflix series G.L.O.W. as, you guessed it,  a pro wrestler.

10 Impact - Evan Bourne

via sportingnews.com

After an extremely successful career on the independent scene, Evan Bourne debuted for ECW in 2008. Bourne's high-flying style made him a fan favorite, and he would even go on to face then-WWE Champion Sheamus in a title match on RAW. Bourne would capture the Tag Team Championship with Kofi Kingston from the Nexus, going by the name Air Boom.

Bourne was released from his contract in 2014 after being sidelined with an injury.

Bourne has since returned to his indie name of Matt Sydal, and he signed with Impact Wrestling in 2017, where he is a previous X Division and Grand Champion.

9 Gave Up - Summer Rae

via youtube.com

It's unclear what former WWE star Summer Rae's status is in the business. She wrestled her first match in two years back in May, against former WWE Tough Enough contestant Ivelisse at a Battle Championship Wrestling event in Australia but hasn't found steady work on the indies. She's mostly been modelling since her WWE release back in 2017. It seems like wrestling is only going to be something she does on occasion, rather than sign with any promotion at this point.

8 ROH - Joey Mercury

via thesportsdaily.com

One-half of the former J&J Security team, Joey Mercury had a fairly illustrious career in the WWE, capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship 3 times with Johnny Nitro and Melina as their manager, known as team MNM.

Mercury was an on-screen competitor and a producer for the WWE's main roster from 2014 until his release in 2017.

Mercury has since returned to his former stomping ground of Ring of Honor, as he was hired as a trainer at Ring of Honor's Baltimore Dojo in May of 2018.

7 Impact - Katie Lea Burchill

via wikipedia.org

Katie Lea Burchill debuted for WWE in 2008 as the on-screen sister of Paul Burchill. Katie Lea acted mostly as Burchill's manager, only separating briefly from him in January of 2010, with her release coming only 4 months later, in April of the same year. Burchill has since had 2 runs with Impact Wrestling, under the name Katarina Winter in 2010 and returning to Impact in 2018 as just Katrina, dropping the Winter surname. Katarina is a 2-time Knockouts Champion in Impact Wrestling, with her challenging for the championship on a regular basis.

6 Gave Up - Deuce (Sim Snuka)

via aminoapps.com

Deuce Shade was a wrestler in the WWE as a part of the team Deuce 'n Domino with Dice Domino in 2007. Deuce 'n Domino were WWE Tag Team Champions for 133 days in 2007, having a very successful run. After separating from Dice Domino, Deuce would reveal himself as Sim Snuka, the son of Jimmy Snuka. As a Snuka, Sim surely was guaranteed a long run in the wrestling business, but, since his release in June 2009, Sim Snuka has only made 2 appearances, with his most recent appearance taking place in the same year.