TNA Wrestling is often painted in a negative light, for all the disappointing tenures of creative putting together lackluster shows. The biggest positive about TNA is that they’ve always had talented wrestlers on the roster, but decision makers would often waste that potential by only pushing the same handful of performers throughout the years. TNA’s desire to add former WWE talents of any name value isn't surprising, considering the heights some of the greats can achieve, but ended up coming back to haunt them.
We will look at some of the bad decisions the company made, in terms of not using great talents well and picking the wrong talents to use too much. All these names showcased different issues in TNA that ended up hurting the company in the long run. Find out just which decisions put the company in a difficult position today.
10 Wasted: The Young Bucks
Matt and Nick Jackson signing with TNA ended up being a bad decision for their careers at the time. TNA changed their name from the Young Bucks to Generation Me, with little direction along the way. They had a few good matches, but the company did nothing of note with them.
The Young Bucks requested their release and found more success in New Japan as part of the Bullet Club. Recent years have seen Matt and Nick become the hottest tag team act in the industry. AEW was formed with the Young Bucks as a huge part of the project, but TNA never expected them to reach this level.
9 Overused: Matt Morgan
Matt Morgan always had high expectations attached to his name. Morgan was a top prospect in WWE developmental, with a huge supporter in Jim Cornette. WWE never used him much and he left the company with a fresh start in TNA.
Morgan was an upper-mid-carder with the occasional main event spot. TNA wanted him to improve to the level of a World Champion, but it just didn’t work out. Morgan didn’t have the all-around skills of peers like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle.
8 Wasted: Christopher Daniels
The talent of Christopher Daniels had him stealing the show quite often in TNA. Daniels was one of the young stars to help bring attention to the company when they had standout matches. TNA loved having Daniels work against names like Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, but they never booked him as an equal to them.
Daniels never had a legitimate main event run and was consistently underused by TNA during his time there. Even at the age of 49, Daniels is going strong today, and was among the first wrestlers offered contracts when AEW was putting together a roster.
7 Overused: Rob Van Dam
TNA banked on Rob Van Dam being the right big name to join the company and lead the way. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff wanted a new talent to win the TNA Championships and help lead the company into its next chapter.
Van Dam ended AJ Styles' title reign to gain the role, but it was a huge disappointment. The overall work of RVD was nowhere near the level fans remembered from ECW and WWE. Various talents claimed Van Dam wasn’t working his hardest. RVD is back in TNA again today and is once again being overused (arguably).
6 Wasted: Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal showed flashes of brilliance during his time in TNA. The few major opportunities against Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett all impressed in different ways. Lethal, however, never received a legitimate opportunity outside of the X-Division.
TNA eventually fired Lethal. He bounced back by joining Ring of Honor, where he could become the face of the company. ROH passed TNA in the pecking order during this time, even though both promotions are currently struggling. Lethal fulfilled his potential as a multiple-time ROH Champion.
5 Overused: Alberto El Patron
The WWE run of Alberto El Patron (aka Alberto Del Rio) saw him enjoying multiple reigns as the WWE Champion and World Champion. TNA hoped to find that same level of success by adding Alberto to the roster.
El Patron won the Impact Championship in a regretable decision by the company. A couple of no-shows at events would see TNA eventually cut bait and fire him. The career of Alberto has gone downhill since then, with wrestling promotions reluctant to sign such a risk.
4 Wasted: Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was treated as a main eventer for a decent portion of his TNA run, with one TNA Championship. The problem is that TNA never treated him with the respect that the audience did throughout the years.
Joe would be overlooked in favor of the talents from other promotions coming in. Christian Cage, Kurt Angle, Sting and Jeff Hardy all passed him in the pecking order. Joe saw many of the prime years of his career wasted.
3 Overused: Sting
The run of Sting was positive for TNA, but they relied on him far too often. Sting joined TNA shortly into the Spike TV deal, since he had no interest in signing with WWE until the end of his career. TNA instantly made Sting the highest-paid and most heavily pushed star on the roster.
Sting deserved to have success and a couple of world title reigns. However, Sting was pushed to the detriment of most young wrestlers he worked with. Sting didn’t even travel to most house shows, which hurt TNA even more when fans couldn’t see the champ at their live events.
2 Wasted: Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods was so underrated in TNA that most fans forget he even worked there. TNA signed Woods under the name of Consequences Creed when they needed a wrestler to represent Pacman Jones in Team Pacman, once the NFL blocked him from in-ring activity.
Creed spent most of his time in tag teams with R-Truth or Jay Lethal along with a short singles run in the X-Division. TNA didn’t view him as a star, and he was released without much thought behind it. Woods is now a huge part of the New Day, among the top acts in WWE over the past few years.
1 Overused: Mr. Anderson
The WWE run of Mr. Kennedy showed great promise, as the company viewed him as a future main event player. Kennedy would have a few injuries and personal issues hold him back until WWE released him. TNA signed him with the new name of Mr. Anderson, with the same gimmick from WWE.
Anderson received a huge push in the main event picture for feuds with Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Sting. TNA expected him to become one of their main players, but fans never viewed him as such. Anderson had a lackluster TNA run, featuring many noteworthy opportunities that never panned out.