When Impact Wrestling opened its doors for business back in 2002, the company brought in some of the best wrestlers from the independent circuit and other major promotions to make a perfectly balanced roster that made the company into what it is today.
However, as the years passed, wrestlers started to explore other options and jumped ships to other promotions including WWE. But only a few former Impact wrestlers managed to make a name for themselves in WWE as many wrestlers, including well-established names, became victims of some lackluster bookings from Vince McMahon's creative team and found themselves in a worse position. With that said, let's take a look at ten such former Impact wrestlers whom Vince McMahon had no idea how to book.
10 Mike Bennett
The Miracle Mike Bennett was one of the best mid-card talents on the Impact Wrestling roster during his time for the promotion between 2016 and 2017. Along with his wife and former WWE superstar Maria Kanellis, Bennett had some memorable moments during their time together in Impact, including a run as the X Division Champion.
He made his WWE debut in June 2017 and made his first appearance along with MariaKanellis. However, his WWE run was doomed right from the start as the company brought him and Kanellis in with a corny character talking about the power of love. He soon found himself floundering in the lower mid-card and then in the 24/7 title picture before he and Kanellis got released from their contracts in April 2020.
9 Drake Maverick
Former WWE 24/7 Champion Drake Maverick is also well-known for his time in Impact Wrestling as Rockstar Spud. He was part of the promotion between 2012 and 2017 and went on to become a 2-time X Division Champion. He signed with WWE in October 2017 and made his debut as the General Manager of 205 Live. He also appeared as the on-screen manager of the Authors of Pain on the main roster but became an integral part of the 24/7 Championship picture following the title's introduction in 2019.
His only memorable work in WWE came during his time in the 24/7 title storyline, but once the excitement around the title started to disappear, he had nothing to do on the main roster before getting released in 2020. He got rehired on NXT the same year but once again got released in 2021. However, he found his way back to WWE in February 2022 in a backstage role.
8 Awesome Kong
Awesome Kong's first run with Impact Wrestling between 2007 and 2010 saw her become a 2-time Knockouts Champion and a 1-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion. After a successful run with the company, she chose to leave Impact citing monetary issues, and signed with WWE in December 2010. She made her debut on May 2011 under the name Kharma and went after Michelle McCool and other former divas champions on Raw and SmackDown. However, her first run got cut short after she had to take maternity leave.
She made a return at the 2012 Royal Rumble match, and the fans expected to see more of her. But she ended up getting released from her contract without getting a proper run in the company and claimed that WWE let her go for not making her return within the allotted time.
7 Austin Aries
Austin Aries was a former 6-time X Division Champion and 1-time world champion in Impact Wrestling when he signed with WWE in 2016. With such a successful background, the fans expected Austin Aries to have a triumphant run in WWE as well, but he couldn't survive in the company for more than a year.
Following a stint in NXT, he joined the WWE Cruiserweight division and challenged Neville for the title on the WrestleMania 33 pre-show in an unsuccessful attempt. He failed to defeat Neville once again at the 2017 Extreme Rules PPV before he would get released from his contract in July 2017. Reports stated that Aries was unpopular with the WWE creative team and that they didn't have anything for him, which ultimately led to his release.
6 Low Ki
Low Ki was one of the first wrestlers to sign with Impact Wrestling during the company's inception. He had two runs with Impact Wrestling between 2002 and 2008 and became a 2-time X Division Champion and 3-time Tag Team Champion.
He signed with WWE in 2008 and won the second season of NXT to earn his place on the WWE main roster. He had a lackluster start to his main roster career right from the start and even lost his earned Intercontinental title shot against Dolph Ziggler. He continued to pick up more losses before getting released from the company in December 2010.
5 EC3
After his first WWE run as Derrick Bateman failed to take off, EC3 made a name for himself in Impact Wrestling as the storyline nephew of Dixie Carter. He went on to reinvent himself in Impact Wrestling and became a 2-time Impact World Champion and a 1-time Grand Champion.
He returned to WWE under the EC3 gimmick in 2018 and had a decent run in NXT before finding his way back to the main roster. Despite heavily promoting his debut, WWE made no efforts to establish him as a legitimate star and ended up using him in the 24/7 title picture until sending him packing in 2020.
4 Sting
The Icon Sting was already a legend of the pro wrestling business when he signed with Impact Wrestling in 2003. He stayed with the promotion until 2014 and cemented his legacy by becoming a 5-time world champion. Sting enjoyed immense success in WCW and Impact Wrestling but stayed far from WWE until 2014 when he finally made his debut for the promotion at that year's Survivor Series PPV.
He feuded with The Authority and lost his first WWE match against Triple H at WrestleMania 31. The loss enraged the fans, but WWE went its course with Sting's storyline with the Authority, but an untimely injury he sustained during a match against Seth Rollins put an end to his entire WWE career.
3 Robert Roode
Robert Roode had a significant run with Impact Wrestling between 2004 and 2016, during which time he went on to become a 2-time World Champion, 1-time King of the Mountain Champion, and an 8-time Tag Team Champion.
When he made his WWE debut in 2016, the fans expected to see him succeed in his new phase. He had a triumphant stint in NXT and went on to capture the NXT Championship, but like many NXT call-ups, the main roster haunted Roode's career as he went from being a main eventer to a lower mid-card performer. He did capture the United States and Tag Team titles, but it was pale in comparison to how he was treated in NXT.
2 Eric Young
Eric Young broke out into the main event picture in Impact Wrestling in a storyline similar to Daniel Bryan's rise against The Authority in WWE. He went on to become the Impact World Champion and came out as a star when he chose to leave the company for WWE in 2016.
He had a good showing in NXT as the leader of the Sanity faction and captured the NXT Tag Team Championship. However, the main roster wasn't kind to the former Impact World Champion, as he got stuck in some lackluster booking, which eventually pushed him hard down the cards before leading him out of the company in 2020.
1 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe is one of the most successful wrestlers in Impact Wrestling history, as he went on to capture multiple championships and be part of some of the best storylines throughout his lengthy stay with the company. The fans expected Joe to enjoy the same level of success when he signed with WWE in 2015. He had a great outing in NXT and received decent opportunities on the main roster.
But the problem was that the company failed to recognize his championship caliber and used him only as a contender rather than a champion. Joe got released twice between 2021 and 2022 before he jumped to AEW, where he is the current ROH TV Champion.