10 former WWE stars you didn't know worked for TNA

TNA Impact Wrestling has a long history of Superstars working for them, both as full-time performers and for short-term runs, that just didn't work out.

Focusing more on these short-term runs, it is pretty surprising to see who has worked for Impact Wrestling through the years. Some of the all time greatest, many former WWE, WCW and ECW stars from throughout the 90's and early 2000's, and many more.

Here I will look at ten such wrestlers who have appeared and wrestled on TNA over the company's 16 year history.

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#10 Trent Barreta

Trent Barreta, or Beretta as he is known today in Ring of Honor, had a pretty short run with Impact Wrestling.

Having had a very uneventful 3-year run with WWE from 2009 - 2012, Beretta debuted for Impact Wrestling under his real name, Greg Marasciulo, as a member of the X Division in 2013. Beretta made his debut defeating Rockstar Spud and Jigsaw in a Triple Threat to advance to an X Division Championship Ultimate X match the following week, which he lost. He made a few more appearances before quietly departing.

He returned in 2014 under the ring name Ace Vedder, defeating Suicide to advance to another Ultimate X, which he lost. Beretta quitely departed again shortly after, as the two sides couldn't come to terms on a deal.

Beretta has since had some success in Ring of Honor.

#9 Trevor Murdoch

Former 3-time WWE World Tag Team Champion Trevor Murdoch is actually something of a TNA original, as he wrestled on the very first TNA show in June, 2002 and competed on several more throughout the year as apart of a Hillbilly/redneck tag team known as The Dupps.

Trevor fared off better than most thought he would in WWE, having a successful, yet underrated tag team with the late Lance Cade. He had just adopted a country singer gimmick before he was surprisingly released by WWE.

Trevor would return to TNA in early 2009 as "The Outlaw" Jethro Holliday, where he had a brief tag team with Eric Young and later feuded with Abyss, before being released towards the end of the year.

#8 Val Venis

90's relic Val Venis was one of the last wrestlers you would have expected to see on TV in 2010, but he joined up with TNA at the beginning of that year, being brought in by Hulk Hogan. Val had previously been working for Hogan in his short lived independent promotion 'HULKAMANIA'.

Val debuted for TNA under his real name, Sean Morley, on the live 3-hour January 4th episode of Impact, the same night Hogan was debuting. He appeared in a backstage segment with The Beautiful People. In the weeks that followed he began feuding with Christopher Daniels, which culminated in a match at Genesis, which was won by Morley. The fans in attendance that night were not very pleased by this result and several could be seen standing up, showing their backs to the camera.

Morley continued to wrestle regularly on Impact until early March. After being a hired gun by Eric Bischoff to aid him in his feud with Jeff Jarrett, Morley left Impact just after this angle was to begin, due to commitments to CMLL.

#7 The Basham Brothers

Not even as good as their gimmick in WWE

As crazy as it sounds, during their time in OVW, Doug and Danny Basham were bigger main event talent than other OVW stars at that time such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista and Brock Lesnar.

Yes, the sky was the limit in OVW for the Bashams, but not so much on WWE TV. Although they did win the WWE Tag team Championships on two occasions, their WWE run did not go too well. They could surely do better in TNA, right? Well, apparently not.

The Bashams debuted for TNA in early 2007, shortly after they were released by WWE, and aided Christy Hemme in her feud with the Voodoo Kin Mafia (New Age Outlaws), where they defeated Kip James (Billy Gunn) in several Handicap matches while Road Dogg was inactive. VKM would defeat the Bashams on consecutive pay-per-views Slammiversary and Victory Road, before parting ways with TNA.

#6 The Rock 'n' Roll Express

This one sounds weird to say but yes, 20 years after they formed, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton joined TNA in early 2003.

The Rock 'n' Roll Express are one of the all time greatest tag teams, having wrestled for WWE, WCW, ECW, NWA, AWA, and more than 50 other promotions over the years, and have held countless Tag Team Championships throughout them all. They were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.

The Rock 'n' Roll Express joined TNA in early 2003, and although initially debuting as faces, they quickly turned heel and joined up with Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment X-treme faction. During this time they mostly feuded with top TNA tag team America's Most Wanted. They left shortly after. They returned to Impact Wrestling for a cameo appearance in December 2016 during the Tag Team Apocalypto on Total Nonstop Deletion.

#5 Vader

Vader is one of the best big men in history and one of the all time greats of WCW and in Japan.

His run with the WWE from 1996 - 1998 was surprisingly underwhelming. At a time when everyone seemed to be leaving WWE for WCW, you would think they would push the one big name that did it vice versa, but no. Following his departure from WWE, Vader returned to Japan.

In early 2003, Vader would make his surprise debut for TNA. Vader debuted by aiding Dusty Rhodes in his feud with Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment X-treme faction. Vader would then briefly feud with Nikita Koloff, who's career ended at the hands of Vader years earlier. The two only ever had a few segments together before Vader quietly departed TNA.

Vader returned to Impact Wrestling for one night only in 2015 where he scored a DQ win over Bram.

#4 Rikishi

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Rikishi was another surprising name to show up in TNA, especially in 2007. Rikishi hadn't been seen on TV since an episode of SmackDown where he and Scotty 2 Hotty lost the WWE Tag Team Championship in April 2004.

Sources from TNA at the time claimed the company was also looking to sign Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay, but Scotty said that although he heard the rumblings from people within TNA too, he was never contacted.

Instead, Rikishi debuted under the name Junior Fatu, where he answered an 'Open Samoan Challenge' that had been made by Christian Cage to any Samoan wrestler, as he had been feuding with Samoa Joe at the time. Rikishi debuted in mid September in 2007 and wrestled for TNA for just over a month before parting ways over a pay dispute. During his time with TNA he competed with Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode and in a Battle Royal at Bound For Glory.

#3 Crash Holly

Crash Holly had a moderately successful run with WWE, when you consider he was a man of small stature in the 'land of the giants'. Crash was a WWE European Champion, Light Heavyweight Champion, Tag Team Champion and 22 time Hardcore Champion. He will be best remembered for his 24/7 rule Hardcore Championship antics.

Following his release from WWE in June 2003, Crash began working for TNA the following month. Crash debuted as 'Mad Mikey', a character that was simply mad at many things. He had a different entrance video every week, explaining why he was mad about things to do with his opponents. He didn't win many matches during his time with TNA and parted ways with the company at the beginning of October.

Sadly, Crash committed suicide the following month. He had been living with Steven Richards at the time. It is believed he killed himself over his pending divorce.

#2 Test

Test should have been a bigger star. I mean literally, he was planned to have a WWE Championship run in late 1999, replacing Steve Austin at Survivor Series and to feud with Triple H. Instead the Big Show took his place in the Championship match, while Vince McMahon did, in the Triple H feud.

Test went on to be a WWE Intercontinental Champion, European Champion, Hardcore Champion and Tag Team Champion, but was still never utilized to his full potential. He was released by WWE in 2004, only to return in 2006 for a brief main event run in WWE's version of ECW, before being released again in early 2007.

Following his release, Test came to a verbal agreement with TNA. He debuted as a face for TNA in August 2007, under the name 'The Punisher' Andrew Martin. At the Hard Justice event, he teamed with Abyss and Sting to defeat Christian Cage, Tomko and AJ Styles in a 'Doomsday Chamber of Blood' match. This would be Test's one and only match for TNA, as he parted ways with the company a few days later. The believed reason was that TNA management were worried about his freakishly enhanced size.

Sadly, Test passed away on March 13th, 2009, four days prior to his 34th birthday. His death was ruled an accidental overdose of oxycodone.

#1 Paul Bearer

Perhaps the most surprising debut in TNA history, Paul Bearer appeared on TNA in November 2002 under the name Percy Pringle III.

One of the all time greatest managers in history, most famously associated with The Undertaker and Kane, Paul left WWE TV due to his desire to no longer be a TV character, as well as tend to his ill wife. So, that is why it was so surprising to see him show up in TNA as a TV character.

Paul spent his first few weeks keeping fans and wrestlers guessing if he was to join Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment X-treme faction or not. He would eventually be beaten up and bloodied by Russo's boys, to write him off TV. He would return for a few more appearances in early 2003 before departing and returning to WWE in 2004.

Edited by Nikhil Bhaskar