5 Impact Wrestling stars who had a mediocre run in WWE

There was a time when Impact Wrestling, formerly known as TNA, challenged WWE in terms of wrestling quality, storylines and even viewership numbers.

However, Impact then saw a decline and fell way behind promotions like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. It struggled to deal with lawsuits and payments to its talent. It somewhat recovered financially in 2019, but with the emergence of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), has now fallen further down the ladder.

The promotion has seen some of the biggest names in wrestling compete since being founded in 2002 and has also been responsible for unearthing and popularizing several talents in the industry.

Since the decline of Impact, a lot of its stars have made the big-money switch to WWE in recent years. While some wrestlers like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Xavier Woods have been immensely successful and popular in WWE, some others have failed to establish themselves as even mid-card Superstars due to lack of creative direction, bad luck or otherwise.

Here are five wrestlers who were huge in Impact Wrestling but came to WWE with huge momentum but failed to make it big.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.

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#5 Awesome Kong / Kharma

Kharma's only official WWE match was her entry in the 2012 Royal Rumble

Awesome Kong debuted for TNA in 2007 and went on to become a two-time TNA Knockouts Champion and a Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She left in 2010 and is still regarded as one of the greatest women's wrestlers to have been in the company and a driving force in the foundation of the TNA Knockouts division.

In 2011, after months of creepy vignettes of dismembered dolls and crazy laughs, she made her first TV appearance under the ring name Kharma, attacking Michelle McCool. However, in May, she announced her pregnancy, which caused her to miss in-ring action for a long time.

Kharma entered the 2012 Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant from the 21st spot, becoming the 3rd woman to enter the Men's Royal Rumble. She was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. The Rumble remains her only official WWE match yet. She confirmed her release in June 2012 and now competes for AEW.

Unlike the others on this list, this move happened a long time back, when TNA was at its peak. Her disappointing WWE run can be attributed to bad luck, caused by her inability to return in the time allotted to her.

#4 Mike Bennett

Mike Bennett had a short yet successful run in TNA

Mike Bennett used to wrestle as a member of the stable 'The Kingdom' in Ring Of Honor, before signing for Impact in 2016.

He made his debut with his wife Maria in January and his gimmick of 'The Miracle' became quite popular. Mike went on to capture the TNA X Division belt from Eddie Edwards and had some fantastic matches and feuds with Edwards, Kurt Angle and Cody Rhodes during his time in TNA.

When they moved to WWE in 2017, big things were expected from Mike Bennett. However, he was instantly placed in an underwhelming feud with Sami Zayn and the 'love couple' characters never clicked. Mike competed on 205 Live and later the couple was involved in a pregnancy storyline which was then suddenly dropped.

Mike has since been used only to lose to bigger Superstars and been a part of the chase for the WWE 24x7 championship, which he and Maria have both held once.

Despite signing a new multi-year deal in 2019 itself, the couple asked for their WWE release due to lack of direction. While Maria had a popular initial run in the company, the same can not be said for Mike.

#3 Eric Young

Sanity was a powerful NXT faction but failed on the main roster

Eric Young left Impact Wrestling in 2016 after having accomplished so much during a 12-year run with the company. A Grand Slam Champion in TNA, Young enjoyed a very popular rise in 2014 on the way to capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Considered a 'TNA Original', Young is also the only male competitor to have held the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships, which he held with ODB during a record 478-day reign.

Young then made his NXT debut confronting and losing to then NXT Champion Samoa Joe. He would later establish himself as leader of the villainous stable SAnitY and hold the NXT Tag Team titles as part of the group.

SAnitY continued to be a powerful heel faction until their move to the main roster. That's where it went all wrong for Young. SAnitY was poorly booked and then disbanded in 2019. As a singles competitor, Young has only been seen losing to and getting beaten by the likes of Seth Rollins and Aleister Black. He is now mostly seen running around the ring chasing the WWE 24x7 championship.

#2 Austin Aries

The Belt Collector' failed to get any gold during his time in WWE

A former two-time ROH Champion, Austin Aries made his TNA wrestling return in 2011, after a previous short stint in 2005. Aries would become a Triple Crown champion in TNA. He held the TNA X-Division Championship five times and also established a popular tag team with Bobby Roode, known as 'The Dirty Heels'.

In 2016, Aries joined WWE, initially competing on NXT. After suffering an eye injury, 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' became a commentator for 205 Live and feuded with the then Cruiserweight Champion Neville. He failed to win the title from Neville in three attempts at Wrestlemania 33, Payback and Extreme Rules, which was his last match in the company.

Aries was frustrated with his role and direction and reportedly had issues with WWE's backstage staff and writers which caused the release. Aries returned to the independent circuit and established himself as a 'Belt Collector', also becoming a three-time Impact World Champion and a Grand Slam Champion.

#1 Ethan Carter III / EC3

EC3's run in WWE has been full of 'trouble'

The man today known as EC3 was a part of WWE TV since 2010 when he appeared on season 4 of WWE NXT as Derrick Bateman. He would then stay in NXT until 2013, before being released from his contract.

He joined TNA and adopted the character of Ethan Carter III, the spoilt nephew of then-President Dixie Carter. He would have great feuds and matches against legends like Sting, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley and Matt Hardy.

Having been a heel since his debut, a double turn in a match against Hardy saw EC3 become the most popular babyface in the company, proving he can work well in any persona. He left Impact Wrestling in 2018 to re-sign with WWE weeks later.

After a short stint in NXT, EC3 was rushed to the main roster. He traded wins with Dean Ambrose and since then has only been used in comedy segments for the WWE 24x7 Championship, which he has held on four occasions.

It is shocking how some of the most popular and over characters in Impact just failed to make it big in WWE.