Although Impact Wrestling have had some of the biggest names in history of the industry work for the company, they never quite made it to the WWE level, even when they deserved to. Before bringing in the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Sting and Kurt Angle, the then-TNA tried to gain publicity by bringing in celebrities, and sometimes they would go one step further and sign celebrities to short-term contracts.
No matter how long they worked for Impact, these signings never brought Impact the attention they were looking for, and in the end, had just wasted a lot of money on them. Let's look at the top five.
#5 Dennis Rodman
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Basketball icon Dennis Rodman decided to hop on the popularity of wrestling bandwagon in the late 90's when he joined WCW in 1997 and quickly became a member of the NWO. He would team up with Hulk Hogan in the main event of two pay-per-views and also faced Randy Savage one-on-one.
TNA would bring 'The Worm' into the company in the summer of 2004, hoping to replicate some of his WCW 'success'. Rodman's appearance was announced on Impact, and then made his appearance on the following weekly NWA:TNA PPV. Rodman sat at ringside and did absolutely nothing, making his appearance virtually useless, and it was said that Rodman reportedly showed up to the taping refusing to do any of the stuff pitched to him. Dennis was literally paid by TNA to sit at ringside with two models for the evening.
#4 Jenna Morasca
Jenna Morasca, in case you didn't know, was the million-dollar grand prize winner of Survivor: The Amazon in 2003. Somehow, TNA got a hold of her in 2009, when she debuted on Impact as a 'financial backer' for the then-prestigious Main Event Mafia faction, where she mostly acted as a valet for Kevin Nash.
Morasca was regularly seen bickering with fellow Mafia valet and wife of Booker T, Sharmell, which would result in a match between the two at TNA Victory Road 2009, the one and only match Jenna would have in TNA. The match was voted the 'Worst Match of the Year' from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, and rightly so. Jenna left TNA shortly thereafter, leaving many wondering what her appearances for TNA were supposed to accomplish.
#3 King Mo
Bellator MMA fighter King Mo entered Impact Wrestling in 2012, shortly after extending his MMA record to 8-1.
King Mo was said to have signed a contract with TNA with the intention of simultaneously pursuing careers in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. King Mo said in a statement that he expected to appear with TNA "two or three times a month or whenever they can book me". Mo made his first appearance in TNA on the 4 October 2012 episode of Impact Wrestling and would serve as a special enforcer for a match between James Storm and Bobby Roode at Bound For Glory 10 days later. He would not be seen again until July 24, 2014, when he returned as a heel member of Team Dixie, however nothing more ever really happened. Mo announced he had departed Impact Wrestling in July 2015.
#2 Rampage Jackson & Tito Ortiz
Two for the price of one with this entry. Bellator MMA fighter and actor Rampage Jackson made his TNA debut on the 6 June 2013 episode of Impact Wrestling. Two days earlier, it was announced Jackson had signed a multi-year deal with the partnership of Spike TV, Bellator MMA and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and was eager for a career in wrestling. Rampage quickly joined the New main Event Mafia in their feud with the Aces and Eights. In an interview with The Fight Nerd in 2014, Jackson stated that he was done with TNA after he saw their operations and how "they ran things," and he had no plans to go back.
'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz was no stranger to TNA fans by 2013, having previously been a special enforcer during big NWA World Title matches in 2005. Tito returned to TNA on 1 August 2013, revealing himself as the man behind cryptic teasers that had been airing every week. Ortiz joined the Aces and Eights faction in order to build up hype for his upcoming fight with Rampage at Bellator 106, which would later be cancelled. Ortiz departed Impact shortly thereafter, but unlike Rampage, said he would like to return again one day.
#1 Adam 'Pacman' Jones
Adam 'Pacman' Jones was labelled the most controversial man in sports in 2007 after he was slapped with a one year suspension from football due to an altercation with an exotic dancer and drug dealer, and members of his entourage being involved in a shooting. This being TNA Wrestling, instead of staying away from someone like this, they signed him.
While the news did get TNA the biggest media attention they had ever had, it was still bad news for the actual wrestling. After some legal wrangling, Jones agreed to appear for the company, but in a non-physical role only, so he never once did anything physical in TNA, yet somehow still managed to become a TNA World Tag Team Champion with WWE's R-Truth.
Pacman signed a big contract worth $25000 per appearances, and would make about 12 appearances, which means Impact paid him about $250000 to do next to nothing.