There seems to be a pretty common trend in the world of professional wrestling where someone joins the WWE, makes very little impact and fails to get over with the fans, gets released from the company, and finally, ends up in TNA.
Sure there have been some exceptions where these wrestlers head out to Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling and try their hand at more respected organisations such as Ring of Honor, or Pro Wresting Guerrilla, but almost everyone also makes a pitstop at the now Impact Wrestling.
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There have been people like Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle (who also had a great run in the WWE, obviously) who have gone on to achieve good things after joining up with TNA but these success stories are few and far between. More often than not, TNA doesn’t really work out.
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Today, we take a look at 5 such wrestlers. So, without any further ado, here are 5 professional wrestlers who failed in both WWE and TNA:
#5 Mike Knox
Remember Mike Knox? The big hairy dude who received a push despite having no wrestling ability or promo skills. Well, it was pretty apparent from the off that he was never going to be a success in the WWE. He was given significant screen time on ECW as well Smackdown and Raw but just couldn’t get over with the fans.
Within no time, he was on his way out of the company and did exactly what I just mentioned in the intro, signed with TNA. He was probably hoping to do more in the smaller promotion but things were not meant to go his way.
He started off as a member of the laughable Aces and Eights faction where he floundered around for a while and he was then repackaged as the leader of The Menagerie - a group of circus freaks. Obviously, his career didn’t hit the heights he was hoping for.
#4 Justin Gabriel
Justin Gabriel is one of the more unfortunate souls to have been booted out of the WWE. When he debuted as part of The Nexus, he and his cohorts all made an instant impact on the landscape of the WWE and looked primed to flourish going forward.
Unfortunately, the burial of the faction led to almost all the members sliding down the card and fast. After the group’s dissolution, his high flying skills weren’t good enough to earn him a decent spot on the card and he soon left for greener pastures.
He finally ended up in Global Force Wrestling and then on TNA as part of an invasion angle. He was at TNA for less than a year in 2015. Despite winning the TNA King of the Mountain Championship, he lost it soon afterwards and was on his out to Lucha Underground instead.
#3 Orlando Jordan
Remember this guy? Debuting way back in 2003, Orlando Jordan made a name for himself when he worked as part of JBL’s cabinet as Chief of Staff and that was actually a pretty good angle. But unfortunately, that would be as good as it got for Jordan. He won the US title off of John Cena, which is pretty big despite the fact that the Cenation leader was an upstart back then.
Despite winning the United States Championship, there was no coming back from the four losses he suffered at the hands of Chris Benoit – all in under a minute. He was gone from the company soon after this.
He would then enjoy an indy scene run where he had the honour of being the last opponent to face Ultimate Warrior. His indy success led to him earning a contract with TNA. Big mistake accepting that contract, Orlando.
He was at the company for less than two years and it was a disaster with the company using his bisexuality to build a supremely offensive gimmick where he harassed wrestlers left right and centre.
#2 Luke Gallows
You gotta feel bad for Luke Gallows. The man is one of the best tag team wrestlers on the planet but just can’t seem to catch a break. His first run with the WWE saw him cast in the role of Festus of all things. Things improved a little bit when he joined up as part of the Straight Edge Society with CM Punk but the faction ended much too soon and he was let go.
He would then go over to TNA to become the founding member of the aforementioned Aces and Eights and things did not get much better from there. He left the company within no time to go over to New Japan Pro Wrestling and become a fan favourite as part of Bullet Club.
It was this popularity that saw him return to the WWE as part of The Club with Karl Anderson but things haven’t been great since then as the pair have been booked poorly and rarely made any sort of major impact.
#1 Mr Kennedy
Mr Kennedy was all primed to become one of the WWE’s top Superstars until real life heat got in the way of his career. Rumour has it that he clashed in the back with one Mr Randy Orton and shortly after that, things went to hell.
This combined with his Wellness Policy violations meant his push lost momentum and he was soon released by the company.
He went over to TNA as Mr Anderson – a potential main event draw for the company. Despite winning the TNA World Heavyweight Title on multiple occasions, he was never the top guy in the company. Kennedy/Anderson failed to fulfil his potential at either organisation and will go down as one of those guys that should have made it big but didn’t.
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