The Greatest TNA Wrestlers of All Time
The 2000s marked an exciting time for wrestling fans the world over. With ECW and WCW closing their doors at the start of the decade, new start-ups offered a fresh alternative to the mainstream product presented in WWE.
Along with Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action served as one such organization, achieving success for its grittier storylines, original specialty matches, and utilization of remarkable in-ring performers. In some cases, a select number of TNA wrestlers have gone on to long and prestigious careers in WWE, NJPW, and AEW, with TNA’s alumni including AJ Styles, Sting, Kurt Angle, and Samoa Joe.
1. AJ Styles
For most fans, TNA remains synonymous with AJ Styles. A homegrown talent who rose through the company’s ranks from 2002 onwards, Styles carried TNA on his back for just over a decade, enjoying acclaimed matches against almost everyone who walked through the promotion’s front doors. A consummate professional who popularized high-flying offense for the next generation, viewers cannot ever underestimate Styles’ tenure in TNA.
2. Sting
After WCW folded in 2001, company loyalist Sting had very few career options ahead of him. Rather than sign with the far more reputable WWE, the Icon made the interesting decision to sign with TNA, attracting diehard fans of WCW looking for a fresh alternative to Vince McMahon’s product.
Though a bit older by this time in his career, Sting’s respectable presence in TNA went a long way in further solidifying TNA’s place in the wrestling circuit.
3. Samoa Joe
In the mid-2000s, no one had ever seen a performer quite like Samoa Joe. Though he possessed a formidable physique, the Samoan Submission Machine also came equipped with his lethal arsenal of high-flying offensive moves and a proficient knowledge of technical wrestling.
Through this, Joe rose to the forefront of TNA during the company’s formative years, thanks in large part to his now iconic matches against AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Kurt Angle.
4. Kurt Angle
While TNA had a number of standout wrestlers sign with them over the years, Kurt Angle’s debut marked the beginning of a new era for the promotion. A legitimate world-class athlete who personified WWE’s product for half a decade, fans looked upon TNA’s acquisition of Angle as a major win for the organization, ushering in numerous dream matches such as Angle vs. Sting, Angle vs. AJ Styles, and Angle vs. Samoa Joe.
5. Gail Kim
In no uncertain terms, Gail Kim stands apart as one of the greatest female athletes in the history of professional wrestling. In a time when WWE built their female-driven roster around scantily-clad supermodels, Kim built a place for female TNA wrestlers from the ground up, proving that women can participate in the same kind of intense, physical matches as their male counterparts. Without her, who knows what the current state of women’s wrestling might look like?
6. Bobby Roode
Next to AJ Styles, fans will have a tough time thinking of a more accomplished homegrown TNA wrestler than Bobby Roode. A key member of Team Canada before transitioning to tag team competition opposite James Storm, Bobby Roode made his way up TNA’s ladder one rung at a time.
By the time he earned his first World Heavyweight Championship, he had transformed himself into TNA’s version of Triple H–a brash, loud-mouthed heel willing to do anything and everything he could to win.
7. Jeff Hardy
A controversial figure with a career characterized by insurmountable highs and disastrous lows, one can characterize Jeff Hardy’s time in TNA as somewhat tumultuous.
Yet, when at his best, the Charismatic Enigma dialed into the energetic reserve as his former Attitude Era self, taking viewers breath away with his awe-inspiring offense and death-defying bumps.
8. Abyss
Comparisons to Mick Foley and Kane aside, Abyss excelled in TNA as the company’s first colorful character. Donning his trademark mask and specializing in barbaric Monster’s Ball matches, Abyss’ distinct personality and presentation, his unyielding offense, and his larger size made him an opposing force in the 2000s and 2010s.
9. Christopher Daniels
While perhaps not as well-known as his on-again, off-again rivals in AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels nevertheless cemented himself as a successful performer in TNA’s earliest years.
Bringing a semblance of theatricality to his character, Daniels also had a hand in developing the fledgling X Division and tag team roster. A versatile competitor able to appear either darker and more serious or cartoonish and over-the-top, Daniels’ accomplished track record in TNA speaks for itself.
10. The Motor City Machine Guns
Perhaps the greatest tag team of the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, the joint pairing of Detroit natives Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley seemed a match made in heaven. Overcoming their initial X Division rivalry, the two cruiserweights managed to find success in TNA’s tag team division throughout their lengthy tenure together. To this day, their Best of Five series against Beer Money may rank among the finest tag team bouts in the organization’s history.
11. Eric Young
One of the most diverse TNA wrestlers to ever hit the ring, Eric Young’s ability to adapt to any gimmick, storyline, or feud made him a one-of-a-kind talent. Whether portraying an over-the-top superhero character or the unstable leader of a street gang-like faction, Young dedicated himself to each and every story arch he found himself in, maintaining utter believability from one rivalry to the next.
12. Austin Aries
Love or hate him—and most people choose the latter—Austin Aries became one of the hottest stars in TNA in the 2010s. A stylistic cross between CM Punk and Chris Jericho, A Double had the inherent charisma and athleticism necessary to headline a wrestling promotion, accounting for his rapid rise from the X Division to the world heavyweight title picture. While his personality makes him a difficult man to like, even the harshest critics can see he has incredible talent.
13. The Beautiful People
Like most major wrestling stables, The Beautiful People saw their group membership change over time. Regardless of which stars filled out their ranks, though, the faction ran roughshod over TNA’s Knockout Division at their peak, serving as the ideal villainous counterparts to most women on the roster.
Adopting the superficial guise of beauty-obsessed mean girls, The Beautiful People seemed almost like a satirical take on WWE’s gratuitous presentation of female performers–the main difference involving The Beautiful People’s legitimate ability to wrestle.
14. Team 3D
Tried-and-true ECW veterans under their Dudley Boyz moniker, the newly-rechristened Team 3D took TNA’s tag team division by storm upon their debut in 2005.
Echoing their epic arrival to WWE’s Attitude Era years prior, Brother Ray and Brother Devon managed to enjoy impeccable tag team matches against every major duo on the roster, from younger competitors like the Motor City Machine Guns to more grizzled performers like America’s Most Wanted or LAX.
15. James Storm
James Storm could do anything the TNA asked of him. Whether ruling the tag team division as one-half of America’s Most Wanted or Beer Money, embarking on a single’s run, or leading his own faction, the Tennessee Cowboy illustrated his imminent adaptability time and time again. For ample proof of his wrestling skills, just take a look at any one of his matches against Bobby Roode or his repeated clashes against the Motor City Machine Guns.
16. Christian Cage
During his first stint in WWE, Christian never received the major push he deserved, languishing into the upper midcard as his longtime partner, Edge, entered the main event. Dissatisfied with his place in the company, the Instant Classic departed WWE for the greener pastures of TNA, becoming one of the promotion’s franchise players. With TNA treating him a legitimate world-class athlete, Christian Cage reigned supreme as one of the best wrestlers on the roster from 2005 until his exit in 2008.
17. Matt Hardy
For a brief moment in time, Matt Hardy stood tall as the absolute best thing about Impact Wrestling. After a short if unremarkable debut in 2011, Hardy returned in 2014, winning fans over with his exciting reunion with younger brother Jeff to reform the legendary Hardy Boyz.
From there, Matt reinvented himself, speaking in a nonsensical accent, adding a streak of white to his air, and declaring himself “broken.” A fantastic gimmick in and of itself, fans tuned in week in and out to see what shenanigans Broken Matt might get into next.
18. Jay Lethal
One word continues to define Jay Lethal’s time in TNA wrestling: underrated. A world-class wrestler with a larger-than-life personality and the moveset to back up his promos, Jay Lethal could have risen to the very forefront of TNA if the company had treated him right (something that became all too apparent with Lethal’s successful tenure in ROH).
Even with his limited screen-time on TNA, however, audiences fell in love with Lethal, thanks in large to his wide range of impressions (Randy Savage and Ric Flair, especially).
19. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett remains a polarizing name in the wrestling industry. Shunned from WWE in the immediate years following WCW’s dissolution, Jarrett partnered with his father to set up a low-budget indie promotion known as NWA: Total Nonstop Action.
While he may have used his backstage influence to insert himself time and time again into TNA’s main event, most fans will have a hard time imagining TNA without Double J in the picture.
20. Rhino
An underrated talent with whatever company he signed with, ECW alumnus Rhino became one of the foremost stars in TNA’s heyday.
A veteran performer whose previous exposure in ECW and WWE went a long way in winning over fans amidst TNA’s infancy, Rhino became a dependable workhorse upon debuting for the promotion in 2005, feuding against up-and-coming stars like AJ Styles and Abyss to more well-known contemporaries like Sting and Jeff Jarrett.
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