TNA has been in business since 2002, and has enjoyed a nice, comfy and lucrative home with Spike TV since 2005. While there has always been rumors of the company’s demise, it may soon become a reality. TNA’s contract with Spike will not be renewed in the fall. This may be a fatal blow to a wrestling organization that has cheated death for so long. It’s possible that Dixie Carter will be able to land a new deal and remain on TV for years. It’s also possible that once their deal is up, they will have lost their biggest revenue stream, go out of business, and merely be remembered as lost cause.
If TNA does go under, you can imagine that WWE would be interested in buying their tape library. You can’t imagine, though, that they’d stage an invasion type angle like they did for WCW and ECW. TNA just doesn’t have the history or the popularity to justify a large presence on WWE TV. There also aren’t many people clamoring for a dream match of Abyss vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of talented men and women in the company who should be on Vince’s radar were they to fold. With five hours of primetime TV to fill every week, he should always be on the lookout for new and familiar talent.
From former WWE stars to promising up-and-comers, here are 10 wrestlers that WWE should sign if TNA goes out of business.
10. Kurt Angle
What is an Olympic Gold Medalist, and a former WWE and TNA champion doing so low on this list? Well, even if Kurt Angle and WWE were to strike a deal, it’s not a sure thing they’d ever want him in the ring again. It’s no secret in the wrestling industry that Angle is beat up. He’s dealt with severe neck issues for almost 20 years now, and his intense style is something that has rarely been matched in the history of the business. Still, Angle, who is now in now in his mid-40s, is still better in the ring than the majority of wrestlers working today.
For a minute, lets just think of a best case scenario and say that Angle could compete in a handful of matches. There would be plenty of great opponents for him on the WWE roster to take on. Angle could battle John Cena again after helping him become a top star years ago. He could be used to help Roman Reigns improve in the ring and get him to the next level, or take on guys like Cesaro and Daniel Bryan in dream matches.
If nothing else, Angle deserves to come back to the company that made his wrestling career and enter their Hall of Fame. He’s been talking about returning for so long that you can imagine he would be thrilled to return in any capacity.
9. Ethan Carter III
Ethan Carter has done everything WWE has asked of their released talent if they are wanting to make it back someday. He’s continued to be involved in the business on a full-time basis, he’s become a better in-ring wrestler and he’s improved on the microphone. Carter is probably a bit over-pushed in TNA, but he’s made the best of every opportunity he’s given. You have to give the company credit too, as he has been used more effectively under Dixie’s watch than he ever was in WWE as Derrick Bateman.
If Carter were to come back to WWE, he probably wouldn’t be pushed as a top star, but he could be a valuable mid-carder. He’s great in a pesky heel role, so he could be used to battle and put over babyface opponents in the Intercontinental Title range. At 31-years-old, Carter has plenty of years left in the business and will hopefully get a chance to move far away from his “Auntie” if TNA were to go under.
8. Eric Young
Would Eric Young be one of my personal top 10 choices to join WWE? No. But would he have one of the highest chances of succeeding in Vince’s company? I’d say yes. Fans know that McMahon loves all kinds of awful humor. After all, Santino was able to make a small fortune playing a bad comedy character for years. With The Milan Miracle perhaps calling it a career, the company could use a new comedy figure. Eric Young could be that guy.
For years, Young was TNA’s biggest punchline. He portrayed a superhero, was involved in an odd-ball and homophobic pairing with Orlando Jordan, and he married ODB in his underpants. Sure, he was funny only about 1 in every 5 attempts, but that’s more than double the success rate of Santino (too soon?)! Young is actually a decent wrestler (let’s just forget that he was ever TNA Champ), and he also has his own reality show which WWE could surely promote better than TNA ever did for him.
If Young were to join WWE as a comedy act, hopefully he wouldn’t have to wear a sock on his hand or be birthed by a 90-year-old woman. Is that too much to ask for?
7. Brittany
Brittany has been pretty impressive in her limited amount of matches, and while she’s a little awkward on the mic she seems confident. Her pseudo-lesbian storyline with Madison Rayne has her displaying some pretty decent crazy woman acting skills which should only get better over the years. While AJ Lee and formerly Alicia Foxx have the crazy female act down pretty well in WWE, Brittany could always be given a new character.
Sure, there are other Knockouts who may make a greater impact in the Divas division right away, but none have the upside that Brittany does. If given some guidance and character development, she could develop into a formidable talent in WWE.
6. James Storm
Sometimes I just feel sorry about James Storm’s damn luck. Sure, he got to make his living as a professional wrestler for over a decade, but he never reached the heights he should have as a singles star due to some unforgivably poor booking. For years, Storm was known as a tag team specialist because of his success in America’s Most Wanted and Beer Money. After he broke apart from Bobby Roode he seemed to be poised as a potential breakout star. He was cutting great babyface promos, and he appealed to a Southern audience, which is strangely neglected in today’s scene.
Hogan and Bischoff must have felt otherwise. When the duo took over Storm received a very brief title run, and then engaged in a lackluster feud with his former partner. His character then quit and went home because he was so sad that he lost a match. His daughter then had to talk him into coming back. Not exactly the best way to push a potential top star.
Sure, Storm is probably a little older than McMahon likes (he’s 37), but he should easily be able to put in another three to five years of full time work. The question is whether McMahon could be inspired to push a man from the South seriously and make money (like Steve Austin) or be lazy and turn them into his old standby – as a comedic hillbilly (Hillbilly Jim, Heath Slater, Festus).
5. Jeff Hardy
First things first, Willow has to stay at home, but Jeff Hardy can come back to WWE. Jeff is a man who enjoys the low-key lifestyle that TNA affords him. He doesn’t have to wrestle hundreds of times a year like he did in WWE during his peak. These days, though, Vince McMahon seems to be a little more lenient. He’s allowed veterans like Batista, Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho to compete on part time schedules.
If you compare Hardy to McMahon’s part-timers, he actually may have more to offer than all three. He’s nine years younger than Batista, more exciting than Van Dam, and would feel fresher than Jericho. Before Hardy left WWE he was one of the most popular babyfaces in the company. He’d be welcome with open arms by a majority of the fans. Unfortunately, TNA was never able to continue the momentum he had in WWE, and he became just another wrestler.
While Hardy has had a troubled past, he’s cleaned up his recently. He was responsible for one of the most embarrassing moments in wrestling history when he ruined the main event of Victory Road 2011 by attempting to wrestle while on drugs. Not cool Jeff! After taking some time off, Hardy has been on his best behavior. As we’ve seen over the years, McMahon is a pretty forgiving man, and would take him back if he felt it was a good business decision.
4. Bobby Roode
To argue for why I think Bobby Roode deserves a shot in WWE, let’s just keep it simple. Let’s simply compare Bobby Roode and Curtis Axel. Axel, as you know, is a full-time WWE employee (well, independent contracter if you want to be technical) who gets paid to wrestle on Raw and SmackDown every week despite the fact that he has very few people interested in his character. Roode is a better in-ring wrestler than Axel. He cuts a better promo than Axel. He has more charisma than Axel. The only thing he doesn’t have going for him? The fact that he’s 37-years-old instead of Axel’s 34, and that he’s not the son of a WWE Hall of Famer.
Yes, Roode would probably not ever become a main-eventer in WWE, but he would still be a valuable asset. If nothing else, creative could stick him in a tag team and it would immediately make the division more exciting. After all, Roode was involved in one of the best national tag teams of the past 15 years in Beer Money. There’s plenty of floundering mid-carders that could be teamed up with him for a career boost.
Now I’m not saying that Bobby Roode not being in WWE is wrestling’s greatest crime, but if Curtis Axel (I like picking on him, but feel free to insert your own mediocre mid-carder here) has a job there, then so should Roode.
3.Samoa Joe
Joe’s gonna kill you? Well, probably not in WWE’s PG environment. Joe’s gonna mildly harm you is more like it. Either way, Joe deserves a shot in the biggest wrestling company in the world. Sure, he probably would have fit in better a few years ago when he was younger and in better shape, but at 35-years-old, he still has a few years of competing at a high level.
Sure, Joe may have not ever become a top star in WWE, but you can’t rule it out either. Not many figured that CM Punk or Daniel Bryan would evolve into main event talent, but they were both able to despite so much working against them. Like Punk and Bryan, Joe is a former indie star who just has a natural charisma that’s hard to come by. In the ring, he moves around better than virtually anyone his size and his repertoire looks lethal.
It’s understandable why WWE wants to change the names of all of their incoming names these days, but hopefully Joe could be an exception. He’s won TNA’s World Title multiple times, and has been one of the most popular wrestlers in the company since its inception. Fans are going to know he’s Samoa Joe, and they’re going to know what he’s capable of. It would be exciting to see what he could do with the best in WWE. Feuds with him facing off against Cena, Bryan or Orton may perhaps be some of the last few dream matches we have left in all of wrestling.
2. Bully Ray
Vince McMahon isn’t generally fond of older wrestlers these days, which is kind of odd. It’s understandable that he’d want some younger talent on the roster to build around, but many wrestlers can be incredibly successful well into their 40s. Right now on the roster Goldust is having a career resurgence. At 45-years-old, he looks better than ever in the ring and his acting abilities have never diminished. Well over in TNA, the 43-year-old, Bully Ray has turned his career around as well.
In 2010, Brother Ray became Bully Ray and he set out on his own after a violent split with Devon. While Ray fell flat on his face in the early 2000s when WWE ended The Dudley Boyz, this time he excelled. He slimmed down, and upped his game in the ring. He was soon cutting the best heel promos in all of wrestling and worked his way up to becoming TNA’s World Champion.
Currently, Bully is a babyface in an unfortunate ECW inspired storyline facing off against Dixie Carter. But if he returned to WWE, he should absolutely be turned back heel. Once there, McMahon should set him off in a feud against John Cena. Many fans may not buy Bully in the role initially, but after a few of his trademark hateful promos, they could quickly buy in. Bully wouldn’t have to stay in WWE for years, but working programs against Cena, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns would alleviate so much of the tedium in the company, and could potentially do wonders for everyone’s career.
1. Magnus
After losing to Eric Young, Magnus was pushed back down to the mid-card in a tag team with Bram (who should get another look from WWE as well). While the duo shows some promise, it seems that TNA should be trying to create all the homegrown single stars they can.
Unfortunately for Magnus, he’d probably have to spend some time in NXT before making the main roster. It would probably be a blow to his ego since he’s a former World Champ, but it could actually do him some good. Magnus is solid in the ring, but he’s not a main event talent yet. It would also give WWE an opportunity to give him a clear character since most of their audience probably isn’t familiar with him. This isn’t like Diamond Dallas Page or Booker T coming over from WCW, WWE would have to start over with him.
Hopefully Magnus will be able to join WWE someday whether it’s soon or in a few years. He’s got the look and loads of potential. He just needs a new environment and new opponents to get him to the next level. With his tremendous upside, he’s absolutely the first guy WWE should call if TNA goes under.
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