Since its founding in the early 2000s by Jeff Jarrett, TNA/Impact Wrestling has had its share of great champions through the years. The company has had legends like Sting and Kurt Angle win the title as well as then-newcomers like AJ Styles and Bobby Roode who made names for themselves working for the company and eventually becoming champion.
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Some of the wrestlers who have held TNA/Impact Wrestling championships went on to other companies and had careers that surpassed what they did in TNA; others had their greatest moments in the company. Here are five wrestlers who peaked in TNA and five who had better careers outside the company.
10 Peaked: Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin was one of the wrestlers who "grew up" in TNA. He joined the company at 21-years-old and spent 12 of his nearly 20 years in the wrestling business with TNA Impact. He's held almost every championship in the company during his time there. He's most known for his run in the X-Division and being part of the Motor City Machine Guns with fellow Michigan native Alex Shelley.
In 2013, Sabin reached the top of the TNA mountain for a brief period after defeating Bully Ray at that year's Destination X. Though he's wrestled for other prominent promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Ring of Honor, Sabin never found the type of success he achieved in TNA.
9 Better: AJ Styles
It's difficult to say that "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles had a better career outside of TNA. Though he uses the catchphrase "the house that AJ Styles built" during his run in WWE, TNA/Impact wrestling is literally "the house that AJ Styles built." He was the first grand slam champion in the history of the company. Styles joined the company in its infancy in 2002 and was a bedrock for Impact until he left in 2014. Despite being the best "homegrown" talent in the company's history, Styles' has enjoyed one of the greatest runs in WWE in the 2010s. His time in New Japan as leader of the Bullet Club was one of the best by a "gaijin" in a long time.
8 Peaked: Bobby Roode
When Bobby Roode won his first TNA Heavyweight Championship, there were many in the wrestling business who thought he could main event Wrestlemania. Since leaving TNA and joining WWE in 2016, Roode has not duplicated the success he enjoyed while in TNA.
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Besides being a two-time heavyweight champion, Roode has the record of holding the longest reign with the championship. He was also part of one of the best tag teams in the company's history along with James Storm as Beer Money. Though he's been NXT Champion, US Champion, and Raw Tag Team Champion, he's never been as over as he was in TNA.
7 Better: Mick Foley
The picture above is not photoshopped. Mick Foley worked for TNA and was world champion. Before joining Impact Wrestling, The Hardcore Legend was quite unhappy with his role in WWE in 2008. However, Foley would consider his time with TNA as a flop.
Foley's run in TNA was a blip on the radar of his legendary career. Though he is most famous for his time in WWE, he was also successful in both WCW and WWE. By the time he got to TNA, he was well past his prime and beat up physically. Like many wrestlers, Foley thought he had one more good run in him. He was wrong.
6 Peaked: Eric Young
Eric Young, like AJ Styles, is one of the many wrestlers on this list who made their names in TNA. Young began his run in the company as part of Team Canada. As part of Team Canada, he won his first championship with Bobby Roode. During his tenure in TNA, he won the X-Division Title as well as the World Heavyweight Championship. Though his tenure in WWE started well enough with the group SANiTY, he did not come anywhere near success he had in TNA. He was ultimately released due to budget cuts from WWE relating to the economic turmoil caused by 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
5 Better: Drew McIntyre
Though Drew McIntyre has had exponentially more success in other promotions than he did Impact Wrestling, his run in TNA as Drew Galloway was vital to his successful return to WWE. In 2014, Drew was released from WWE and had to find himself.
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His tenure in the UK's ICW and Impact helped him find his identity. However, The Scottish Psychopath character really started to take off in Impact. He also got to work a lot on the independents and in Impact. He had a great run as world champion in Impact before winning the top prizes in both NXT and WWE.
4 Peaked: James Storm
Considered a "TNA Orginal", James Storm was one of the mainstays of the Tag Team Division when it rose to prominence. He's perhaps most famous for being part of two of the best tag teams in the history of the company; America's Most Wanted and Beer Money. Much like Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen, James Storm and Bobby Roode were as good against each other as they were together. Their rivalry over the World Heavyweight Title was one of the best of that era in TNA. Storm did a short--one match--shot in NXT, and is now currently part of the NWA. He's been a champion in the NWA but has not been on the main event scene like he was in Impact.
3 Better: Nick Aldis
Much like Drew McIntyre, Nick Aldis' run in Impact wrestling was vital for his career. "The Dealer" got his break wrestling in the states with TNA, debuting in 2008 at age 22. Aldis would go on to spend a total of eight years in Impact Wrestling. While part of Impact, Aldis would team with Doug Williams as the British Invasion and win the tag-team championships.
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He would go on to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Though he had a great run in Impact, his work in the NWA has proven what many people already knew. Aldis is one of the top workers in the business.
2 Peaked: Johnny Impact
Despite his first run in WWE being longer than his run in Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact/John Morrison had a better tenure in Impact Wrestling than he did in WWE. There were some in the Internet Wrestling Community who labeled him "No Pop" Morrison while in WWE. The Guru of Greatness never really made it past the mid card level while in WWE. On the other hand, Johnny was a main event mainstay in Impact and met his wife there. He had great matches against Killer Kross, Brian Cage, and Mike Elgin while working in TNA.
1 Better: Alberto Del Rio
John "Bradshaw" Layfield appropriately called Alberto Del Rio "Mexico's greatest export." He was right. DelRio was one of the top performers in Mexico before he signed with WWE. Del Rio--El Patron as he was known as in Impact--is part of one of the most famous wrestling families in Mexico. While in WWE he became a multi-time world champion. One of the reasons his tenure in Impact did not go as well was because personally he was not in the greatest place in his personal life. When he's right, he's one of the best in the world. Unfortunately, Del Rio was not right while in Impact.
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