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10 Wrestlers Who Disappeared When TNA Became Impact
WhatCulture
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10/05/2024
TNA's switchover to Impact Wrestling meant a LOT of names fell by the wayside...
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TV
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00:00
I tell you, if you're a wrestler, you don't want to be part of a company when it changes
00:04
its name. For some reason, it always results in some people just vanishing. Yep, one day
00:09
they're here, the next who the flub knows.
00:12
We have talked about this before when the WWF became WWE, so today I am Simon from WhatCulture,
00:17
obviously, please do subscribe, and this is 10 Wrestlers Who Disappeared When TNA Became
00:23
Impact.
00:24
10. Jesse Goddard
00:25
Now you know him today as Mr. Pectacular, because he has a nice chest, who is doing
00:29
some very good work on the indie scene, as he did when he signed with TNA back in 2011.
00:33
I mean, he was a two-time tag team champion alongside Robbie E in the group known as the
00:38
Bro-Mans, so you knew instantly what you were getting.
00:42
He was there for a while too, but when parent company Anthem changed TNA to Impact in June
00:46
2017, he was gone almost instantly. Even weirder, his last match came in the March before that,
00:53
and that was filmed in January. Wrestling taping schedules are weird.
00:57
It kinda feels like he was forgotten about a bit too quickly, but yeah, afterwards he
01:01
was an OVW national champion for 522 days, so he's still smashing it. Just wasn't
01:07
really given any proper send off.
01:09
9. Chris Melendez
01:11
In August 2014, TNA thought they had something with Chris Melendez. He had a very real military
01:16
background and was basically an actual hero, so why not present him as their hot new babyface?
01:21
A fine theory with one problem, the powers that be tried to force the audience into buying
01:26
into all of this, and you know how that goes.
01:28
He clearly was putting in the work because other notable names like Bully Ray and Mr
01:31
Anderson constantly went to bat for him. Sometimes, these things just don't work out. Who knows
01:37
why? You try, you fail, you move on.
01:39
It was clear management agreed, as when the big change was coming he was never featured
01:42
again, and to be honest we haven't seen much of Melendez since. Maybe he realised
01:47
the wrestling business can be ridiculous. I think we can all understand that.
01:51
8. Rob Terry
01:52
I mean, look at this ham hock. Just insane, right? If success was based on physique this
01:56
dude would be a 10 time world champion everywhere. All the way from Wales, Rob Terry was still
02:01
featured a lot, but you could argue he was too big. I mean, picking up something looked
02:06
like it could be a struggle.
02:07
The freak was definitely a utilised player at one stage, but again, when all these talks
02:11
kicked into gear, and I suppose it was time for a reshuffle, he was forgotten about instantly.
02:16
Terry did find his way onto the indies where he's been doing okay, but I guess he never
02:20
hit the highs companies were expecting, because we see what can happen with guys of this size.
02:25
It does go to show though, the body is important, as is the look, but it's not everything.
02:30
7. Marsh Rocket
02:32
Unless you are the most hardened of TNA fans, you probably don't remember Marsh Rocket.
02:35
Starting with TNA in 2016, the idea was he could be the injection of agility the X Division
02:41
needed at the time. At one stage, those in charge even thought he could lead the thing.
02:45
It didn't really go to plan though, because this was March, and by April 2017, he was
02:50
done.
02:51
The weird tapings meant once again Rocket actually appeared on TV after he had been
02:55
released, and the real shame with this one was the promise was there. It was just never
02:59
acted upon, I would guess because all these shifts took centre stage.
03:02
Still this did feel a little unfair, we built the dude up, and then we showed him the door.
03:07
I imagine he was a little pissed off.
03:09
6. King Mo
03:10
King Mo was ahead of his time. While everybody is doing it now, he signed a deal with both
03:15
TNA and Bellator MMA in October 2012 so he could be part wrestler and part fighter. TNA
03:21
soon became obsessed with this for some reason, and while it wasn't a smash success, it
03:24
was different than in 2015 he was released.
03:27
We weren't done as 2 years later, the King was brought back to be in Bobby Lashley's
03:31
corner at Slammiversary, but that only raised more questions. If they were still able to
03:35
work together, where the hell did he go?
03:37
These days he does have a deal with MLW, and it feels like his mixed martial arts time
03:41
is done, mostly because he's 41 years old and that's just how it works. I do remember
03:46
when TNA went crazy with these crossovers though, who can forget when Tito Ortiz showed
03:52
up? My word.
03:53
5. Loki
03:54
So this is an odd one. Loki has been here, there and everywhere, and most hardcore fans
03:59
know who he is, and even after leaving TNA he was still working.
04:02
The thing is, because he had name value when he did exit, it was a bit like he'd just
04:06
vanished from any sort of wider coverage. Loki won the X Division title 5 times so he
04:11
had tenure there, but after leaving once he was brought back when Impact was born where
04:15
he lasted 4 months and he was gone again.
04:17
What?
04:18
In 2019 he then made a one night return, and outside of that MLW seems to be his home now.
04:22
It was such a strange situation though, given both sides seemed to have no idea what they
04:26
were trying to achieve. You turn up, you do a match, and you go home, and then nobody
04:32
ever talks about it again.
04:34
Before Tyrus.
04:35
The story of this guy.
04:37
Most will remember the Funkasaurus, which is still bonkers, and because most believe
04:40
he was underused in WWE, when he signed for TNA in September 2014 there was a feeling
04:45
this may pay off. Not really.
04:47
He started as an enforcer for EC3 before becoming a monster in his own right, but then Impact
04:52
came along and by August 2017 he was done too, out the door.
04:56
From there he has wrestled a few matches for the likes of the NWA, but they are infrequent
05:00
at best and he spends most of his time as a pundit on news shows. If there was any chance
05:04
of a big time return it seems like it's come and gone, and this is one of those what ifs
05:08
where the answer is, well they treated him like a dinosaur.
05:11
Only in wrestling, folks. It's one of a kind.
05:14
3. Mr. Anderson
05:15
Of all the people I thought Anthem would go after when they rebranded, Mr. Anderson was
05:20
top of that list.
05:21
Be it WWE, TNA or wherever, for years most fans believed there was something here we
05:25
hadn't allowed to develop. I mean he was a top star in both companies and a world champion
05:29
in the latter, surely there was something to at least try.
05:33
Instead in March 2016 he was fired from TNA for allegedly failing a drug test, and ever
05:37
since he's just been doing his own thing.
05:39
But today most he runs his own training school and keeps himself to himself.
05:43
I do tell you though, even in 2022 this story doesn't seem finished. For one reason or another
05:48
we never hit the heights we should have done, and it feels like it will never transpire
05:52
now and how mad is that?
05:54
Anderson was going to be revealed as Vince McMahon's son at one stage, the things that
05:58
could have been.
05:59
2. Aaron Rex
06:01
When the then Damien Sandow was let go from WWE, every single fan lost it. He had smashed
06:06
everything he had been given, even the dumb stuff, and it felt like he could be a star.
06:10
WWE felt differently.
06:12
He quickly went to TNA in August 2016 with the company shatting from the rafters this
06:16
was the signing of the summer, and then one month after Impact was born, he was gone.
06:21
This means he was active for just over a year. What the flub.
06:25
The now Aaron Rex was never really given much of anything either, and it must have had an
06:28
effect because when he was done he took a two year sabbatical.
06:32
The NWA brought him back in 2019, but I don't think this was the hope when he was supposed
06:36
to get his big chance in TNA.
06:37
It was almost a little bit like they didn't know what to do with ex-WWE guys.
06:42
Talk about it in the comments.
06:44
1. Tiga Uno
06:45
Tiga de Uno is the second longest reigning X Division Champion in TNA history.
06:50
He held that belt for 199 days, and while that was a lot shorter than Austin Aries'
06:54
301 day reign, he is still in second place so that counts.
06:58
This was from June 2015 to January 2016, so clearly TNA valued him, and then as soon as
07:04
Impact was here, he was totally lost in the shuffle and then he was gone.
07:08
What on earth happened during this period?
07:10
Given he wasn't released till December and his last match was March, he sat around for
07:13
almost a year before being let go, and many thought he would find his way into another
07:17
big company, but he didn't.
07:19
Uno has done well on the indie scene, but for some reason has never got an offer elsewhere.
07:25
Something was cursed during this changeover, and a lot of people got it in
07:41
the teeth.
07:53
Here's what's next!
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