00:00I tell you, if you're a wrestler, you don't want to be part of a company when it changes its name.
00:05For some reason, it always results in some people just vanishing.
00:08Yep, one day they're here, the next who the flub knows.
00:12We have talked about this before when the WWF became WWE, so today I am Simon from WhatCulture, obviously.
00:18Please do subscribe, and this is 10 wrestlers who disappeared when TNA became Impact.
00:2310 Jesse Goddard's
00:25Now you know him today as Mr. Pectacular, because he has a nice chest, who is doing some very good work on the indie scene, as he did when he signed with TNA back in 2011.
00:34I mean, he was a two-time tag team champion alongside Robbie E in the group known as The Bro-Mans, so you knew instantly what you were getting.
00:42He was there for a while too, but when parent company Anthem changed TNA to Impact in June 2017, he was gone almost instantly.
00:49Even weirder, his last match came in the March before that, and that was filmed in January.
00:55Wrestling taping schedules are weird.
00:57Kind of feels like he was forgotten about a bit too quickly, but yeah, afterwards he was an OVW national champion for 522 days, so he's still smashing it.
01:06Just wasn't really given any proper send-off.
01:09Wrestling.
01:099 Chris Melendez
01:10In August 2014, TNA thought they had something with Chris Melendez.
01:15He had a very real military background and was basically an actual hero, so why not present him as their hot new babyface?
01:21A fine theory with one problem.
01:23The powers that be tried to force the audience into buying into all of this, and you know how that goes.
01:28He clearly was putting in the work because other notable names like Bully Ray and Mr. Anderson constantly went to bat for him.
01:34Sometimes, these things just don't work out.
01:36Who knows why?
01:37You try, you fail, you move on.
01:39It was clear management agreed, as when the big change was coming, he was never featured again, and to be honest, we haven't seen much of Melendez since.
01:46Maybe he realised the wrestling business can be ridiculous.
01:49I think we can all understand that.
01:518 Rob Terry
01:52I mean, look at this ham hock.
01:54Just insane, right?
01:55If success was based on physiques, this dude would be a 10-time world champion everywhere.
01:59All the way from Wales, Rob Telly was still featured a lot, but you could argue he was too big.
02:04I mean, picking up something looked like it could be a struggle.
02:07The Freak was definitely a utilised player at one stage, but again, when all these talks kicked into gear, and I suppose it was time for a reshuffle, he was forgotten about instantly.
02:16Terry did find his way onto the indies where he's been doing okay, but I guess he never hit the highs companies were expecting, because we see what can happen with guys of this size.
02:24It does go to show, though, the body is important, as is the look, but it is not everything.
02:307 Marsh Rocket
02:31Unless you are the most hardened of TNA fans, you probably don't remember Marsh Rocket.
02:36Starting with TNA in 2016, the idea was he could be the injection of agility the X Division needed at the time.
02:42At one stage, those in charge even thought he could lead the thing.
02:45It didn't really go to plan, though, because this was March, and by April 2017, he was done.
02:50Yep, the weird tapings meant once again Rocket actually appeared on TV after he had been released, and the real shame with this one was the promise was there.
02:58It was just never acted upon, I would guess, because all these shifts took centre stage.
03:02Still, this did feel a little bit unfair.
03:04We built the dude up, and then we showed him the door.
03:07I imagine he was a little bit pissed off.
03:096 King Mo
03:10King Mo was ahead of his time.
03:12While everybody is doing it now, he signed a deal with both TNA and Bellator MMA in October 2012, so he could be part wrestler and part fighter.
03:20TNA soon became obsessed with this for some reason, and while it wasn't a smash success, it was different than in 2015 he was released.
03:27We weren't done, as two years later, the King was brought back to be in Bobby Lashley's corner at Slammiversary,
03:32but that only raised more questions.
03:34If they were still able to work together, where the hell did he go?
03:37These days he does have a deal with MLW, and it feels like his mixed martial arts time is done,
03:42mostly because he's 41 years old, and that's just how it works.
03:46I do remember when TNA went crazy with these crossovers, though.
03:49I mean, who can forget when Tito Ortiz showed up?
03:52My word.
03:535 Loki
03:54So this is an odd one.
03:55Loki has been here, there, and everywhere, and most hardcore fans know who he is, and even after leaving TNA, he was still working.
04:02The thing is, because he had name value when he did exit, it was a bit like he'd just vanished from any sort of wider coverage.
04:08Loki won the X Division title five times, so he had tenure there, but after leaving once, he was brought back when Impact was born, where he lasted four months and he was gone again.
04:17What?
04:17In 2019, he then made a one-night return, and outside of that, MLW seems to be his home now.
04:23It was such a strange situation, though, given both sides seemed to have no idea what they were trying to achieve.
04:27You turn up, you do a match, and you go home, and then nobody ever talks about it again.
04:34But before Tyrus, the story of this guy.
04:36Most will remember the Funkasaurus, which is still bonkers, and because most believe he was underused in WWE, when he signed for TNA in September 2014, there was a feeling this may pay off.
04:47Not really.
04:47He started as an enforcer for EC3 before becoming a monster in his own right, but then Impact came along, and by August 2017, he was done too, out the door.
04:56From there, he has wrestled a few matches for the likes of the NWA, but they are infrequent at best, and he spends most of his time as a pundit on news shows.
05:04If there was any chance of a big-time return, it seems like it's come and gone, and this is one of those what-ifs where the answer is, well, they've treated him like a dinosaur.
05:12Only in wrestling, folks, it's one of a kind.
05:14Number three, Mr. Anderson.
05:16Of all the people I thought Anthem would go after when they rebranded, Mr. Anderson was top of that list.
05:20Be it WWE, TNA, or wherever, for years, most fans believed there was something here we hadn't allowed to develop.
05:27I mean, he was a top star in both companies, and a world champion in the latter.
05:30Surely there was something to at least try.
05:32Instead, in March 2016, he was fired from TNA for allegedly failing a drug test, and ever since, he's just been doing his own thing.
05:39But today, mostly runs his own training school and keeps himself to himself.
05:43I do tell you, though, even in 2022, this story doesn't seem finished.
05:47For one reason or another, we never hit the heights we should have done, and it feels like it will never transpire now, and how mad is that?
05:54Anderson was going to be revealed as Vince McMahon's son at one stage.
05:58The things that could have been.
05:59Number two, Aaron Rex.
06:01When the then-Damian Sandow was let go from WWE, every single fan lost it.
06:05He had smashed everything he had been given, even the dumb stuff, and it felt like he could be a star.
06:10WWE felt differently.
06:12He quickly went to TNA in August 2016 with a company shatting from the rafters.
06:16This was the signing of the summer, and then one month after Impact was born, he was gone.
06:21This means he was active for just over a year.
06:25What the flub.
06:25The now Aaron Rex was never really given much of anything either, and it must have had an effect because when he was done, he took a two-year sabbatical.
06:32The NWA brought him back in 2019, but I don't think this was the hope when he was supposed to get his big chance in TNA.
06:38It was almost a little bit like they didn't know what to do with ex-WWE, guys.
06:42Talk about it in the comments.
06:43Number one, Tigre Uno.
06:45Tigre Uno is the second longest reigning X Division champion in TNA history.
06:50Yep.
06:50He held that belt for 199 days, and while that was a lot shorter than Austin Aries' 301-day reign, he is still in second place, so that counts.
06:58This was from June 2015 to January 2016, so clearly TNA valued him.
07:02And then as soon as Impact was here, he was totally lost in the shuffle, and then he was gone.
07:08What on earth happened during this period?
07:10Given he wasn't released till December and his last match was March, he sat around for almost a year before being let go, and many thought he would find his way into another big company, but he didn't.
07:19Uno has done well on the indie scene, but for some reason has never got an offer elsewhere.
07:24And I tell you, something was cursed during this changeover, and a lot of people got it in the teeth.
07:29Know of any other TNA wrestlers that just vanished when Impact became a thing?
07:32Make sure you let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to like the video, share the video, and please do subscribe.
07:37Then remember the three things you always have to do after watching a video, you go to whatculture.com where you can read articles with your eyes, you can follow us on social media, and we have a lot of other videos that are desperate to see you go and make their day.
07:47My name is Simon from WhatCulture, thank you very much for joining me as always, and I do believe I'll talk to you again soon.
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