Top 10 TNA Impact Wrestling Stars of All Time

Tim Sherry

TNA, credit: WWE.com

Listing the top 10 greatest stars from TNA Impact Wrestling.

On June 19th, 2002 Jeff and Jerry Jarrett opened the doors of TNA by kicking off their first show in the company’s history. It was an inauspicious start to the brand and it’s opening live television show as one of the ring ropes was destroyed in a dark match leaving the producers scrambling for a solution. After some careful re-planning the show went off without a hitch and almost 15 years later the company is still active. It’s far from smooth sledding though as the company has battled financial problems for the better part of the last 5 years but still, they remain relevant.

For a number of different reasons TNA always played second fiddle to the WWE. At times they came very close to completely closing the gap between the two companies but TNA always seemed to get in their own way. From the back and forth switching of the ring style, to the hirings of trouble makers like Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Vince Russo, to the shenanigans of former chairwoman Dixie Carter, the league has created plenty of chances to fail.

But no matter what the future holds for TNA one thing they can always take credit for is the quality of in-ring wrestling that they’ve provided over the years. The promoters of the company always seemed to manage to go out and sign some of the best, yet unknown talent in the world which resulted in some tremendous, all-time great matches. Dozens of great wrestlers went through TNA throughout its existence so breaking down the top 10 was no easy task. But let’s give it a shot.

Ahead we list TNA’s 10 best wrestlers of all time.

10. Chris Sabin

At just 21 years old, Sabin entered TNA as a relative baby in the sport. After wrestling in only a handful of matches in a number of different independent promotions before joining the then upstart company the Pinckney, Michigan native basically grew up into a TNA star. Only a month after making his debut he won the first of his eventual 8 X-Division championships and showed the world that he had arrived. Over the course of the next decade “The Future” cemented himself as not only one of the best X-Division competitors in TNA but one of the very best junior heavyweights in the world.

Sabin, however, was not just a one-hit wonder. His partnership with, the ever-exciting Alex Shelley not only produced some of the most electric tag matches in TNA’s history but also netted them a tag team title run. The Motor City Machine Guns, as they’d go by, impact was so much to the wrestling world that Shelley and Sabin still team up on the independent circuit to this very day.

Sabin battled two major knee injuries in his career but still managed to be one of TNA’s all time greats. There was no better night for him than on July 18th, 2013 when he finally realized his dream of being a world champion, besting Bully Ray for TNA World Heavyweight Championship and becoming just the 6th ever TNA Triple Crown Champion. Although Sabin’s title reign was short-lived it was one of most deserved honors in all of TNA history. Sabin now at 35 years old is living out his career on the indy scene. Let’s hope we get to see him under brighter lights again some day.

9. Christopher Daniels

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. There have been some major travesties in the history of pro wrestling. The Great Khali becoming a world champion, the fake Razor Ramon and Diesel gimmick, Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler at Wrestlemania 27, the list goes on and on. Add to it the fact that Christopher Daniels never won a TNA world championship. As part of the big 3 with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe in the early stages of company, “The Fallen Angel” was a model of consistency and excellence throughout his 11 years in TNA and deserved to be on the top of the mountain. Why he was never given that honor is mind-boggling.

Now this isn’t to say that Daniels wasn’t successful in TNA, quite the contrary. He was a 4-time X-Division champion, an 8-time tag team champion with 5 different partners, and won the 2004 World X Cup. His match with the aforementioned Styles and Joe at the 2005 Unbreakable was not only the best match of that year but potentially the greatest match in the history of the brand.

Daniels is and always was the consummate professional. He has that natural ability to make every one of his opponents look like world beaters. That’s a very rare quality in the world of professional wrestling. Daniels is now in his third run with Ring of Honor having left TNA in 2014. And at 46 years old he still looks as good as the guy who TNA mismanaged so poorly. The scary part about Daniels, his best stuff still might be left to come.

WWE.com

8. Eric Young

Undoubtedly one of the most underrated talents to ever grace TNA, Eric Young has really done it all for the company. Entering the promotion in 2004, “EY” was seen initially, and for quite a while as a comedic wrestler. And as such, TNA saddled him with some god-awful gimmicks. There was the superhero “Super Eric” silliness, a looking for Elvis gag, another superhero character called “Prince Justice Brotherhood”, and lastly but surely not least, a mentally challenged angle. You know, because that nonsensical idea has a successful history. But shockingly through all of the garbage Young was given, it never seemed to slow him down.

Somewhere around 2012, TNA finally began to take Eric seriously. He grew out his beard and seemed to find a focused mean streak. His promo work at the time, like always was top notch and suddenly he looked like a serious world title contender. That all came to fruition on April 10th, 2014 when he defeated Magnus to become TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Like the aforementioned Sabin, Young’s title reign was somewhat short at just 70 days, but it was all he needed to prove himself as one of the best wrestlers in TNA history.

The rest of Young’s resume proved that he’s one of the elite. 3-time Legends/Television/King of the Mountain champion, 3-time tag team champion (although one was a women’s title), former X-Division champion, 2 Turkey Bowl wins, and over 300 TNA victories (cagematch.net). In capturing the TNA World Championship he became the seventh Triple Crown Champion as well as the fourth Grand Slam Champion. Now a member of WWE’s roster, let’s see if the “EY” can right a new chapter in his already storied career.

7. Abyss

No one will ever mistake Abyss for a great in-ring technical worker. And he won’t be remembered for winning a ton of awards and championships in TNA, although he is a Grand Slam Champion. But what will remember The Monster for is his importance and commitment to the promotion that he’s been with for over 15 years. Abyss embodies the idea of a company man as he time in and time out sacrificed his body in the name of entertainment. Look no further than the above match against Sabu that won the 2005 TNA match of the year. Shear brutality.

For the first decade of Abyss’ tenure with the company, he was seen as the vicious, destructive beast. But in 2012 he shocked the TNA world by debuting as Joseph Park, Abyss’ brother. The man that was once the biggest monster in TNA was suddenly on the TV screen as a 4-eyed, concerned, and quite frankly, nerdy man who was in search of Abyss who hadn’t been seen in weeks. Sounds crazy, right? But astonishingly Park made this gimmick one the best TNA has ever produced. His commitment and acting ability pushed this gimmick out 2 years and even won Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Gimmick of the Year in 2012.

At 43 years old Abyss is still with the company and he’s continuing to get the job done under his original gimmick. In March of 2016, he captured his second tag team title in his career. But outside of his accomplishments, it’s impossible to gauge the importance that he has brought to TNA. He’s one of the pioneers and for however long TNA hangs around, “The Monster” will unquestionably be part of their plans.

Credit: WWE.com

6. Jeff Hardy

Much like Abyss, Hardy is one of the most important superstars in TNA history, albeit for a different reason. When Hardy first showed up in TNA in 2004, outside of Kurt Angle and Sting was one the few major, legitimate stars that helped make the company a serious contender on a world wide scale. Hardy’s time with TNA however, was not always roses. His first run ended after a suspension and when he returned in 2010 he spent the next year battling his demons.

In August of 2011, Hardy returned with a new outlook on life and it’s been nothing but success since. Not only was Jeff back but he looked better than he had in ages. Since his return in 2010 Hardy has become a 3-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a 2-time tag team champion with his brother Matt, he won the 2012 Bound For Glory Series as well as being the 2012 TNA wrestler of the year. Yeah, Jeff is back in a big way.

No one will ever doubt the in-ring talents of Hardy. With his daredevil, high-risk acumen, he’s always been must see television. But Jeff has changed from being a guy who put himself first into a guy that TNA not only wants to stay around, but desperately needs to.

wwe.com

5. James Storm

A 20 year veteran of the sport, 15 of which occurred in TNA, 39-year-old James Storm is the embodiment of what a company looks for in a superstar. He’s been the model of consistency throughout his tenure and such holds the TNA record for both matches wrestled and victories. The argument that he’s the best tag team wrestler in TNA history is a strong one as he has snatched up a staggering 14 tag titles with 5 different partners as well as the 2002 Gauntlet For The Gold, 2003 Anarchy Alliance tournament, the 2009 3D Invitational Tag tournament, and 2010 Tag Team Championship Series. Suffice to say, this guy knows how to win.

But quite possibly his biggest victory came on October 18, 2011 when he defeated Kurt Angle for TNA World Heavyweight Championship. It was the crowning moment for Storm and the culmination of his hard work and dedication to his craft. Unfortunately, he’d only hold that title for 8 days before losing to former friend and tag team partner, Bobby Roode, but that doesn’t take away from him winning what he so strongly deserved.

Now as impressive as Storm’s TNA career was and still is, it could be looked at as a disappointment because of the company’s reluctance to go all-in on him. At the time he won the TNA title he was riding a red hot streak with the TNA fans and it seemed like he was poised for a run as the top baby face in the promotion. But for what ever reason TNA made the decision to take the belt away from him and send him back to the mid-card. It’s a shame, Storm could’ve been a massive star. Good thing for wrestling fans, Storm’s not done yet.

WWE.com

4. Bobby Roode

On January 18th of this year Bobby Roode won the NXT Championship and in doing so captured the greatest victory of his career in defeating the great Shinsuke Nakamura. But long before winning that belt, “The Glorious One” had been accruing titles and distinctions in TNA like it was going out of style. Starting off mostly as a tag team competitor with the aforementioned Storm, Beer Money Inc. won 5 tag titles en route to becoming arguably the best tag team in TNA history.

Unlike Storm, however, switching to singles competition was a breeze for Roode as he immediately won the 2011 Bound For Glory series and about a month later was TNA World Heavyweight Champion having defeated Storm for it with the use of a beer bottle which also signified their end as a team. Roode would go on to hold that title for record long 256 days fighting off challenges from the likes of AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray, Kurt Angle, and Sting. It was a scintillating run that saw him go a staggering 83-17-2 in 2011 (cagematch.net) capping off what was one of the most dominant runs in TNA history.

Roode accomplished everything available in TNA and is now off to bigger and better things, winning the NXT Championship just 7 months after he arrived in the WWE. But make no mistake, it was his TNA resume that put him in prime position for that opportunity and now can take aim at being the best wrestler in the two biggest American wrestling promotions of all time.

WWE.com

3. Samoa Joe

Much like Roode, Samoa Joe parlayed his success in TNA to almost immediate success in NXT. Although “The Samoan Submission Machine” was a guy that probably deserved more accolades in his TNA tenure, he still undoubtedly is one of the best and most successful stars the company has ever seen. Joe’s accomplishments are almost endless. He’s a former 5 time X-Division Champion, 2-time Tag Team Champion, 1-time Television Champion, and 1-time World Heavyweight Champion while also winning 8 different TNA tournaments.

With all this success Joe also established himself in TNA as one of the most hard-hitting, vicious, and physically dominating wrestlers in pro wrestling history. His use of kicks and chops can still be heard to this day echoing throughout the arenas that TNA was televised in. Before coming to TNA, Joe was a a mainstay of Ring of Honor and even carried their world title for a stunning 645 days while also showing the potential for his future. But it was TNA where he got to show this dominance on a world wide scale and for more than a decade ran roughshod over the majority of the roster. His 2005 feud with AJ Styles put TNA on the map as a wrestling power and his early undefeated streak was proof positive that Joe was a legitimate star.

Joe was undoubtedly one of the founder fathers of TNA and helped the company become what they would become from 2005-2010. And his utter destruction of his opposition is the reason why he became the first ever 2-time NXT Champion and currently has him poised for a major run on the main WWE roster.

WWE.com

2. Kurt Angle

Make no mistake about it, when TNA signed Kurt Angle in September 2006 he was immediately seen as the biggest free agent signing in TNA history, and still is. Sure, Sting was a major signing when he came to the brand permanently in 2005 but being well into his 40’s at the time, The Stinger’s best days were behind him. Angle, on the other hand, had just come from the WWE where he was a 6-time World champion and the fifth member of the WWE Grand Slam Championship club. This was a huge deal in the wrestling world and suddenly made TNA very relevant.

Angle came to TNA and immediately made an impact snatching up the very first TNA World Heavyweight Championship after they seceded their titles from the NWA. From there Angle went on to do it all while becoming a legend in TNA. All in all, he won 6 world titles, 2 tag team titles, an X-Division title, and 2 King of the Mountain titles, while partaking in some of the greatest feuds and matches in the company’s history. His wars with AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Desmond Wolfe among many others carried TNA for the better part of 10 years and there is an argument that can be made that he’s the reason the brand lasted as long as it has.

The Olympic Hero was very clearly the shot in the arm TNA needed. Well, any time you bring a guy who’s potentially the best wrestler on the planet you expect big things and Angle delivered in a big way. Angle made the WWE look foolish for giving up on a guy that had plenty left in the tank as he continued to churn out classics well into his 40’s. With Angle’s WWE Hall of Fame coronation on the horizon is there a chance that the WWE will look to get one more masterpiece out of him? If his TNA run is any indication of what he can still do, that would be a sight to see.

WWE.com

1. AJ Styles

Was there really ever a doubt? AJ Styles is, was, and will always be the greatest superstar that TNA has ever seen. At the ripe old age of 24, Styles came to the company with about 4 years of professional wrestling under his belt. He had made a couple of brief appearances in the WWE and the WCW before finally landing with the company that would make him not only TNA’s best of all time but a superstar on a global stage. The Phenomenal One was one of the biggest reasons that TNA could consistently argue that their in-ring talent was some of the best on earth, including better than the WWE.