10 Shockingly Short Runs for WWE Stars in TNA
Randy Savage
10. Vader
Vader arrived in TNA in February 2003, more than four years after his final WWE appearance. His debut saw him unexpectedly rush in to save Dusty Rhodes from the Harris twins during a brawl. The following week, the 450-pounder teamed with Rhodes to defeat the Harrises by disqualification. TNA teased a potential rivalry between Vader and Nikita Koloff, but it never materialized. Vader exited the company immediately after these appearances, making the angle feel unfinished. He later made a completely random, one-off appearance for TNA in 2015, more than a decade after his original run ended.
9. Paul Bearer (Percy Pringle III)
Paul Bearer appeared in TNA in late 2002 under his real name, Percy Pringle III. His introduction was mysterious: he silently stood on the entrance stage at the end of a broadcast, nodding ominously as though he were secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes. That cliffhanger was never followed up. Bearer later conducted a sit-down interview with Mike Tenay and participated in a disjointed in-ring segment alongside Tony Schiavone, neither of which led anywhere meaningful. Soon after, he quietly disappeared from TNA altogether, with no explanation or payoff.
8. Test (Andrew “Punisher” Martin)
After his WWE release earlier in 2007, Test joined TNA during the summer under the name Andrew “Punisher” Martin. He was repackaged as a vengeful, no-nonsense character with a shaved hairstyle reminiscent of Eminem. Rather than easing him in, TNA immediately placed Martin into a high-profile Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, where he teamed with Sting and Abyss against AJ Styles, Tomko, and Christian Cage. His team won the match, making his debut appear successful on paper. Despite that, reports later indicated Martin was sent home immediately after the pay-per-view due to backstage issues and not fitting in. His entire TNA tenure consisted of one arrival, one featured match, and a sudden exit.
7. Midian
Midian’s lone involvement with TNA occurred at the Destination X pay-per-view in March 2005. During a bizarre match between Monty Brown and the “alien” character Triton, Triton performed a strange switch with a hooded man wearing a jumpsuit who had a completely different body type. Brown pinned this mystery man instead of Triton, and the referee counted it as a legitimate victory. Afterward, the hooded figure was revealed—without explanation—to be former WWE wrestler Midian. He was never formally identified on-screen, never acknowledged again, and never appeared for TNA after that single, inexplicable moment.
6. Viscera (Nelson Knight)
Viscera appeared for TNA in early 2003 under the name Nelson Knight. During a chaotic in-ring brawl, Knight slowly made his way to the ring to assist Ron “The Truth” Killings. He helped clear the ring, capped off by planting Christopher Daniels with a two-handed choke bomb. Knight then signaled an alliance with Killings, suggesting a new pairing had been formed. That appearance turned out to be his only one. Nelson Knight was removed from TNA’s plans almost immediately for unclear reasons. Killings later formed 3 Live Crew, while Viscera returned to WWE the following year.
5. Justin Gabriel (PJ Black)
Justin Gabriel appeared in TNA in July 2015 under the name PJ Black after leaving WWE earlier that year and signing with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. His involvement came during the much-criticized invasion storyline between GFW and TNA. Black wrestled at several TNA tapings, unsuccessfully challenging EC3 for the TNA World Championship. He did, however, win the vacant King of the Mountain Championship in a five-way ladder match. His reign technically lasted just one day, as he lost the title to Robert Roode at the next taping. Due to TNA’s taping schedule, those title changes aired weeks apart, by which point Black had already left the company. He moved on to a heavier independent schedule and signed with Lucha Underground.
4. Lex Luger
Lex Luger joined TNA in autumn 2003, teaming with Sting in a tag match against Jeff Jarrett. His arrival was controversial, as his name had been linked earlier that year to negative headlines involving drug possession charges and the death of Miss Elizabeth. In the match itself, Luger delivered a noticeably lazy performance, spending much of the bout strutting and posturing while AJ Styles worked to sell his limited offense. Luger ultimately took the pinfall. He never wrestled for TNA again after that match, though he did make a single non-wrestling appearance the following year when he attacked Styles.
3. The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk)
The Road Warriors arrived in TNA toward the end of 2002 as the company battled Vince Russo’s Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction. Their debut received a strong, nostalgic crowd reaction, and they immediately laid out the heels, including hitting Slash with their signature Doomsday Device. Despite the big introduction, Animal and Hawk wrestled only one match in TNA. That bout took place about a month later, with the Road Warriors teaming alongside Jeff Jarrett and Dusty Rhodes against Russo, Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, and Low Ki. The babyfaces lost, and the Road Warriors disappeared from TNA television immediately afterward. Hawk passed away tragically in 2003.
2. Chyna
Chyna appeared in TNA in 2011, years after her WWE exit and following a brief run in New Japan Pro Wrestling. She was brought in by Kurt Angle as a counterbalance in his feud with Jeff and Karen Jarrett. At the Sacrifice pay-per-view, Angle and Chyna teamed together against the Jarretts. The match served as a special attraction, culminating in Chyna forcing Karen Jarrett to submit. The bout was well received and marked Chyna’s final match in professional wrestling, making her TNA appearance both brief and historically significant.
1. Macho Man Randy Savage
Randy Savage made his lone TNA run in late 2004, debuting around the company’s first three-hour Sunday pay-per-view, Victory Road. His signing was intended to be a massive statement, but issues arose almost immediately. Savage briefly walked out on the promotion after a backstage altercation with Hulk Hogan. He was eventually convinced to return, though his in-ring involvement was kept minimal. At Turning Point, Savage teamed with AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy in a six-man tag match, defeating Jeff Jarrett and the Outsiders. Savage scored the pinfall on Jarrett, earning an NWA World Title shot scheduled for Final Resolution. Days before the match, Savage abruptly retired from wrestling, reportedly due to physical decline. His TNA run ended as suddenly as it began, closing the final chapter of his in-ring.
