10 Wrestlers Who Were Jobbers In Both WWE & TNA
Many wrestlers spent time in both WWE and TNA trying to find success in the different landscapes of wrestling. TNA often signed WWE talents that either had name value or connections to people in the company. There was a strong criticism about TNA adding too many wrestlers to the roster and hurting their identity over time.
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WWE would also sign their fair share of former TNA performers when looking to add new talents. The names to find success in both companies feature top stars like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, and Jeff Hardy, but there are quite a few others who went in the opposite direction. Each wrestler selected was a jobber at some point in both WWE and TNA.
10 Kid Kash
The career of Kid Kash peaked in ECW as one of the final rising stars in 2000. Fans loved the matches of the young star and he provided a fun new act for Paul Heyman to push. Unfortunately, Kash never got another chance to shine in a major promotion.
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TNA used Kash on a few occasions in tag team or X-Division runs, but he always ended up in the lower card picture. WWE signed Kash to be part of the Smackdown brand and it once again ended up in an enhancement role after his small pushes flopped.
9 Santana Garrett
Both TNA and WWE tried to improve their women’s division at different points throughout the years. The Knockouts division broke out first with TNA trying to build a credible division. Santana Garrett signed with TNA after gaining some momentum on the indie circuit.
The new name of Brittany saw Garrett peak as the love interest of Samuel Shaw. TNA never pushed her as a wrestler, and she left after losing most of her matches. WWE recently signed Santana to become part of the NXT brand and it has been a rough go there with only matches putting others over.
8 Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards wrestled just about everywhere in his career with short stints going from company to company. WWE signed Richards during the Attitude Era with his peak coming as the leader of the Right to Censor faction.
Richards moved into a jobber role once the faction ended and was used to elevate others. TNA added Richards to their roster years later with the Dr. Stevie faction. Richards took part in a few noteworthy backstage segments but once again lost most matches as a lower card act.
7 Orlando Jordan
WWE once expected Orlando Jordan to have a role in the company for the future when debuting him in the Ruthless Aggression Era. Jordan was pushed as United States Champion and part of JBL’s Cabinet faction, but it just didn’t work out in the long run.
The 25-second title loss to Chris Benoit sent Jordan into a lower role for the rest of his WWE run. Jordan moved to TNA in the Hulk Hogan era to play a sexualized character that missed the mark. TNA eventually made him a lower card act on the secondary shows struggling to get a push.
6 Trinity
The early years of TNA saw Traci Brooks and Trinity as the two main women on the roster. Both ladies primarily worked as managers, but they eventually became a bigger part of the show with mixed tag matches.
Traci was the bigger priority and the more popular performer of the two. This led to Trinity becoming the one putting her over in their matches or segments. WWE signed Trinity for the ECW brand in 2006 and had her losing all her matches at live events with little television time.
5 Sabu
The ECW run of Sabu made him a legendary hardcore wrestler to the fans who loved the promotion. Sabu was one of the bigger ECW stars who never found another home in wrestling due to his unconventional style.
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The multiple TNA stints of Sabu saw him always putting over the pushed wrestlers like Raven, Rhyno, or Rob Van Dam. WWE signing Sabu for the ECW project featured a hot start in relevant programs vs John Cena and Big Show before moving into a lower card role.
4 Mike Knox
WWE saw something special in Mike Knox in developmental and tried to make him a star on the main roster. Knox had a few attempts to get over, but the lack of momentum turned him into an enhancement act.
TNA witnessed the same story when adding Knox first to become part of the Aces and Eights faction before moving into The Menagerie. Neither push amounted to anything and Knox found his way on the losing end of noteworthy matches.
3 Daivari
WWE had a few plans for Daivari that just never worked out like planned. The initial partnership with Muhammad Hassan was working until networks demanded the Hassan character ended. Daivari tried to manage a few other wrestlers before moving into in-ring action himself.
The WWE run of Daivari flopped and he was used as a jobber until his release. TNA tried to push Daivari as a top heel in the X-Division, but his matches were a huge step down from the others in the division. The move into a lower card role once again doomed Daivari’s ceiling in wrestling.
2 Leva Bates
AEW currently uses Leva Bates as The Librarian primarily competing on the secondary showDark. However, the career of Bates has featured many unique twists and turns with appearances for other major promotions.
Leva played the enhancement talent Blue Pants in NXT who got over enough to have a few appearances. TNA used Bates on a few occasions throughout the years with most appearances putting over others. AEW is the place where Leva seems at home as both an on-air character and backstage employee.
1 Lance Archer
Another AEW success story to miss the mark in both WWE and TNA featured Lance Archer becoming underrated. TNA had Archer on the roster as Lance Hoyt with fans loving him enough to make their own HoytMania merch at one point.
The push never followed suit as Archer eventually moved into the comedic Rock n Rave Infection tag team with Jimmy Rave putting over others. WWE signed him under the name Vance Archer and also made him a lower card act on the ECW brand. NJPW was the place where Archer finally broke out before landing his AEW contract.
