Impact Wrestling has been a major wrestling promotion in the United States since its debut back in 2002 with Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett behind at the helm. Throughout all the good and bad that Impact Wrestling has put up with, some of the talent that has been introduced either just were some very odd picks or weren't brought in via the best method and storyline.
The debuts of these characters just left many fans with questions that weren't answered or plain confusion. A few names also just didn't make sense as to why Impact Wrestling decided they needed to be hired in the first place. Let's look at a few of the most confusing Impact Wrestling character debuts of all time.
10 Courtney Rush
The arrival of Courtney Rush isn't bad per se, just a very convoluted storyline that has been going on for many years at this point. Rosemary debuted in Impact Wrestling in 2016 alongside the faction Decay, over the years Rosemary would capture the Impact Knockouts Championship and the Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
During a recent feud between The Coven and The Death Dollz, Rosemary would disappear from television and the character Courtney Rush would make their appearance. Courtney was the character that Rosemary portrayed when working with Shimmer and NCW prior to signing with Impact.
9 Matt Hardy
2009 saw Matt Hardy be released from the WWE after he made a string of YouTube videos expressing his feelings toward the promotion and how he wanted out. Impact Wrestling swooped in during a low point in Matt's life and career deciding to give him a contract.
He debuted by helping his brother's faction Immortal try and keep the Impact World Title away from the recently debuted Rob Van Dam, to no success. His work was nothing special at the time, and he was quickly released due to issues in his personal life. Hardy's 2014 return has caused many fans to forget this short run.
8 Val Venis
Former Intercontinental Champion Val Venis made his debut with Impact Wrestling in 2010, a year after being released from the WWE. His tenure with Impact would only last a couple of months before he left due to Impact moving to Monday nights, conflicting with his schedule with CMLL.
The decision to bring Venis into the promotion, after a lackluster last few years with WWE was odd and didn't have many fans begging for Venis to be on their television. His biggest match during this run was a PPV outing against Christopher Daniels at the 2010 Genesis event.
7 Bobby Fish
Bobby Fish at one point was a massive name in tag team wrestling stemming from his work in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Noah, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. His work in WWE's NXT alongside The Undisputed Era cemented him as a made man in the industry thus granting him chances with All Elite Wrestling after his WWE departure.
Fish would not get his AEW contract renewed after some problems backstage and online with fellow wrestlers and instead would find work with Impact Wrestling. Many fans were skeptical as they knew what was happening with him and didn't care to see him on any show. His run with Impact didn't last long but did create one of Impact's most awkward moments.
6 Aron Rex
Aron Rex, F.K.A. Damien Sandow in the WWE, left the promotion in 2016 and found his way to Impact Wrestling that same year. The initial debut went over okay and started getting a few big wins and even the Impact Grand Championship.
It would be his return after a short break from the company that left many fans wondering what was going on. He showed up obviously inspired by performer Liberace, with fur coats, naked colored trunks, and Rockstar Spud as his manager adorned with goofy costumes.
5 The Menagerie
After the disbanding of the Aces & Eights faction, Knux was left with not much else to do, so Impact Wrestling gave him a carnival gimmick with a story about his hometown and father's carnival being flooded. Knux created the faction alongside members Rebel, Crazzy Steve, and The Freak.
The group wouldn't find much success other than Rebel becoming a large name due to her popularity with the crowd. The faction lasted until Knux left Impact Wrestling in 2015 leaving the group to disband almost exactly a year after arriving.
4 The Nasty Boys
2010 was a rough year for Impact Wrestling as it saw Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan join the creative team, thus granting many of Hogan's close friends work in the promotion. One of these names would be The Nasty Boys who arrived by trashing Team 3D's locker room and starting a feud with the duo.
Almost no one was asking for The Nasty Boys of all people to return to a major promotion and their run resulted in some of Impact's worst matches. They were fired shortly after arriving due to a backstage incident while Spike TV executives were around.
3 Ric Flair
Ric Flair had his amazing farewell from wrestling after losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, however, that wasn't enough for the Nature Boy, and he went off to Impact Wrestling just a year after in 2010. It did start as a manager role alongside Desmond Wolfe and Beer Money but quickly evolved into in-ring action once again.
Flair was another name that was brought in by Hogan and Bischoff and his tenure led to some terrible ideas like the Fortune faction, turning AJ Styles heel, and a feud against Mick Foley.
2 Black Reign
Dustin Rhodes had a short but okay run with Impact Wrestling in 2004 where he mostly worked against Jeff Jarrett and Bobby Roode before leaving the promotion. Upon his return in 2007, the seeds were starting to be planted for the reveal of his new face-painted character, Black Reign.
His first match as the character resulted in a DQ after he attacked multiple referees. If the debut had any promise, that was quickly flushed down the drain when he started working a story with Abyss, Father Mitchell, and his new partner Rellik (which is Killer spelled backward). The gimmick died quickly, and Dustin Rhodes has famously blocked anyone online for mentioning the character to him.
1 Rikishi
After a few years away from a major promotion, Rikishi started working with Impact Wrestling under the name Junior Fatu. His debut was treated as a big deal despite Rikishi never making it far past the mid-card scene in WWE.
Fatu worked only a handful of matches including an awful Fight for the Right Reverse Battle Royal before departing from Impact. Both parties couldn't settle on a deal thus prompting Rikishi to leave and return to the Independents.
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