13 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Zach Gowen

3. Why His 2005 TNA Comeback Was Short-Lived

Post-WWE, TNA brought Zach in for a handful of matches between May-June 2005. The reactions were strong from crowds, but then Gowen’s personal demons and partying ways ruined everything yet again. He immediately went to the bar for drinks after a celebrated match, popped some pills and heard about a party Jeff Jarrett was throwing in his private suite.

So, on the hunt for some action, Zach marched in there and pulled Jeff aside to ask where he could score some cocaine. That didn’t go down well at all, and the prospective contract he had on the table from TNA was promptly flushed down the toilet. Summing it up, Gowen said: “I’m always one step forwards and two steps back at this point”.

He couldn't get out of his own way.

WWE dreams had been wrecked by his behaviour (and admittedly a lot of resentment towards him behind the curtain), and now he was torching a TNA tryout by literally asking the guy running the company for drugs like they'd been party buddies for years. It wasn't a great first impression, and Jarrett figured the promotion didn't need someone who was going to cause more headaches for everyone.

Here's the thing: TNA fans and management behind the scenes wanted to use Gowen in 2005. He was turning heads for the right reasons inside the ring, and everyone agreed that he was super-talented, but he was knee-deep in some serious substance abuse issues that he didn't have any plans to change.

It was toxic from the off, so TNA backed out.