10 Best 'Meet The REAL Villain' Moments In Wrestling History

5. THEY'RE Here

Shawn Michaels It's Him
ImpactWrestling.com

If the tragic demise of Triple H's NXT told us one thing, it was that Vince McMahon does not give a single f*ck who you are when it comes to bringing defeat upon his door. If it told us two, it was also that buzz counts for an awful lot.

Though neither tangible nor completely measurable, there was almost never a point during the Wednesday Night Wars where the former black and gold brand generated as much discussion, interest or debate as AEW Dynamite. And when it did, it was so apparent that it stuck out like the rule-proving exception it was.

This was, tragically, very often the case with TNA. The promotion had an unreal line in self-sabotage, often getting audiences on the hook for something that invarably couldn't possibly deliver on expectations and/or couldn't be sustained beyond one big moment.

Enter "They".

"They" were a mysterious group babyface Abyss kept prattling on about, and they were going to change everything at the pivotal Bound For Glory 2010 on 10.10.10. Even Abyss' mate and TNA power player Hulk Hogan didn't know what he was on about. Or did he?

Yes, obviously he did.

The crew revealed themselves to elevate Jeff Hardy to the top spot in the company via nefarious means. Warring authority figures Hogan and Eric Bischoff were together, Jeff Jarrett was back at the top table, and Abyss was the trusted psychopath enforcer all along. The planted fan got the f*cking spelling wrong on the sign for the vanity shot, but the payoff sure was neat.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett