10 Fatal Mistakes That Destroyed The TNA Brand
5. Claire Lynch
One TNA's last stabs at dramatic episodic television literally screeched to a halt when a potential romantic liaison between AJ Styles and Dixie Carter was revealed to be nothing more than a bond over a drug-addled mutual friend.
That friend was Claire Lynch, a name with all the downtrodden gravitas of Katie Vick, albeit with a touch less necrophilia.
AJ's rivals Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian had spent weeks torturing the 'Phenomenal One' over the dark secret he shared with Dixie, before Styles and Carter could reveal the truth of their union.
It was a confusing and mildly disappointing payoff considering the illicit romance originally promised, but it got far, far worse when Kaz and Daniels revealed that Styles was the Father of Lynch's unborn child.
As it turned out, the crack-addicted crackpot was in cahoots with the villains, pushing AJ to admit he was her child's father despite Styles' impassioned pleas to the contrary. This set up an utterly absurd contest between the future WWE Champion and Daniels, with the stipulation being that if AJ lost, he would simply accept responsibility of the baby!
Thankfully he won, leading to a lawyer called Grace Stein revealing on behalf of Lynch that Daniels and Kaz had paid her to make the whole thing up.
As it turned out, actress Julia Reilly was hounded with abuse over both the character and the storyline, and felt it may tarnish her future career. It made her the smartest person in the entire sordid tale.