10 Most Controversial Wrestling People Of 2018

As Austin Aries and Johnny Impact prepared to collide at Bound for Glory, the pair's beef migrated to social media.

The barbs flying across Twitter were anything but typical in-character banalities, the two seemingly veering off script with a series of increasingly personal jibes. Taking umbrage at a dig at his height, Aries slipped on one of his banana's skins, dissing homosexuality as part of his metatextuality by referencing Impact's "gay look". He then took aim at his opponent's wife, mocking her "husky" physique.

Though Aries had clearly went a bit overboard, his outrageous comments were all apparently part of the plan to blur the boundaries between reality and fiction. Come the show, that boundary was well and truly crossed.

Immediately after dropping Impact's World Championship, Aries sprang back to his feet before showing the bird to everybody in attendance. Had artificial tensions became legitimately strained - or was this a sign the convoluted worked shoot had went down the destructive path of the dark Russo days?

Aries' departure from the company in the aftermath gave weight to the former argument, but it's impossible to escape the feeling it's all part of the illusion. Whatever the case, many felt his aftershow behaviour, and in particular, his offensive Twitter comments, had went beyond what was necessary or appropriate for the elaborate hoax.