10 Times Impact Wrestling Went Too Far
5. Lynched
An uncharacteristically vague TNA attempt at dramatic episodic television literally screeched to a halt when the drug-addled Claire Lynch was revealed to be the real motivation behind what many assumed had been ongoing romantic liaisons between AJ Styles and TNA boss Dixie Carter.
Does that sound like a lot? Too much, even, for what eventually had to be filed down to a wrestling match? There was more to come.
In 2012, 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. The crack-addicted crackpot pushed AJ to admit the baby was his despite Styles' impassioned pleas to the contrary.
Only in TNA could the best wrestler in the world find himself competing to avoid accepting the responsibility of fraudulent fatherhood. When he inevitably won to shake the story off, a lawyer called Grace Stein revealed on behalf of Lynch that Daniels and Kaz had paid her to make the whole thing up and the angle was binned.
It transpired that Universal Studios (yes, they literally just took a few steps out of the Impact Zone to find their lead) actress Julia Reilly was hounded with abuse over both the character and the storyline, and felt it may tarnish her future career. She was the only sane person in the entire sordid tale.