10 Times TNA Went Way Too Far
10. Abyss Straight Up Murders Rob Van Dam
While the odd foreign object has long been a staple of the wrestling finish, theyre supposed to be used sparingly and creatively. That, at least, is the old school approach, that values the psychology of setting aside blood and mayhem for when it will make the most impact. Well call that viewpoint the Cornette, versus the Zandig: the belief that a minute that goes by without hardway blood or a weapons shot is a minute wasted. TNA mainstay Abyss, a kind of ersatz Mankind/Kane hybrid, has his own ridiculously dangerous personalised weapon to match Mick Foleys Barbie in this case, a massive board covered in nails called Janice. He also wielded his own branding iron, which hed nicknamed Bob. TNAs incessant plagiarism aside for the moment, Janice was clearly a ridiculous idea. What audience could buy the idea that a horrifying weapon like that would be used in a wrestling ring? Barbed wire and thumbtacks are one thing, but Janice could break a boys heart. On August 12th 2010, thats pretty much what happened: after a brawl to close that special episode of Impact Wrestling, Abyss would drag professional Tigger impersonator Rob Van Dam backstage with him and when the camera cut to them moments later, Van Dam was lying prone with the monster heel standing over him cradling Janice in his meaty paws. With more than a little fake claret liberally splashed all over him, Van Dam looked like hed lost an argument with a lawnmower.
An obvious excuse to remove Van Dam from TNA programming for a little while, the angle was still fairly grotesque the implication that Abyss had finally snapped and actually maimed someone with a weapon torn from the closing minutes of a slasher flick was all kinds of wrong. Shouldnt he be, you know arrested? Shouldnt Janice and her hulking boytoy be on trial for attempted murder? Incidentally, Bob and Janice are the names of Dixie Carter's parents, who run Panda Energy International and are the real owners of TNA, which takes all kinds of wrong and adds a healthy side order of completely inappropriate, to go.