10 Wrestlers That Can't Exist In Real Life

5. Abyss

Kane Becky Lynch
ImpactWrestling

Man-behind-the-mask Chris Parks found the perfect way for Abyss to exist amongst regular humans when he portrayed Joseph Parks - the mild-mannered cousin of 'The Monster'.

It clung together enough to make sense in TNA storylines, but the same couldn't be said for Abyss' skin. Routinely ripped open by increasingly daft stipulations, the flesh torn up by barbed wire, thumbtacks and broken glass over the years left the current WWE agent in need of one horrifying spot per-big match to stay over. As the novelty of that wore off, so too did his star aura as the company tried and ultimately failed to expand beyond itself in the mid-2000s.

"Clean cut" might have been used to describe an element of Abyss, but not quite in the context required. The gimmick or Parks outside of it could never be the homegrown ambassador TNA (and allegedly Hulk Hogan, who loved the gimmick) needed. Not least with its psycopathic origins feeling confined to pro wrestling's past.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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