Abyss & The Ring: Should it Have Been Someone Else?

[Dagger Dias]

Many of us remember the very odd angle of Abyss being awarded Hogan’s Hall of Fame ring which (kayfabe) gave him “super powers” to become stronger in the ring. It was disliked by many and the idea of the angle completely backfired. What if they had picked someone else instead of Abyss? They should have picked someone who would have been worthy of coming out to Hogan’s old WCW song and earning the power of “hulking up” in the ring. I remember reading an article around that time somewhere that Hogan had said in an interview that Abyss would be “the next John Cena”…. Yeah…. THAT never happened…. I have no idea why they picked Abyss for this storyline. He’s better used as a monster and the role he found himself in with his weapon he named Janice. Although it was a weird storyline, it could have worked better if they used the right guy.


So my questions for you are these….


1. Would this angle have worked better if they used someone else instead of Abyss? Why or why not?

2. Is there anyone in TNA who you would have liked to see them use the way Abyss was used in this angle? Granted it was a very silly angle that might be ridiculed forever, but there had to have been someone on the roster who would have fit it more.


I personally think it could have worked if they had just used someone else. There are a ton of guys on the roster who could have earned a face push towards the top of the card through this angle and nearly anybody would have been a better fit for it than Abyss because Abyss had already found what he was good at, a hardcore monster character. He did not need the push or this angle. Someone like Eric Young could have been better, especially if it was his character from the Prince Justice Brotherhood, that would have been a silly enough fit for the angle. Goodness, ANYTHING would be better for him than his tag team with Orlando. I hated that from day one.

This is NOT a hate-thread for the angle. I don't care if you liked it or not, I want to know who might have been a better candidate than Abyss and why or why not. Please don't spam.

Alright, now let's hear from the rest of you.

 

[Iversen]

To be honest no haha. I just hated that angle from the beginning. Everything about it from the idea of the ring giving Abyss 'super powers' to the fact it was a WWE hall of fame ring was just awful!

If it was a comedy angle along the vein of Eric Young like he currently is with the old world championship yea alright I wouldn't have paid much attention to it but he could have done something like steal Hulks ring and then pretend it gave him super powers. But as a main storyline on supposedly the second best wrestling company no. Never again please.

 

[The CRA1GER]

Personally, no matter who they ran the angle with it should never have happened. The stroryline was based around the WWE HOF ring.

 

[UFOcalling]

Those are some good points that you raise here. To be honest with you though, I don't really see that angle working for anyone else at the time. When Hogan & Bischoff first came to TNA, Abyss' character was still kind of a lunatic, but more of a "lovable" character...or maybe a character that TNA was trying to get the audience to sympathize with.

I can't remember specifically, but wasn't Abyss wearing the Mick Foley flannel shirt before he put the Hogan HoF ring on? I remember during the time that the angle was actually happening, a lot of people crapped on the idea. I was one of them at the time, I thought Hogan was just living vicariously through Abyss...you know, putting his "American Hero" character on another wrestler, since he couldn't lace up his boots and wrestle like he used to.

Given the way that the entire angle played out, I think it worked out pretty well. It got Abyss' character back to being a "monster" (at least more so than he was), and it seemed like one of the only angles TNA actually had a long-term goal for (at least at the time).

The only other wrestler I could see this angle working for, would have been Jay Lethal. He was stuck in the Black Machismo gimmick, but I don't think the angle with giving him the ring would have worked for him. He would have just gone from playing Macho Man to playing the Hulkster. His program with Flair was better for him at the time, even if it didn't really amount to anything in the end.

I can't remember who came up with this idea, but it was someone in the WZ forums...they said they thought it would have been funny if Abyss would have got Flair's HoF ring as well, then start acting like a combination of Flair AND Hogan. That would have been priceless to see played out, could have made for some hilarious TV. I wish I could remember who I first saw say that on these forums, because that was a really funny idea.

btw: I thought the rings weren't the WWE HoF rings, rather rings from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, or the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame or whatever.

 

[neildittmar]

1. Would this angle have worked better if they used someone else instead of Abyss? Why or why not?

As it was? Absolutely not! The idea of the hall of fame ring recipient being granted super powers upon receipt was silly at best, especially for a company that promotes edgier storylines and characters. It would've been almost as ridiculous if PG-era WWE had done it, even though there it might've been a little more acceptable.

With some tweaks and not so much over the top theatrics, it might've worked or at the very least, came off better than it did. To elaborate, Hogan picking someone on the roster as his "golden boy" (whether heel or face) wasn't a bad idea in theory. Nearly anybody on the roster could have benefited from the Hulk Hogan rub. The angle then could have proceeded with Hogan giving said individual possession of his Hall of Fame ring... not that it would've granted that person super powers, but as a show of confidence... "I believe in you so much that I want to give you one of my most prized possessions." Kind of like when Rocky gave Tommy Gunn his trunks to wear in Rocky V.

Is there anyone in TNA who you would have liked to see them use the way Abyss was used in this angle? Granted it was a very silly angle that might be ridiculed forever, but there had to have been someone on the roster who would have fit it more.

Again... as-was? No. The angle served to hurt Abyss more than it helped him and furthermore, polluted the notion of Hogan's "chosen" wrestler going forward. I imagine the same scenario would've played out regardless of who specifically was chosen.

Done a little more subtley or more realistic as I described above, I think Jay Lethal may have been a good pick. AJ also could've used the rub to make him that much better as well, especially if the design was for him to be the top face in the company. AJ was already firmly entrenched with Flair though. If the idea was to break up Beer Money and push Robert Rood as a solo competitor, he could have used the Hogan push as well, but not right away.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The angle could have been done realistically. Maybe TNA could have shown Hogan specifically training a wrestler whom he thought had potential but whose career was down in the dumps. The ring stuff was silly and is right up there with " The Dungeon of Doom" stuff that the WCW booked in the mid 90's.

But coming back to the OP, I think that almost any wrestler would have been a better fit to the angle than Abyss. Abyss looks like a demented monster, not someone whom the fans would want to kiss their babies or shake hands with their kids. In short Abyss is not a role model. Why would anyone want to be like Abyss? I would have ideally chosen Matt Morgan for the role. He has a similar look to Hogan, decent charisma and decent in ring skills too. He is someone who could be portrayed as a superhero, not Abyss who looks like a supervillian to be honest.

 

[BritishLion]

The angle was crap and Abyss should only really ever be a monster. The angle wouldn't have worked with anyone as it was too unbelievable. Instead, Hogan should've just managed someone or given them support. This could have worked with Kazarian or Jay Lethal.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

IMO, no, it doesn't really matter who the ring goes to — whoever inherits it and that gimmick would still be living out the next few months of their TNA wrestling career as a 2.0 version of Hogan, emulating all his mannerisms, nuances, moves and even coming to the ring to his old music. Frankly, it was a failed concept that probably sounded good on paper but just never really made much sense applied this late in the career of Hogan or in TNA.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Well, I guess if you changed enough the angle could work, but any angle could work if you went back and tweaked enough. Hell if the Katy Vick angle was between Goldust and Val Venis even it probably would have worked. But there are a few things TNA could have done....

Change the Beneficiary
I personally loathe Hogan, but I can give the devil his due. He's the grandfather of modern wrestling, and the business probably wouldn't be the same without him. That being said, one thing that Hogan (and Bischoff) lacks is an eye for talent. Neither one of them would know talent if it gave them a Stone Cold Stunner and slapped them in the Walls of Jericho. Abyss is not a star, in any sense of the word. I can understand Hogan wanting to go with a bigger guy and I think Matt Morgan would have been great for the role.

Change the Purpose of The Ring
It was bad enough when Abyss was being pushed but when he went from being whiny and borderline ******ed to suddenly turning into a superhero I affectionately refer to as The Fat Lantern, it just got ridiculous. There is no reason that in TNA, a WWE (and yes, it was a WWE) HoF Ring should be this Holy Grail like item. It should have been used purely symbolically. Nothing more than Hogan passing the torch.

Make it less about Hogan
There are many ways to create a star, but turning a promising guy into a Hogan clone is not the way to do it. Let the guy get the vote of confidence from Hogan, but don't turn him into Hogan. No red and yellow attire, no old WCW music, no hulking up. This factor made it not so much pushing a guy or making him into a top star, as much as it was a way that Hogan could hang onto the spotlight without having to actively wrestle.

 

[Savokk]

Love the idea of Hogan taking someone in to be his number one. Would have chosen someone other than abyss though. Styles went with flair so hogan should have taken Jeff Hardy(make him stop the drugs). I think the rings should have been left out of it. It belittled TNA. They were meant to promote this company yet all that did was keep the wwe above them.

 

[ABMorales787]

The original idea was Samoa Joe. Imagine him Hulking Up.

Oh dear...

Simply put, Abyss was the ONLY choice. Why? Who else was eccentric enough to Hulk Up? Who else was monster enough to make the no-selling seem legit? Who else was in desperate need of a character overhaul? Well? Samoa Joe, actually. But that God they scrapped it.

People misread the ring's purpose. Abyss was an insecure klutz before Hulk came to him. He was antagonized by Eric Bischoff and was threatened to be fired. When Hulk pep talked him, the ring became a symbol of Hulk's trust. Maybe Abyss did wrong in constantly looking at the thing in suspense at his own damage, but "super powers"? He was already a destructive freak. He simply remembered.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

If you're speaking strictly in terms of Hulk Hogan putting someone over as his protege (not involving super powered rings or any other such nonsense), than I think a better choice would have been Hernandez. Better, not good. If someone had to do it, I'd rather it have been Hernandez.

First of all, It would have to be a big guy; nobody is going to buy Hulk Hogan mentoring a smaller wrestler (and more importantly, I doubt Hogan would do it). And it couldn't be a relative newcomer that the TNA audience would shit all over (which excludes Rob Terry). And of TNA's remaining young big wrestlers at the time, which I believe were Morgan, Hernandez, and Abyss, I think that Hernandez could have benefited the most from such an opportunity. Morgan doesn't need Hogan to get over, and has too strong an identity for anyone to buy him milking Hogans old gimmick. Plus, I just can't see anyone buying Matt Morgan 'hulking up'. Not even Matt Morgan. Abyss is best used as a monster; he simply can't be a kid friendly super face. Hernandez on the other hand has a fairly Hulk-like style and skillset: he's big and strong and built and that's about it. Obviously, Hogan has been able to leverage that into a very successful career, so it's within the realm of possibility that he could teach Hernandez to do the same. Additionally, Hernandez was just over enough with the Impact Zone crowd to be accepted as competition for AJ Styles, so giving him a temporary push to the main event wouldn't have been a total loss. Of course, I'm not even sure if Hernandez was present at the time, but this is all hypothetical anyways.

However, if you took away some of the gimmick copying aspects of the angle, I think Morgan would have been the better choice. He's all around more talented than Hernandez and Abyss, and if someone was just going to be the muscle for Hulk Hogan without having to 'hulk up' and say "brother", than Morgan would have been able to run with that.

 

[TheBWO]

I certainly hope that when ANYONE does anything in TNA, and they see the script, idea, picture drawn in the dirt--whatever--that they have an empty Impact Zone, and they try it out there first before doing it in front of people. Like someone said...on paper...it may have sounded like the theory of relativity, but when executed, it all got shot to shit.

First off--a ring? seriously? a piece of jewelry that can be lost very easily. It wasn't gold medals (which yes, can be lost too--I got that), which played a significant part in someones life---many years of training, against nations of the world, etc, nor was it an actual title belt. When the storyline is recycled of someone stealing a title belt...at the very least, it's believable. The belt doesn't give "super powers" (lord....), but it's usually chased by someone who feels is deserving of the belt, or title shot, etc. The medals---gold medals at that---who wouldn't want that??? Representing USA in the Olympics. Yes, I'm tired of hearing Angle being announced as the only gold medalist (and I really do like him), but it's certainly something to be proud of for the rest of your life. Now...with one little simple ring that su-POSSEDLY turns anyone into the Hulk or have hulk-like mannerisms or features (sounds like a rip off of Underdog really if you think about it....Shoeshine Boy looked for his ring all the time because it had a secret pill in it. Hell, I think that would have been even more believable...make the pill vicodin or something...something to dull the pain that the opponent will inflict). I'm NOT bashing TNA....just this silly angle. I don't think anyone would have been worthy because it should have never been brought to fruition. It's almost like saying that someone stole HBK's watch that Natch gave him for his last match a few years ago, --it could be plausible if the TNA head writers got wind of it.

I just want---action...it's in TNA's name...tired of broken promises, tired of them "changing the face of wrestling" when it seems all they change is their drawers, --I just want someone who has an INKLING of putting asses in seats, somewhat--SOMEWHAT believable angles, and killer promos. Now...is that too much to ask??

 

[Tors Hall Rule]

I certainly hope that when ANYONE does anything in TNA, and they see the script, idea, picture drawn in the dirt--whatever--that they have an empty Impact Zone, and they try it out there first before doing it in front of people. Like someone said...on paper...it may have sounded like the theory of relativity, but when executed, it all got shot to shit.

First off--a ring? seriously? a piece of jewelry that can be lost very easily. It wasn't gold medals (which yes, can be lost too--I got that), which played a significant part in someones life---many years of training, against nations of the world, etc, nor was it an actual title belt. When the storyline is recycled of someone stealing a title belt...at the very least, it's believable. The belt doesn't give "super powers" (lord....), but it's usually chased by someone who feels is deserving of the belt, or title shot, etc. The medals---gold medals at that---who wouldn't want that??? Representing USA in the Olympics. Yes, I'm tired of hearing Angle being announced as the only gold medalist (and I really do like him), but it's certainly something to be proud of for the rest of your life. Now...with one little simple ring that su-POSSEDLY turns anyone into the Hulk or have hulk-like mannerisms or features (sounds like a rip off of Underdog really if you think about it....Shoeshine Boy looked for his ring all the time because it had a secret pill in it. Hell, I think that would have been even more believable...make the pill vicodin or something...something to dull the pain that the opponent will inflict). I'm NOT bashing TNA....just this silly angle. I don't think anyone would have been worthy because it should have never been brought to fruition. It's almost like saying that someone stole HBK's watch that Natch gave him for his last match a few years ago, --it could be plausible if the TNA head writers got wind of it.

I just want---action...it's in TNA's name...tired of broken promises, tired of them "changing the face of wrestling" when it seems all they change is their drawers, --I just want someone who has an INKLING of putting asses in seats, somewhat--SOMEWHAT believable angles, and killer promos. Now...is that too much to ask??

You could have summarized it in one line you know

"I hate TNA and this angle was complete SHIT"..

There you go!!

Anyways I guess many of the above posters have already pointed out the fact that
1) RING giving SUPER POWER was idiotic at best and shouldn't have been done.
2) If it was going to be done in any case, turn it into complete comedy with some one like EY or Jay Lethal, though I dont think HUlk Hogan would think these wrestlers to be in his league.

In any case, mentoring is one thing that can be accepted, but SUPER POWERS

 

[MarkoMan]

Saying that said ring gave the user "super powers" was dumb. That particular part of the angle definitely needed to be re-worked. Definitely should have been much, much more about the psychological effects of Hogan sponsoring Abyss as the future of the company or something like that. Overall, the ring angle could have worked on many TNA bred wrestlers.

But I think that everyone is forgetting/ignoring/not buying that Abyss was also a crucial part in the "They" angle. Considering the nature of Abyss's character in general, I feel like he was definitely a good choice for the two angles combined.

 

[DethMetal]

I remember reading an article around that time somewhere that Hogan had said in an interview that Abyss would be “the next John Cena”…. Yeah…. THAT never happened….

Was Hogan intoxicated??

Would this angle have worked better if they used someone else instead of Abyss? Why or why not?

This was mainly a failed attempt at comedy. Therefore, it's right up Eric Young's alley. I think this angle could've with his character and mannerisms might have been OK. Let's be honest here though, it doesn't matter who ya picked, the angle sucked. Gaining power from a ring? I know WWE does something somewhat similar with Taker and the urn. Abyss and the ring looked good on paper, but sucked; The urn looked somewhat goofy, but worked wonders. I say somewhat because Taker has the gimmick for it. Deadman, Undertaker, urn, perfect connection. Abyss and the ring had no relation whatsoever and I think that's why it sucked so badly. Hogan just randomly says, "Abyss, ya got the power Jack. Wear my WWE Hall of Fame ring!!" Really??

 

[ABMorales787]

Was Hogan intoxicated??

No. They shared a degree of similarities. Both men were billed as ultra-american babyfaces, both have limited offense, both are booked to overcome anything, both were booked to perform improbable feats of strength. He never lied. He obviously was trying to make a rib out of it as well.

This was mainly a failed attempt at comedy. Therefore, it's right up Eric Young's alley.

Wonder what you misread more. Eric Young or the angle? It was the start of the Immortal angle. Without Abyss becoming Hogan's prodigy, he would've never been the 10/10/10 prophet. Not to mention that it was to fill the gap to find a suitable champion after AJ's reign ended.

I think this angle could've with his character and mannerisms might have been OK. Let's be honest here though, it doesn't matter who ya picked, the angle sucked. Gaining power from a ring?

No, genius. The ring was a gift from Hogan who have Abyss his trust which is what motivated Abyss. The ring reminded him of it. Like a lucky coin and it granting good luck. Jay Lethal didn't become almighty when he took Ric Flair's. he just decided to imitate him before dropping the Black Machismo gimmick. People love

I know WWE does something somewhat similar with Taker and the urn. Abyss and the ring looked good on paper, but sucked; The urn looked somewhat goofy, but worked wonders. I say somewhat because Taker has the gimmick for it. Deadman, Undertaker, urn, perfect connection. Abyss and the ring had no relation whatsoever and I think that's why it sucked so badly. Hogan just randomly says, "Abyss, ya got the power Jack. Wear my WWE Hall of Fame ring!!" Really??

People fail to remember that he took the ring and shoved it down Hogan's throat. Why? Because he built the confidence to do so. What did it? Hogan's pep talk. What reminded him of Hogans trust? The ring!