I Think I Hate Abyss

[Low_Ki]

Just been watching iMPACT from this week, and I am quite impressed.

The one thing that is still really bugging me is Abyss. I just cannot invest myself in this character. His voice grates me, he looks like an overweight homeless person in that jacket, and above all else, the grunts when he has these backstage fights with everyone (Hardy a few months ago, now The Pope) make him sound like he has breathing difficulties.

No other member of the TNA roster draws such detest (in a non kayfabe way) from me. Now I know I am only one person, and obviously I have a biased opinion.

My question is, is there anyone else who feels like me? Is Abyss as annoying as I believe him to be or am I just being a negative nancy? All opinions welcome.

 

[justinsayne]

No he's pretty shit right now, I get what they are trying to do with him, making him a monster heel that does all of Immortals dirty work, however I found Abyss to be at his most effectiveness back when he had James Mitchell speaking for him, Abyss sucks when he talks, and his homeless look just doesn't work either, you would think that over time TNA could come up with something better, it he was working the indies and didn't have much of a wardrobe budget, then I could deal with it, but the guy is working for the second biggest wrestling promotion out there right now, and and is aligned with the likes of Hogan, Bischoff, Jarrett, & Flair, It's just kinda hard to beleive with his current look that they would have anything to do with him

If they want to improve Abyss then they need to have update his look a bit, and have him speak less, especially when beating the living fuck out of somebody backstage

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Abyss has been shit for a long time now. He was shit when he was running around with his schtick as a neurotic 10 year old and he's shit now with this whole sadistic S&M thing he's got going on. I do think that Abyss' current character is an improvement over what he was doing before this. Everything about Abyss says heel and that's really where he works best.

That being said, what he's doing now still comes across as extremely corn sometimes. The "sex dungeon" segments where he has people half naked and uses a branding iron on them, manhandling and threatening Dixie Carter while everybody in the back just sits and watches, carrying around a weapon that he can't even use because he'd literally kill someone if he did. The worst for me though are the promos. His promos consist of him screaming into the mic, usually at the top of his lungs, and breathing so loudly and heavily into the mic that you'd think Velvet Sky was butt nekkid giving him a lapdance.

When he had James Mitchell around, I thought Abyss was somewhat interesting. A blatant mixture of Kane & Mankind, but it was still interesting.

 

[bloewaters]

First off..... the title to this thread made me almost piss my pants. I don't know why... it just really got me. With that out of the way.


The dude blows. He needs to get fired. He is litterally a mix of old school crazy mankind, Kane and the ABA undertaker. His promos sucks, he is annoying.... the janice thing (how he talks to it) isnt creepy its just plain gay, and i hate him. that is all.

 

[iamcountrymusic]

Its good to see I'm not the only hating him. When I first started watching TNA 3 years ago, i realize all that he has ever been good for are hardcore matches, and being their only dominate heel most of the time. He doesn't put on any memorable matches and all of his promos are the same.
I can't think of an example of when he was a good wrestler, only the times when he botched moves (when you can tell the barbed wire he uses is fake, his overly late kick out at last years BFG, this years when RVD hit him with janice).
He had an awful feud with Dr Stevie last year, he was extremely whiney with Hogan and saying he was passing the torch to Abyss was a little insulting especially to the other more talented TNA wrestlers who could have been written into the storyline. He keeps getting pushes and title matches but no one ever really seems to care.
He's a boring and generic monster heel and no repackaging or storyline could fix that.

 

[PhD]

Right now, his gimmick just feels forced, especially with the oft-noted fact that he couldn't actually use Janice on anyone; it just looked ridiculous to watch him pound the coffin with it, as if that would actually hurt whoever was inside. They want to make him a sadistic madman, but without the supernaturalism of the Taker/Kane gimmicks, which ultimately ends up making not very much sense, because it's not clear why he's allowed to get away with all of his hijinks.

I will say the thing that bothers the most about him is his ridiculous ring attire and his terrible physique. The canvas hoodie beats the ketchup-and-mustard Abyssamania shit, but he looked much more credible with the flannel vest than his current shimmer top, which won't sell as merchandise and makes him look kind of like a women's basketball player. Combine that with the fact that he's clearly fat rather than "big" in a good way, he just comes off as unintimidating to me. I've seen videos from earlier in his career, and he had ripped looking arms and a burly chest, and it was a huge difference in terms of the image he projected.

Overall, Abyss is doing what he can, considering TNA really can't seem to afford the kind of big men Vince has always specialized in building, but it'd be nice to see them retool some aspects of his character to polish the turd, so to speak.

 

[timdawg316]

I agree. Ever since i first saw Abyss i thought he was a waste of TV time. I just don't see what he brings to TNA. He just needs to be a wild out of control heel and even then i find him boring to watch. His promos are terrible and i find him lousy on the mic. I don't get what TNA sees in Abyss really.

 

[iamcountrymusic]

If TNA is trying this new shoot style of shows, then why would they let Abyss carry around Janice at all times. and attack people with it when he would have gone to prison for what he did to RVD?
Its not just Abyss making himself look shitty when he's written into abysmal storylines.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Abyss either. Basically, the guy just screams in an annoying fashion, and spits everywhere. How would you like to conduct a face-to-face promo with that freak? It's rather disgusting. He looks homeless, as others have said before. He's a big guy, which is needed, but he's nothing special in the ring. I can't remember the last time he has put on a good wrestling match.

Would I take this Abyss over the "Red and Yellow" monstrosity we were forced to deal with prior to his latest heel turn? You're damn right. That was one of the worst gimmicks in wrestling this year. But, that doesn't mean I don't feel like puking while watching this guy. Some people might think it's petty, but his overall lack of hygiene grosses me out. It grosses me out to the point where I really feel as though I can no longer look at him. Have you ever come in contact with a homeless person who smells so terrible that you actually feel like throwing up? When I see Abyss on television, that feeling comes back. And that's never good.

 

[wushady]

I never liked the guy either. He was more tolerable to me in the early days when he had James Mitchell speaking for him. Ever since then he's been given some terrible gimmicks in my opinion. His babyface characters are the worse he's better at being a heel. However his current heel persona is so unbelievable and cheesy. With the horrible torturing and the kidnapping segments I don't how anyone can stand to watch this guy.

 

[douce1973]

Funny.... from all of the statements above, we could be talking about Mick Foley. The only difference is the mic skills. I'm definately not an Abyss fanboy, but he (along with Foley) seems to be the only one at TNA who regularly puts his body on the line with (albeit overused) gimmick matches.

All Abyss would have to do is jump off the Lockdown cage through a table and there'd be no difference between him and a wrestling legend.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Have you people forgotten that Abyss is a heel and does everything in his power to be hated? You are supposed to hate him so if you feel any type of way about him or see him in any negative light whatsoever, then he is doing his job to the T. I respect Abyss because he knows how to make people hate him and in this day and age in wrestling that's not so easy. And when you consider that he works for a smart fanbase that loves to cheer heels yet he gets booed, then he's doing a mighty job.

As for those saying Abyss can't work, go check out his classic matches with Christian, AJ Styles, and Kurt Angle. Abyss knows how to work. There's a reason why TNA put him at the top of the card years ago in the company and there's a reason why he's still a top player in the company.

 

[25andIstillpeethebed!!!]

Abyss just makes me wanna change the chanel...Everything he does is laugable and makes me wanna make fun of him...I think he's a lil better worker in the ring that some people wanna give him credit for,but man his promos are so cheesy and stupid! Those kidnapping and dungeon segments make him come across as some repressed homosexual, not some fear inducing monster...

On his best day he should barely be on the mid card,but if you have him as a major player in your biggest angle then im sorry he's not that kinda draw.And the ratings are pointing to that

 

[ABMorales787]

I used to be a huge fan of the guy since he started using the Abyss gimmick in IWAPR. But like all wrestling persona's, he evolved. And like in many cases, it was for the worse. But given the fact that before now he was Eugene with a Scary Movie twist, and then he was Hulk Hogan meets the bum from across the street, all I can say is... It's an improvement. I know it's not the best he can do. But we know he can be worse. At least he's drawing steady heat, which is pretty hard to do in the Impact Zone.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Have you people forgotten that Abyss is a heel and does everything in his power to be hated? You are supposed to hate him so if you feel any type of way about him or see him in any negative light whatsoever, then he is doing his job to the T.

There's a difference between garnering heat that makes you "hate" a wrestler in a kayfabe sense and "X-Pac heat". "Hating" a wrestler in a kayfabe situation means that you actually like what you're seeing, ala when Ric Flair gets on the mic and cuts a promo or Eric Bischoff acting like a complete douche bag. "X-Pac heat" means that you think what you're seeing is crap and you wind up turning the channel, which is what Abyss causes me to do most of the time until his segments are over. When a wrestler makes viewers either want to turn the channel or they actually do it, then he's garnering the wrong kind of heat.

 

[Alex]

I made a thread awhile ago about how I couldn't take Abyss seriously, and I still can't. He's the only member of Immortal I can't take seriously. As much as everyone tries to turn him back into a monster I still see a ******ed child who's found a sharp stick. His promos sound forced as if he's trying to sound evil and intimidating but it falls flat and his matches have become lackluster. He just damaged goods that no one wants to or realises needs to be gotten rid of.

 

[TellMeWhy]

There's a difference between garnering heat that makes you "hate" a wrestler in a kayfabe sense and "X-Pac heat". "Hating" a wrestler in a kayfabe situation means that you actually like what you're seeing, ala when Ric Flair gets on the mic and cuts a promo or Eric Bischoff acting like a complete douche bag. "X-Pac heat" means that you think what you're seeing is crap and you wind up turning the channel, which is what Abyss causes me to do most of the time until his segments are over. When a wrestler makes viewers either want to turn the channel or they actually do it, then he's garnering the wrong kind of heat.

Heat is heat. It doesn't matter if it's "kayfabe heat" or "legit heat". The type of heat Abyss gets doesn't matter. People boo him when he comes out and people always want to see him get his ass kicked. He is a heat machine and gets people to hate him. I don't personally hate him because I can go behind the camera and beyond the smart fan and see that he's just doing his role to a tee. The problem is that people like you are such smarks that you allow your smarkness to take over you if you really do indeed change the channel which I doubt. In this day and age where fans are so smart that they like heels for "being a good heel", where past heels like Orton have been cheered and where current top heels like Fortune are cheered, it is hard to garner any type of heat as a heel. Most nowadays outside of WWE, (TNA especially)it seems like if there is no legit hatred or personal problems a fan has with a heel, it's pretty hard for the individual heel to be hated. I'm noticing that the most common way for guys to be truly over as a heel in TNA is if some legit heat is behind it and TNA notices that and is trying to dabble into that psychology more and more. Everything about Abyss draws hatred and TNA may continue to keep him in his current state in his current role because there is no reason for you to compliment him or like him doing his job. They want you to feel he's stupid, ugly, annoying, ******ed, and more and you all fall into it. Really you and all the smarks are the ones being played but oddly enough most "smarks" don't see that.

 

[johnbragg]

The type of heat Abyss gets doesn't matter.

It's a DVR world. If it's the kind of heat that makes me hit "fast forward", that's not heat. If it's the kind of heat that has me read the spoilers or results and say, "Too much goofy Abyss crap", that's not heat. If it's the kind of heat that Cody Rhodes brushing his teeth or Chavo Guerrero in a high school mascot costume draws, that's not heat.

Bottom line, mix an ounce of dog crap and a gallon of ice cream, and you have dog crap. And Abyss has been dog crap for pretty much all of 2010.

 

[TellMeWhy]

It's a DVR world. If it's the kind of heat that makes me hit "fast forward", that's not heat. If it's the kind of heat that has me read the spoilers or results and say, "Too much goofy Abyss crap", that's not heat. If it's the kind of heat that Cody Rhodes brushing his teeth or Chavo Guerrero in a high school mascot costume draws, that's not heat.

Bottom line, mix an ounce of dog crap and a gallon of ice cream, and you have dog crap. And Abyss has been dog crap for pretty much all of 2010.

Do you think TNA cares if you fastforward through his stuff. You still DVRed the show. You give them a rating regardless. I fastforward through Cena stuff on DVR, I guess that makes Cena a horrible face. Whether you like it or not, when most people look back 10 years from now, we will look back at Abyss as one of the best heels in TNA history.

 

[RobL15]

Abyss IS the way to draw good heat.
Robbie E is the way to draw X-Pac heat.
Therefore, Abyss is good. You should love him

However, on a serious note, I do think Abyss is pretty good at what he does. He entertains me due to the fact he's a mental fuck. Constantly getting hurt in all ways, which is a good thing for me. I enjoy that sick shit.

 

[johnbragg]

I fastforward through Cena stuff on DVR, I guess that makes Cena a horrible face.

If that were the majority reaction to Cena, it WOULD make him a horrible face. When IWC discontent with SuperCena was at its height, it did make him less of an ideal face--there was a clearly split reaction. But merchandising lists say that Cena is the biggest face of the last decade, and cash is king.

I'm saying that the reaction Abyss gets is more like the reaction that the "Sesame Street meets Smackdown" segments get--eyerolls, groans and reaching for the remote at home, boos from the live crowd. A comparison you didn't address.

For better or for worse, WWE as the face of the industry gets some leeway that the plucky underdog TNA doesn't get. WWE can roll out the Undertaker in a casket, crank up a smoke machine, Undertaker rolls his eyes back in his head, and people nod their heads. If TNA tried something like that (Rellik, Judas Mesias), they'd get crucified.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

For better or for worse, WWE as the face of the industry gets some leeway that the plucky underdog TNA doesn't get. WWE can roll out the Undertaker in a casket, crank up a smoke machine, Undertaker rolls his eyes back in his head, and people nod their heads. If TNA tried something like that (Rellik, Judas Mesias), they'd get crucified.

Maybe... tho U still seem to be missing the fact that ABYSS is not to good. The RVD covered in blood segment didn't sare me it was dumb and corny. Seeing him supposedly BRAND some poor innocent was ******ED to me. It was not scary. It was not entertaining. It was just stupid. I HAVE ALWAYS HATED SEGMENTS THAT ARE SO BLANTANTLY ILLEGAL THAT THEY ARE JUST STUPID! I hate kidnapping scenes. I hate throwing people over bridges to their death scenes SO YEA I HATE IT EVEN MORE WHEN U COMBINE THE TWO! C'mon this last week he just POUNCED on two "RANDOM" fans to try and get HEAT! Silly! He is just a boring character and he is NOT SCARY! Oh and yes it does hurt that he is just a FAT TUB OF GOO! He just does NOT invoke fear which is not good for the COMPANY'S BIGGEST MONSTER!

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think this is the best way that Abyss has ever been booked and I am taking his time with James Mitchell into consideration. I do think however that people are unable to take Abyss seriously because he has been booked in a shit way in the past.

I mean how else can you book a guy of his size and look? He has to be the unstoppable monster doesn't he? His mic skills aren't that great and have never been that great but a way to cover that up would be to let his actions do the talking.

 

[johnbragg]

I mean how else can you book a guy of his size and look? He has to be the unstoppable monster doesn't he? His mic skills aren't that great and have never been that great but a way to cover that up would be to let his actions do the talking.

I agree that Abyss has to be a (nearly) unstoppable monster.

But that means he should look less like a homeless guy and more like a guy who has dead homeless guys on a slab in his basement. Stereotype Serial killers take some care after their appearance--they have a little bit of style. Even Mankind didn't dress himself in the dark. Abyss needs some clothes that fit, for a start. Slob doesn't say "monster", it says sloppy.

 

[TellMeWhy]

If that were the majority reaction to Cena, it WOULD make him a horrible face. When IWC discontent with SuperCena was at its height, it did make him less of an ideal face--there was a clearly split reaction. But merchandising lists say that Cena is the biggest face of the last decade, and cash is king.

I'm saying that the reaction Abyss gets is more like the reaction that the "Sesame Street meets Smackdown" segments get--eyerolls, groans and reaching for the remote at home, boos from the live crowd. A comparison you didn't address.

You see this is what you don't get. An IWC opinion doesn't represent a majority. The fact that Cena sell merchandise and is loved by kids and women makes him a true babyface despite what a discontent IWC feels. An opinion or a reaction of only 10% of wrestling's fanbase or even less on the net isn't the voice for the majority. You and the other people in here who change the channel, roll their eyes, and groan at Abyss may not be the reaction of 80% of the people who watch him at home. When he comes to that ring, no one is leaving the show or getting up from their seat. The man is being booed. When a nonsmark child or a nonsmark person period may see Abyss, they may truly hate the guy or want to see him get his ass kicked. Just cause 2 pages of people change the channel when they see Abyss and you've got pages of people on the net that hate John Cena doesn't mean every viewer at home does those things or share the same feelings. So your categorization of Abyss being under "legit heat" isn't even valid. It's a small IWC opinion.

For better or for worse, WWE as the face of the industry gets some leeway that the plucky underdog TNA doesn't get. WWE can roll out the Undertaker in a casket, crank up a smoke machine, Undertaker rolls his eyes back in his head, and people nod their heads. If TNA tried something like that (Rellik, Judas Mesias), they'd get crucified.

You are right about this but for the most part it doesn't apply to Abyss. Abyss isn't some supernatural monster from another world. I guess because of his comparisons to Kane/Undertaker that people assume he's some demon but he's not. Because of Kane/Undertaker, everyone relates monsters to being supernatural or having some sort of power. Abyss is a human being with mental instability who needs guidance. That's his story and that's what drives him to go insane and to do the things that he does. He's not some big evil man on a mission abducting people to take their soul. He's insane. He was in the mental asylum at once.