Is it fair to say that TNA and ridiculous storylines go hand in hand? After all, TNA is synonymous with some of the worst gimmicks and storylines of the millennium, as far as pro wrestling is concerned. Who can forget the garbage that was the Claire Lynch storyline?
I covered some of TNA’s worst storylines last year, but I always felt that there were a lot of storylines as bad or worse than those covered in the last article, so I decided to bring you guys part 2 of TNA’s worst storylines.
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Also read: 5 Worst storylines in TNA history - Part I
Check them out below and don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments.
5: The Rainbow Express
In a company littered with storylines that had poor taste, The Rainbow Express was a gem from TNA’s early years. Rainbow Express was the tag-team of Bruce and Lenny – a pair of overtly effeminate gay lovers who were managed by none other than Joel Gertner, who was better known by his ECW moniker – Studley Dudley.
The storyline started off decently, with Gertner cutting a promo prior to their debut where he told the fans to judge the boys based on their wrestling ability instead of their sexuality. The only problem? They were booked to be HEELS!
And, the rampant stereotyping wasn’t the worst part of this storyline. The worst part was the way TNA’s babyfaces reacted to the Rainbow Express with more than a couple showing open disgust including babyface commentator Don West. At one point, the tag-team of the Hillbilly Dupp Brothers even refused to wrestle the Rainbow Express because they ‘refused to wrestle homosexuals’.
Hope you’re proud of this one TNA.
4: A heel Ron Killings takes on racism
To those new to TNA, they don’t often deal with sensitive storylines well…..or even coherently. As we saw in the last slide, TNA in its early years was infected by a slew of homophobia along with an unhealthy dose of sexism and racism.
One of the prime examples of TNA’s racial insensitivity was a storyline regarding current WWE Superstar R-Truth who wrestled in TNA under the name Ron Killings.
The incident took place during the days of TNA’s weekly PPVs. NASCAR drivers Sterling Marlin and Hermie Sadler were in the ring when Kwik decided to interrupt – which was fairly normal since he was a heel. He came out and threatened to kick their asses while claiming that NASCAR drivers weren’t real athletes (a debate for another day). So far so good.
However, this is the point where things took a downward spiral with Hermie Sadler saying he couldn't take a man who was dressed like Kwik seriously. Brian Christopher (Grand Master Sexay) intervened on the racer’s behalf at this point and made allusions to “our people” and “your people” which had clear racial undertones.
What’s the cherry on this cake, you ask? The Alabama crowd cheered along with the borderline-racist storyline. Oh, and not to forget, Hermie Sadler later beat Ron Killings in a single’s match albeit with a dusty finish.
3: Samoa Joe gets kidnapped
Samoa Joe is one of the most important wrestlers in TNA’s history. He was undefeated in his first year with the company and a part of the triple threat match with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels which well and truly put TNA on the pro wrestling map.
However, Joe hasn’t always gotten the best storylines from TNA for all of his hard work, especially during the later years.
In the year 2010, Joe was seen walking backstage when he was abducted by ninjas. Yeah, you read that right – ninjas.
What happened next? Joe returned to television as if nothing had ever happened. Why? Apparently, the original plan was for Joe to return as some sort of a psycho, but TNA later realised that they were short of babyfaces, so the storyline was dropped.
2: Abyss and Hulk Hogan’s Hall of Fame ring
During the mid-2000’s, Abyss was one of the top ‘monsters’ in pro wrestling. He’d been booked to perfection, and he’d even peaked WWE’s interest. WWE wanted to sign Abyss and immediately push him into a program with The Undertaker. Sadly for Abyss, he refused the offer – a decision he’ll probably regret for the rest of his life.
Abyss got pushed into some of the worst angles in pro wrestling history in the following years including the Judas Mesias debacle. However, the worst it got for Abyss was probably his storyline with Hulk Hogan – a storyline that completely neutered the big man.
The storyline was started soon after Hogan signed with the company. By this time, Abyss was being portrayed as a bumbling oaf of a babyface. Hogan gave him his precious Hall of Fame ring, telling Abyss that it had magical powers. After wearing the ring, Abyss was miraculously able to dominate his foes.
As you can guess, both fans and critics brutalised this ridiculous storyline.
1: Black Reign
Before I start, I just want to mention that Goldust will actually block you on Twitter if you mention Black Reign.
Who was Black Reign? During the 2000’s, after his 3rd release from WWE, Dustin Runnels signed with TNA for the second time and was given the gimmick of Black Reign. Black Reign was supposed to be a wrestler who was schizophrenic along with a split-personality disorder. The gimmick even featured Runnels switching personalities between Runnels and Black Reign.
After a lacklustre attempt to be a single’s star, he was teamed up with Rellik (killer spelt backwards) and the duo had even less success as a tag-team. There was even a time when Runnels cut a promo saying that Black Reign had been with him since he was a kid.
He continued to team with Rellik despite the lack of success and was soon released from his TNA contract after being kept off television for 3 months. Thankfully, he’s back with WWE nowadays on Raw under his much-loved Goldust character.
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