By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA wrestler Abyss hinted at a future heel turn and a future program with Hulk Hogan in an interview with Brian Fritz for Fanhouse.com.

"I would love it man. I think it would be great. It would be an honor, no doubt about it," he said. "I sincerely doubt there would be a bigger moment in my career than me against Hulk Hogan in a singles match. I would love it and I think we could pull off something special. I have no doubt in that."

Abyss added that he's played a babyface for a while now and it's tough to draw sympathy for his character: "I've been a babyface now for several years and for a character as big as I am and the style of wrestling I do and the hardcore stuff and my size, it's hard to get babyface heat on somebody because of my size. It has been a bit of a challenge being a babyface for this amount of time. But I think the character has a great run in it down the road."

Abyss also acknowledged his character was getting stale a few years ago when he was having hardcore matches virtually every month on PPV. He said he's tried to evolve the character into focusing more on personality than simply taking huge bumps every time he's on TV.

"You're right, I was doing something hardcore every week. I was bleeding every week from getting into broken glass or barbed wire or something. It got to be so old the character was stale because I was doing the same thing even though it was the hardcore. You can't do the same thing or eventually you'll get stale," Abyss said. "Now, you get to see the different sides of the character so it's not just the hardcore all the time so the character doesn't get old from doing it all the time. There was a time when I was doing it too much."

Related to hardcore wrestling and chair shots to the head, Abyss soft-pedaled whether he believes chair shots to the head need to be scaled back: "As far as the shots to the head, I'm in agreement. Maybe that stuff needs to be relaxed a little bit but you can still do hardcore wrestling and do impressive, crazy, hardcore bumps and be safe about them. All the stuff I've done, I've always felt safe. I've never felt like I was going to be hurt in anything I ever did. You have to take calculated risks."

Abyss said he believes "hardcore wrestling" has its place in wrestling, which would be when a feud escalates to a point where the issue has to be resolved by extraordinary means.

"I think hardcore wrestling has a place and hardcore wrestling in an art. If you get in there and these guys just hack each other up, it's really not hardcore wrestling," Abyss said. "Hardcore wrestling is a match with a storyline and buildup like any other singles match would have. It just has extreme spots in it. When you're smart and place them here and there, I think they work."

Caldwell's Analysis: That's the problem. It became so frequent that anything Abyss did with thumbtacks, tables, etc. meant nothing and it did look like backyard wrestling at times. Issues weren't resolved and it became a monthly stunt show on PPV where the big spots were quickly forgotten and TNA moved right along to the next thing happening. Like the monthly stream of X Division gimmick spotfest PPV-opening matches, there was no art form to what was happening in the ring.

Be sure to check out the complete interview where Abyss talks about the move back to Thursdays, where he gives the company line about market research, spots that were too dangerous, and more. Interview Link.

We suggest these recent related articles...

TV RATINGS: TNA Impact & ROH TV viewership - Week 19 on Dest. America - Impact surges post-BFG, ROH draws big audience

TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing

TNA NEWS: TNA announces TV tapings on January U.K. Tour