Wrestling's Scummiest Moment Ever?

[HarmonicGenerator]

 

 

I understand it was part of the culture at the time, and I understand it was playing to their audience, but that doesn't stop it from being scummy. I'm not saying every female segment should have been a 15-minute Molly vs Ivory match, but it doesn't have to be a case of that or tits. There are things you can do other than long wrestling matches or tits.

 

If women being considered nothing more than eye candy is part of your culture, I'm sorry but there is something scummy about your culture. And if you're playing on that conception - or rather, in wrestling's case, creating it - then that scumminess will become apparent even if it's not at the time (and I'm sure for a lot of people, it did feel that way at the time.) Lads mags were big at the time but you can't say none of them were scummy in how they treated women. And if the Dudleys putting women through tables always gets a huge pop, you have to ask yourself what kind of audience you're making for yourself. To me, that's not something you should be cheering. If doing that is the best way to get a pop, you're dealing with something scummy, 'of its time' or not.

Then surely it's more of a case of the society being scummy rather WWE being scummy? If WWE are playing to their audience and their audience enjoy such things how can WWE be blamed for that? Wrestling is hardly the medium to take moral high grounds

Because by playing to a scummy audience, they encourage it, exacerbate it and, more than anything, condone it as something acceptable?

 

And "wrestling is hardly the medium to take moral high grounds" is the entire crux of the problem in a nutshell. Take that attitude and you can excuse any kind of scummy behaviour. 's just wrestling, isn't it?

[theringmaster]

 

 

I understand it was part of the culture at the time, and I understand it was playing to their audience, but that doesn't stop it from being scummy. I'm not saying every female segment should have been a 15-minute Molly vs Ivory match, but it doesn't have to be a case of that or tits. There are things you can do other than long wrestling matches or tits.

 

If women being considered nothing more than eye candy is part of your culture, I'm sorry but there is something scummy about your culture. And if you're playing on that conception - or rather, in wrestling's case, creating it - then that scumminess will become apparent even if it's not at the time (and I'm sure for a lot of people, it did feel that way at the time.) Lads mags were big at the time but you can't say none of them were scummy in how they treated women. And if the Dudleys putting women through tables always gets a huge pop, you have to ask yourself what kind of audience you're making for yourself. To me, that's not something you should be cheering. If doing that is the best way to get a pop, you're dealing with something scummy, 'of its time' or not.

Then surely it's more of a case of the society being scummy rather WWE being scummy? If WWE are playing to their audience and their audience enjoy such things how can WWE be blamed for that? Wrestling is hardly the medium to take moral high grounds

Because by playing to a scummy audience, they encourage it, exacerbate it and, more than anything, condone it as something acceptable?

 

And "wrestling is hardly the medium to take moral high grounds" is the entire crux of the problem in a nutshell. Take that attitude and you can excuse any kind of scummy behaviour. 's just wrestling, isn't it?

 

Yeah perhaps saying 'Wrestling is hardly the place to take moral high grounds' kind of undermines the topic.lol. I take that one back

 

I suppose ultimately you got to ask is it acceptable to play to your audience even if it's inmorally correct? WWE are a business at the end of the day and they got to make descisions based on the bottom line

[HarmonicGenerator]

I suppose ultimately you got to ask is it acceptable to play to your audience even if it's inmorally correct?

We'll ask President Trump that in a year's time!

[LaGoosh]

Hawk jumping/being pushed off the Titantron. Another exploitation of the guys real life drug issues.

 

I watched this last year and was pretty baffled by the whole thing. It was such a dumb angle and no one gave a shit about the Road Warriors at that time anyway. The WWF took the angle so seriously that the first thing to come on after Hawk's fall off the Tron is Sable who gets a massive pop and flashes her tits everywhere. 

[Roy]

Some great posts in this thread. I'd like to offer the whole Bruiser Brody/Invader 1/Carlos Colon murder in Puerto Rico, and the subsequent angles Colon promoted on the back of it.

 

As though Invader 1 actually murdering Brody by stabbing him to death in a shower wasn't enough, Colon portrayed Invader 1 as a babyface whilst he was on trial for murder and even ran an angle where Invader 1 attacked another wrestler in a shower (the show closed with blood trickling into the drain).

 

Naturally, Vince McMahon put Carlos Colon in the WWE Hallf of Fame 2014.

[SiWri]

The Tim White suicide attempts...

 

As if the idea wasn't distasteful enough, the first "sketch" aired not long after Eddie's death, if I recall correctly. And as if that wasn't bad enough it then continued for weeks with White trying different ways to kill himself because his life had been ruined due to the injuiries he suffered in the Jericho/Triple H Hell in a Cell.

 

The videos of man trying to kill himself due to a deep depression even got a catchy title on wwe.com - "Lunchtime Suicide".

[Ambulance Chaser]

Some great posts in this thread. I'd like to offer the whole Bruiser Brody/Invader 1/Carlos Colon murder in Puerto Rico, and the subsequent angles Colon promoted on the back of it.

 

As though Invader 1 actually murdering Brody by stabbing him to death in a shower wasn't enough, Colon portrayed Invader 1 as a babyface whilst he was on trial for murder and even ran an angle where Invader 1 attacked another wrestler in a shower (the show closed with blood trickling into the drain).

 

Naturally, Vince McMahon put Carlos Colon in the WWE Hallf of Fame 2014.

They worked Brody's death into an angle?? Never knew that.

[The King Of Swing]

Atsushi Onita also tried to book an angle based around Brody's death I believe.

[GordyM]

Paige bringing up Reid Flair's death for some cheap heat was another scummy moment, made all the worst by Vince and co. trying to put all the responsibility/blame for it on Charlotte to try and dodge the backlash.

 

Then there's CM Punk mocking the then very recent death of Paul Bearer to try and add interest to his match with Taker.

 

There really is nothing off limits to the WWE, is there? I bet if Linda died we'd see Vince come out on the following Raw to announce a competition amongst the Divas to become his new wife.

[WWFChilli]

There really is nothing off limits to the WWE, is there? I bet if Linda died we'd see Vince come out on the following Raw to announce a competition amongst the Divas to become his new wife.

Vince is almost a business sociopathic enough to try that. Linda was streaming tears at his steroid trial, although only during the time the Secretary he was shagging was on the stand.

 

In fact, the sex and steroid scandals are an outside bet for this. Afa threatening the court, Vinnies lawyer having a secret husband who was witness tampering. Nailz being an idiot, Hogan in his bandana. Carnies even in the courtroom.

[DraxSpago]

 

There really is nothing off limits to the WWE, is there? I bet if Linda died we'd see Vince come out on the following Raw to announce a competition amongst the Divas to become his new wife.

Vince is almost a business sociopathic enough to try that. Linda was streaming tears at his steroid trial, although only during the time the Secretary he was shagging was on the stand.

 

In fact, the sex and steroid scandals are an outside bet for this. Afa threatening the court, Vinnies lawyer having a secret husband who was witness tampering. Nailz being an idiot, Hogan in his bandana. Carnies even in the courtroom.

Ha just read up on the Afa threatening the jury thing, never heard it before!

[King Pitcos]

Employing/enabling the likes of Grizzly Smith for years is scummier than any tasteless wrestling storyline. We're all complicit in the scumminess as well, there's probably nobody on the planet more Yewtree than Jerry Lawler and every one of us would give him a big cheer at a show.

[Keith Houchen]

Good point, PITCOS, look how Austin is forgiven for his wife beating antics.

[theringmaster]

Some great posts in this thread. I'd like to offer the whole Bruiser Brody/Invader 1/Carlos Colon murder in Puerto Rico, and the subsequent angles Colon promoted on the back of it.

 

As though Invader 1 actually murdering Brody by stabbing him to death in a shower wasn't enough, Colon portrayed Invader 1 as a babyface whilst he was on trial for murder and even ran an angle where Invader 1 attacked another wrestler in a shower (the show closed with blood trickling into the drain).

 

Naturally, Vince McMahon put Carlos Colon in the WWE Hallf of Fame 2014.

 

I never knew this. The Bruiser Brody situation is really one of wrestlings darkest chapters that never gets talked about enough, the WCCW announcer (name escapes me) was on JR Podcast recently and he talked about it and he summed it up perfectly when he said "A man got away with murder"

 

 

There really is nothing off limits to the WWE, is there? I bet if Linda died we'd see Vince come out on the following Raw to announce a competition amongst the Divas to become his new wife.

Vince is almost a business sociopathic enough to try that. Linda was streaming tears at his steroid trial, although only during the time the Secretary he was shagging was on the stand.

 

In fact, the sex and steroid scandals are an outside bet for this. Afa threatening the court, Vinnies lawyer having a secret husband who was witness tampering. Nailz being an idiot, Hogan in his bandana. Carnies even in the courtroom.

 

 

Has anybody read the book on Vinces scandals? Think its its called something like 'Sex and headlocks' and has Vince as a action figure on the fornt. Is it any good? Always be tempted. I have always been curious to Vince's 'sexual affiars', is it all really just hear say or is there some truth? I mean you got Matt Hardy coming out saying Ashley was sleeping with Vince, thats a pretty strong statement for a wrestler to make about another wrestler. I have also heard rumours about Trish (bit hard to believe) and Candice (not hard to beleive). Now i'm about to sound like a jerk but i always got the impression Vince and Linda's relationship was based on career ambitions as much as love

[MungoChutney]

I've got that book but it's not a tell-all sex scandal. It documents the beginning of Vince's reign of the WWF up through the steroid scandal with a focus on some of the murkier stuff that went on. At least, that's my recollection of it, only read it the once about 4/5 years ago.