10 Moments WWE Wish They Could Take Back

There have been no shortage of controversial moments in WWE over the years, both inside and outside of the ring.

Most of them the company doesn’t really pay much heed to and, rather than harming them or anything, have predominantly been used to their advantage.

There are some angles, comments and moments caused by real life events, however, that WWE wish they could take back and have tried to distance themselves from, if not erase them outright.

These are 10 Moments WWE Wish They Could Take Back.

10. Post 9/11 SmackDown Comments

WWE were the first company to hold a mass public assembly following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when they held a live SmackDown taping in Texas just two days later.

Tensions and emotions were, understandably, running high that night, something which became apparent when WWE wrestlers and crew members directly addressed the camera and viewers at home.

A lot was said that night and (most of it) was passionate but fine.

Two comments stood out, however, and they came from two people with significant backstage pull.

The first was Bradshaw threatening vengeance and claiming that the United States was going to turn ‘whatever country was responsible’ for the attacks into a ‘stinking parking lot’.

The second was Stephanie McMahon likening the deaths of nearly 3,000 innocent civilians to her father being indicted and put on trial by the federal government for distributing steroids years earlier.

As we said, emotions were running high and people were speaking what they were thinking, but their use of words and analogy were really rather bad and have since been widely derided.

9. Vince McMahon Interviews Melanie Pillman

Everyone reacts to tragedy and grieves differently.

And so behaviour that might seem ‘unusual’ to some, is really just one person’s way of coping with a sad loss.

However, that doesn’t excuse WWE and Vince McMahon’s decision to interview Melanie Pillman live on Raw, just 24 hours after her husband’s death at the age of just 35.

Not only was the decision to question a widow on live television a day after her husband passed away a bad one, but the line of questioning was suspect, to say the least.

It was Vince doing the talking, as he asked Melanie what she knew of the Loose Cannon’s death, whether she had anything to say about young athletes about the use of narcotics and, incredibly, what she was going to do to support herself and her kids now that their provider was no longer there.

Whether this was some sort of ratings ploy or a way to get Melanie to partially exonerate the company for Pillman’s passing – he was discovered just hours before he was scheduled to perform on pay-per-view – or both, is up for debate.

What we’re sure about is that WWE probably wishes it hadn’t done it and, if given the chance, wouldn’t do it again.

8. The WrestleMania XX Ending

The ending of WrestleMania 20 was storybook stuff for two performers who had worked harder than most and sacrificed plenty in order to achieve their dreams against considerable odds.

In the final scene of the biggest show of the year, World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit and WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero, best friends whose careers had paralleled, held their titles aloft in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden, as confetti fell and their peers, family members and fans cheered them on.

Just three-and-a-half years later, that once joyous scene would look very different indeed. Guerrero was dead and Benoit had ended his own life after murdering his wife and young son.

While Latino Heat has continued to be lionised to this very day, the Rabid Wolverine will be persona non grata forever, as far as the company are concerned.

What seemed like the right thing to do in the moment has now cast a cloud over a major show in WWE’s history. These days, they basically pretend that WWE lifers The Undertaker and Kane headlined the event.

7. Bark Like A Dog

Multiple-time WWE Women’s Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is cemented as one of the greatest female performers in the organisation’s history, but she had to work very hard and overcome a lot of obstacles to earn that reputation.

Coming from the world of fitness modelling, Trish had to pay some serious dues during the Attitude Era and was involved in several controversial or embarrassing moments and storylines.

The nadir was undoubtedly the segment on the March 5, 2001 episode of Raw where Mr. McMahon ordered her to get down on all fours and ‘bark like a dog’ before stripping down to her underwear.

The segment – which was cut from broadcast when the episode aired in some parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom – was widely derided for its humiliating and misogynistic overtones.

Not only was it barrel-scraping stuff from a creative standpoint and an insult to a top talent like Stratus, but it was later used against Linda McMahon by her political opponents when the former WWE CEO was running for a seat in the US Senate.

6. Vince McMahon Says The 'N' Word

Vince McMahon has said some outlandish stuff in the past on WWE TV as his ‘Mr. McMahon’ gimmick.

Whether talking about his grapefruit-sized testicles or wishing harm on his own children, he can usually get away with it, because the Genetic Jackhammer character was so over-the-top and Vince played it like he was auditioning for a Tennessee Williams play.

During a backstage segment at the 2005 Survivor Series, however, McMahon uttered a single, reprehensible word. The N-word.

He said it to John Cena, referring to the WWE Champion as ‘my N-word’.

He didn’t actually say ‘N-word’, of course. He said the real thing, much to the shock of Booker T and wife Sharmell, who witnessed the bizarre interaction.

This was meant to be a funny little shock value skit but, really, it was the owner of a publicly traded company uttering a racial slur on pay-per-view.

No surprise to see it’s been Peacock’d off the WWE Network.

5. Jared From Subway

Not so much a singular moment here, but rather a collection of them brought about by WWE’s association with Jared from Subway, the bloke that reportedly lost a load of weight thanks to the power of the foot long and became a spokesperson for the sandwich masters and then a full-on celebrity.

He was also a very, very bad man who is currently serving time in a federal prison because of his heinous crimes.

His association with WWE dated back to 2006, when he appeared in a Subway commercial with John Cena. He then appeared intermittently over the years, whether as a guest ring announcer or getting into it with the likes of CM Punk, Santino Marella, The Miz and Ryback, usually in segments centred around eating fresh.

During one of his appearances, Michael Cole mentioned that Jared was hanging out with Jerry Lawler backstage earlier in the day.

You won’t find footage of Jared on the WWE Network these days, as WWE have scrubbed him and fellow monster, the former wrestler Buck Zumhofe, from the platform.

4. Vince McMahon Humiliating Jim Ros

One of Vince McMahon’s favourite pastimes was the ritual public humiliation of Jim Ross.

WWE’s lead commentator and former Executive Vice President of Talent Relations was a constant target of McMahon’s mockery, which often played out on live television and, usually, in Good Ol’ JR’s home state of Oklahoma.

Whether it was having him beaten to a pulp by Steve Austin or Triple H, forcing him to join the Kiss My Ass Club, getting fired for real on live TV, or something like the detestable Dr. Heiney skit, Ross could be put in some unenviable positions under the thin premise of ‘getting heat’.

Perhaps the worst, however, was Vince’s exaggerated and unprovoked on-air impression of the beloved announcer. It was cruel, it was pointless and it had no payoff or reason for even existing.

What it basically boiled down to was a billionaire boss taking a shot at a long-serving employee because he personally thought it was funny.

3. 'People Like You'

Next to McMahons Vince and Linda, two of the most powerful people in the company were their daughter Stephanie and her husband, Paul Levesque AKA Triple H.

As one of the company’s top stars during a number of WWE’s more envelope-pushing years, Triple H has his fair share of skeletons in his wrestling closet.

While stuff like the Katie Vick debacle is obviously embarrassing, The Game has been involved in things that are far more damaging. Specifically, the racially-charged storyline feud he had with Booker T heading into WrestleMania 19, which saw Triple H write off the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Title because ‘people like him’, with his (quote) ‘nappy hair’ weren’t supposed to be champion.

That promo and some other segments in a similar vein were supposed to build ‘heat’ for the eventual showdown, but it’s not a good look for an executive who has since taken over the WWE on-screen product.

2. The Chris Benoit Tribute Raw

When WWE learned that Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son Daniel had been found dead in their home on June 25, 2007, they were almost certainly reeling from the shock of the news and unconcerned with comparatively trivial matters like that night’s Raw which, in a bit of morbid irony, was set to be a ‘wake’ for the Mr. McMahon character whose limo had been blown up weeks earlier.

Before the facts of the situation were fully known, WWE decided to air a special, three-hour Chris Benoit tribute show from an empty arena.

The show featured re-runs of some of the Rabid Wolverine’s best and most famous matches, along with emotional testimonials from his colleagues and friends.

Then, just hours after the show went off the air, the grisly details of the situation began to emerge and it became apparent that WWE had made a terrible mistake.

The following day, prior to an episode of ECW on Sci-Fi, Vince McMahon addressed the Benoit tribute, noting that the following ECW show would mark the first step in the ‘healing process’ after the tragedy.

1. Owen Hart's Final Moments

As we have already seen, dodgy storylines, mean-spirited segments and the unfortunate actions of others are all things that WWE would take back (if given the opportunity).

If they could redo just one thing over, however, it would be the sequence of events that led to the death of Owen Hart.

The most tragic event in the company’s history, Owen’s accidental fall from the catwalk at Kemper Arena was, nonetheless, avoidable.

If WWE could go back in time, there’s no way he’d be up there waiting to propel down for the sake of a comedic entrance.

Not only was Owen a tremendous and respected performer, he was also one of the most universally beloved men in the business and a true family man who prioritised his wife and children above all else.

It goes without saying that fans will never, ever see the footage of the incident which exists and WWE are hesitant to revisit that fateful night at Over the Edge 1999 whenever possible.

One of the worst moments in wrestling history, it’s so hard to come to terms with, decades later.