It is safe to say it has not been the best week for WWE, with leaked audio and video of legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan’s racist tirade resulting in any mention of ‘The Hulk’ being hastily removed from WWE’s past.
Hogan has been taken off of the WWE website and dropped from its Tough Enough series, on which he featured as a judge. It is not the first time the WWE has been embroiled in controversy – or that Hogan has been at the centre of it – and it probably won’t be the last.
Hi @HulkHogan me & my dad are fully behind you, keep your head up through these horrid times #TeamHogan pic.twitter.com/H8RqZ08jnp
— Red Is In The Blood (@IDontLikeSpurs) July 27, 2015
Here are some of the less favourable moments in the WWE’s history.
1. 1994 STEROID TRIAL
Kicking things off his Hogan again who, in 1994 took to the witness stand in a federal trial against WWE owner Vince McMahon. The CEO, and wrestling as a whole, was forced to face up to the long-standing issue of steroid abuse within the locker room.
McMahon was charged with distributing steroids to his staff and breeding a culture of abuse that led to the deaths of many young wrestlers across the 1980s and ‘90s.
Hogan (going under his real name Terry Gene Bollea) was questioned by McMahon’s defence team, who sought to prove that the wrestler’s own steroid abuse was wholly personal. Hogan’s testimony did not help prosecutors and McMahon was found not guilty.
2. CHRIS BENOIT DOUBLE-MURDER SUICIDE
Possibly the darkest moment in wrestling history happened in August 2007.
Much heralded WWE wrestler Benoit was found to have killed his wife and seven-year-old son before hanging himself in one of the most tragic incidents in memory.
It was later revealed that long standing concussion problems and damage to the brain caused by his career as a wrestler had affected Benoit to the extent that he took out the drastic actions and ended his own life and that of those closest to him.
3. OWEN HART’S DEATH
Another of wrestling’s greatest tragedies came on May 23, 1999 at the Over the Edge pay-per-view in Kansas City.
While being lowered into the ring from the rafters of the arena, Hart became entangled in the equipment and triggered an early release mechanism which sent him hurtling into a ringpost and causing his death.
Inexplicably, the event continued and the Hart family would go on to successfully sue the company for $18m on the grounds of the dangerous nature of the stunt and the malfunction of the equipment.
4. MUHAMMAD HASSAN TERRORIST STORY
At the time, Hassan was one of the brightest prospects in the WWE’s roster but his ‘gimmick’ as an Arab wrestler was exploited by the company to produce one of its most controversial storylines in its history.
Hassan was cast as an extremist figure and on the July 4, 2005 episode of Smackdown went to his knees to pray and summon a group of terrorist-like figures who then set upon The Undertaker with piano wire and baseball bats.
The whole incident was unsavoury at best, but there was no salvaging the scene when, three days later, London’s public transport was attacked by terrorist bombings, killing 52 people and injuring more than 700 more.
The WWE chose not to run the pre-recorded promo in Europe but still played out an unedited show in the USA to the derision of the mass media. Hassan’s career was over and was put to rest by the ‘Taker just weeks later.
5. MATT HARDY-EDGE-LITA LOVE TRYST
Back in the gloried days of the Attitude Era, Matt and Jeff Hardy were at the height of their powers and the fore of one of the greatest movements in the WWE’s history. Their nemeses during this period included the Dudley Brothers and Edge and Christian.
In the Hardy’s corner was Lita, the tom-boy Superstar who was as stunning as she was spectacular in the ring. Matt and Lita were also involved outside of the ring and were in a relationship which came crashing to its conclusion in 2005 when Lita got involved with Edge.
The rivalry went from the ring and into the realms of the romantic. And the WWE saw a chance to capitalise on the goings on, moving the acrimonious story from the locker room into its TV shows.
It ended up with Hardy having to not only share a dressing room with his ex-girlfriend and the man she cheated on him with but also the professional stage.
