21 Years Of WWE SmackDown Mistakes

19. 2001 - Stephanie McMahon Vs. Terrorism

Stephanie McMahon's familial favouritism transcended the usual egotism exhibited by her maniacal tribe, but the otherwise-excellent post-9/11 edition of SmackDown proved that only a McMahon could make arguably the biggest terrorist attack in modern history about McMahons.

Vince's show-opening rallying cry was uncharacteristically measured and well-judged. It was as if he'd cleared the way for his daughter to do the real damage. And she did.

Relating to the disaster in the only way she knew from the protective coating of her familial bubble, the 'Billion Dollar Princess' tactlessly point-scored at the expense of a message of solemn solidarity. Comparing the US Government attempting to convict Vince McMahon of Steroid Distribution in 1994 to the terrorists responsible for the attack was crude at best and hideously offensive at worst.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett