10 Shocking WWE Angles That Crossed The Line
Just because you can do something, really doesn't mean that you should.
Since the dawn of the Attitude Era, shock TV and wrestling have gone together like bread and butter. The outlandish nature of the business has made Vince McMahon's motto of "anything can happen in the WWE" a believable statement. Unfortunately, this isn't always a good thing.
A proven ratings hit, the element of surprise has long been a key ingredient in wrestling's appeal; however, the pursuit of ratings has also led WWE content to border distasteful. Whether it's been poor comedy (Mae Young giving birth to a hand), racial insensitivity (Mr McMahon dropping the "N word") or sexual deviancy (Heidenreich "reading poetry" to Michael Cole), WWE have pushed the boundaries of acceptability to the very brink.
As a result, it should come as no surprise that the WWE have stepped over that mark on a number of occasions in the past. While a list of all of these offences would be enough to fill an entire website, we've narrowed it down to just ten for your viewing displeasure. Offensive to many, unbelievable to most, yet surely regrettable to all concerned, prepare yourself for shock TV at its most outrageous.
10. Dr Heiney
WWE are often quick to chastise WCW for their wrongdoings in the past and regularly cite the Oklahoma character as a deplorable mocking of Jim Ross and his Bell's palsy affliction. However, WWE have been no saints themselves in the past and have been particularly heartless to Ross as well.
One such occasion was the infamous "Dr Heiney" segment. JR had just undergone a real-life colonoscopy the week before, which Vince McMahon saw as an opportunity too good not to address on Raw. As such, the world was treated to a hospital skit whereby Vince - dressed in full surgeon gear - "operated" on JR's keester, complete with JR sound bites and comic sound effects.
The segment lasted over seven minutes long and involved Vince pulling various items out of JR cheeks: ranging from BBQ sauce and an owl to an Oklahoma Sooners helmet and JR's head itself. Ironically, the whole skit was more of an embarrassment to McMahon than Ross himself and showed the lack of class of all involved.
Luckily, Ross' real colon surgery proved to be successful and JR would return to WWE TV five months later. After such on-air bullying, it's surprising he wanted to return at all.