10 Alternative Takes On Hated Wrestling Moments

4. Katie Vick

Nexus II
WWE Network

Triple H in 2003 accused Kane of manslaughter - and then desecrating the corpse with his penis in a spot of light necrophilia.

It was as bad as that sentence reads, rendered somehow worse because Trips played the climactic (sorry) angle for laughs. And much like every babyface Trips opposed in the Ruthless Aggression era, he ruthlessly buried Kane by handily defeating him in a barely competitive match - despite antagonising him with possibly the most ire-provoking tactic he could have conceived of.

The Katie Vick angle has become shorthand for the worst ever in the entire history of wrestling - but does it really warrant that status in the face of such loathsome exploitation elsewhere?

The angle, ultimately, was tasteless folly - the very nadir of an enterprise erected on foundations of cheap, tawdry heat. But to demonise it as the absolute worst moment in the history of WWE television is to ignore the very real damage Vince McMahon has inflicted. Poor Melanie Pillman was trotted out on an October 1997 episode of RAW with the aim of pressing her into absolving the company of any wrongdoing in her husband Brian's death. Worse still, the WWF hyped the segment as the selling point of the show.

The interview was an insidious PR exercise with a patently unwilling and upset subject - far more contemptible than scripted necrophilia.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!