10 Disturbing WWE SmackDown Moments You Totally Don't Remember
3. Rape, Murder And McMahon
Vince McMahon used to commonly defend WWE from innumerable moral guardians by suggesting that for all the chaos his storylines portrayed, the organisation never went near murder, sex crimes, or anything so serious in nature that it could connect dangerously with the youth of the United States or young fans the world over. 'You don't see guns, you don't see knives, you don't see rapes' were three of his biggest escape hatches.
Then in 2003, he hit just about every flashpoint in a single promo as if he was actively trying to catch everything formerly consigned to the banned list.
Stuck in a feud with The Undertaker at the time, McMahon insisted new SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman summon 'The Deadman' to the show. When Heyman revealed that he'd be absent until Survivor Series, McMahon flipped what turned out not to be his wig and delivered one of his ugliest ever diatribes.
Attempting to portray his obsession with destroying the 'Phenom', Vince promised that 'terrorists are gonna burn down The Undertaker's house', 'his children are going to be kidnapped' and 'his wife is gonna be raped by a motorcycle gang right in front of him'.
He went further, suggesting that if Heyman didn't oversee the aforementioned atrocities, he'd strangle him to death, then fire him. The promo doesn't get a lot of airtime in highlights packages these days, perhaps only because Vince didn't follow through, rather than for the actual content.