10. Brock Lesnar Throws Zach Gowen Down A Flight Of Stairs
You'd be forgiven for thinking that Brock Lesnar was detested enough by fans following his heel-turn on Kurt Angle in the summer of 2003. The beloved Olympian was double-crossed by Lesnar, the latter siding with Vince McMahon in a move reminiscent of both Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Bright things were clearly planned for his future, but the WWE curiously decided to waste the beginning of his heel push as a dominating bully, needlessly brutalising smaller wrestlers with ease. The most notable of such victims was Zach Gowen, professional wrestling's first one-legged competitor. Picked on by Vince and suffering a clear disadvantage, Gowen was a natural underdog who quickly gained the support of the fans. He actually picked up a victory over Brock on SmackDown, albeit by disqualification - after Lesnar had supposedly broken his one leg. This brutality was taken to a new level on the following week's show, on which Brock ambushed a wheelchair-bound Zach backstage and shoved him down a flight of stairs. The shocking incident seemed more a remnant of the controversial Attitude Era than a step forward, and has only aged worse in the current age of PG programming. It is understandably not a segment often revisited by the WWE's production team.
