3. Michelle McCool And Mickie James' Bullying Storyline
Although the WWE writers often save their most shocking storylines for Raw (Kane's "Katie Vick" saga springs immediately to mind), a few angles crept onto SmackDown that were in similarly bad taste. Michelle McCool's feud with Mickie James certainly ranks among the worst of these, which saw Mrs Undertaker brand her opponent "Piggy James" and sidekick Layla mock her by dressing in a fat suit. This angle would have been disgraceful even if Mickie was at all overweight, but the fact that she was in decidedly better-than-average condition makes it all the more worse. One can only begin to imagine the sort of confusion and insecurity this angle could have heaped upon young female fans of the WWE in particular. James herself disagrees, stating that "it shed some light on a big issue in our school system and on the internet [...] it was an attempt to address bullying and tell a story with it". While this may well be the case, the heavy-handed manner in which the angle was handled ensured it was rightfully blasted by critics and fans alike. The WWE were rightly awarded the Observer's "Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic" award in 2009.
