10 Times Vince McMahon Allowed Smoking On WWE TV
5. WWF’s Anti-Smoking PSAs
These are truly a sight to behold for laughs and lunacy. Recorded in the heyday of the 80s numerous wrestlers appear in segments telling young fans to never ever smoke, without giving any rhyme or reason why they shouldn’t, other than a few of them screaming “SURVIVE!!!” into the camera.
There’s Ultimate Warrior who’s reliably berserk as ever, looking initially like he’s chewing and swallowing handfuls of cigarettes whole as he wails “The Ultimate Warrior has a lot of bad habits...”. Thankfully he quickly crushes them in his hands soon after and continues ranting and raving.
A babyfaced Bret Hart rambles on about how cool he is but makes sure you know that smoking is not cool.
Hulk Hogan looks like he’s took vitamins and all the cocaine in the world as he educates his Hulkamaniacs to “Don’t smoke. It’s a joke.”
Razor Ramon, well-known to be based on Al Pacino's Tony Montana who famously smoked throughout the entirety of Scarface, tells you there’s nothing like a lung full of clean fresh air and don’t pollute your lungs with tobacco smoke.
Blue Blazer’s lack of charisma desperately makes you want to smoke.
Mullet warriors The Rockers advise you the party’s over when you start smoking. Noteworthy given Shawn and Marty were known to smoke, drink and be drugged up to their eyeballs on the road more than every other wrestler combined in the PSAs.
In the most bizarre of them all The British Bulldogs talk to you like they’re your Dad’s mate down the pub, telling you you’ll never grow up to be big and strong like the Bulldogs if you smoke. They then turn to their beloved dog-mascot Matilda who may or may not have a cigarette in her mouth – Davey Boy’s clenching her mouth shut – as the Dynamite Kid adds “Look at Matilda. She’s gonna demonstrate right now what cigarettes do to you.” Well Matilda trips out. Or you’re just shown a bored dog mixed with wavy lousy graphics and hazy lousy music - it’s really in the eye of the beholder.
Also noteworthy when talking WWF PSAs is The Undertaker’s. No, not the one that popped up earlier this year on his Insta story where he’s in a pool with wife Michelle McCool awkwardly asking you to save the tigers or “No one - will rest - in peace.” The other weird one in ’93 where a student reads a poem warning you about the perils of doing drugs only for the bell to toll at the end with The Deadman appearing over her shoulder and confirming “There’s no hope - with dope.”