10 Times Wrestlers Cried And Made Everybody Feel Really Awkward

2. Stephanie McMahon (Monday Night Raw, 19th January 2009)

vince mcmahon crying
WWE

Another returnee to this tearful ten, Stephanie McMahon's second appearance is as much down to the angle that would follow Randy Orton's powerful beatdown of her father as well as the tears she shed for him as he lay there concussed.

Despite broadly being a babyface at the time, she'd been a deeply unsympathetic character just minutes earlier in yet another needless castration promo battle with Chris Jericho, but her return to the scene after 'The Legend Killer's dramatic punt to her father's head only made her more insufferable.

It was ironic that her verbiage earlier in the show had been so cutting. Her throaty wails for help as Vince lay grounded sounded as if she'd spent the entire evening gargling razor blades. With the commentators laying off in order to sell the gravitas of the admittedly phenomenal attack, her groaning and gravelly whimpers provided the soundtrack to the striking images and almost took away any seriousness.

Thinking as usual that McMahon plight is something their audience actually shares, Stephanie's pained cries for 'Daddy' instead harked back to a time when she literally fought in sh*t with Trish Stratus over Vince's over-familiar affections. Her tantrum-like tears completely mis-sold an otherwise incredible moment.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett