10 Times WWE Completely Misunderstood Sexuality
7. Matt & Lita & Kane
Lita wasn't the first woman to be put up as stakes in a match without giving any sort of approval for such a thing, but her situation was comfortably the gravest.
The summer of 2004 saw her chosen by Kane to house his 'demon seed', whether she was particularly game for it or not. Naturally, this enraged real-life boyfriend Matt Hardy, who went to war for her honour...and lost. Badly.
Kane destroyed him in a 'Till Death Do Us Part' match and continued to beat him right onto the injured list, celebrating his accomplishments by apparently raping and impregnating the former Women's Champion.
Despite the unlawful and grossly unethical nature of their relationship, they inexplicably bonded over a miscarriage, after an errant Gene Snitsky chairshot knocked the 'Big Red Machine' on top of Lita. Offensive if only for the deeply traumatic nature of the story, the mere idea that she would side with her oppressor was a sad indictment of the company's view on abusive relationships and a woman's place in wrestling in general.
Ironically, the cumulative result of the story would change two of the performer's lives in a very real way. With Matt injured, Lita began travelling (and sleeping) with Edge. The outing of their tryst resulted new detested heel Lita turning on Kane, but in storyline, could you really blame her?