10 Times WWE SmackDown Went Too Far

3. The Mad King

'You don't see guns, you don't see knives, you don't see rapes." - Vince McMahon, defending his company from criticism long before he simply settled on "putting smiles on faces".

"Terrorists are gonna burn down The Undertaker's house. His children are going to be kidnapped. His wife is going to be raped by a motorcycle gang right in front of him." - Also Vince McMahon, at his megalomaniacal worst in 2003 before his daughter and son-in-law elbowed him out of the way and started talking about "putting smiles on faces".

Embroiled in a feud with 'The Deadman', McMahon delivered his vitriol when General Manager Paul Heyman revealed that he'd be gone until their Survivor Series match for The Chairman's own good. McMahon flipped what turned out not to be his wig and came out with all of this.

He wasn't done.

Turning on the former ECW chief, he threatened that if Heyman didn't oversee these oddly specific atrocities, he'd strangle him to death, then fire him. Pity poor Paul - it wouldn't even be the worst abuse he'd face before f*cking clean off in 2006.

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