10 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Be Edgy
1. Brian Pillman Has A Gun
In wrestling, workers make violent threats all the time. That's kinda the point; WWE wants you to be interested in Wrestler A kicking Wrestler B's arse on pay-per-view, or vice versa. It's staged violence, and often ridiculous, but the product is predominantly grounded with some sort of knowledge that everything will be OK in the end.
Characters always come back for more, basically.
That's why it was so out-there to see Brian Pillman brandish a gun during his feud with old tag partner Steve Austin in 1996. Austin invaded Bri's home, so Pillman pulled out a handgun and waved it around before everything went dark, gunshots were heard and people panicked.
The USA Network were not happy with the WWF for trying to introduce guns to Raw. Steel chairs and other weapons? Sure, they're fine. A crazed man whipping out a gun to shoot his enemy dead? Nah, that was too far for USA, and the feud didn't really go anywhere in the end anyway.
When else has WWE tried and failed to be edgy and/or controversial? For more like this, check out 10 Crazy Recent WWE Pitches You Won’t Believe and 10 Wrestlers That Don’t Deserve To Be Hated!