10 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Be Edgy

9. Raw Underground = Fight Club

The Undertaker Tommy Dreamer
WWE.com

WWE tried another approach in 2020.

Imagine over-the-top commentator Shane McMahon of 1999 Sunday Night Heat fame had started narrating worked MMA fights. That's what Raw Underground was, but it was also a clear tribute to Fight Club; the first rule of Raw Underground is that nobody watches Raw Underground.

This was something different for the show back then, sure, but it was also a poor replacement for proper character development, compelling storylines or anything else fans wanted when they tuned into the flagship. Worse, Shane turned everything comedic by constantly yelling things like, "BAM!" when a punch landed.

It was like he'd watched some old John Madden footage and thought his soundbites would fit a gritty underground fighting ring, which is a weird thought. WWE cancelled Underground pretty quickly, and everybody moved on from the experiment like it had never happened at all.

Get used to reading sentences like that, by the way.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.