10 Times WWE Used Real Life Misery For Storyline Gains

2. The London Bombings

Okay, so this segment was taped before the bombings happened, but it was aired on an edited SmackDown. WWE had the option of removing it but decided instead to run with it, drawing plenty of mainstream attention, but not the good kind.

On 87 July 2005, a series of suicide attacks took place across London, largely targeting commuters on the city’s busy transport network at rush hour. 56 people died, while more than 750 were injured. The bombings were the UK’s worst terrorist tragedy since the Lockerbie bombings.

An episode of SmackDown aired that day, featuring one of the most controversial events in company history. The early promise shown by the Muhammad Hassan character had been shelved in favour of cheap heat and stereotypes, but even those miserable tropes paled into comparison to this. Hassan summoned a group of masked men to attack The Undertaker, choking him out with piano wire before carrying him out. The whole thing was designed to look like a terrorist group was attacking a guy. WWE aired it in full, despite the bombings that took place earlier in the day.

The mainstream backlash was immediate, but WWE even tried to shape that for its own benefit. It was all too much though, and Hassan’s character was written off TV before the month was over.