10 Times WWE's PG Era Went Too Far

8. WWE Laughs Off International Incident

Paige Natalya
WWE

In November of 2018, in a development that surprised nobody and yet felt at the time utterly untenable, Vince McMahon no-sold an international diplomatic crisis and proceeded to run his pro-KSA propaganda show Crown Jewel mere weeks after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

They were pelted for doing so, even by wings of the mainstream media that couldn't have cared less about their day to day operations. Going ahead with the show in part represented a creeping return to an old, corrupt normal resisted, at the time, with genuinely appalled coverage. You would have expected WWE to cower away from the glare of the optics, and they did, mostly, by referring to Crown Jewel as if it were both the name of the show and its location, in their on-brand, really weird way.

This however did not stop Stephanie from cracking a joke about the furore with bare-faced cheek just days later. "Dismemberment is kind of a corporate liability," she said to Braun Strowman in response to his threat towards Baron Corbin.

"You just had a Turkey at Crown Jewel, so I don't know why you're playing the tough guy in my ring," Stephanie somehow didn't follow up.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!