10 Times WWE's PG Era Went Too Far

7. Ric Flair Kisses Becky Lynch

Paige Natalya
WWE

In 2015, WWE debuted the Women's Revolution: an initiative designed to promote women more progressively, launched with many of them debuting in cliques, those gossiping hens in dire need of a support system.

By 2016, much of this weirdness had been deemphasised, and the women were largely promoted for their wrestling ability, and not what the male writers thought they were like in school. A great year for women's wrestling on the main roster began auspiciously with a very decent match between Charlotte and Becky Lynch which, if it was positioned in the death slot of yore, nobody bothered to tell them. They laid it in and crafted something that, while not blow-away great, was the start of something.

Until Ric Flair kissed Becky Lynch without her consent to create the distraction. Some people will roll their eyes at that, likely because, having never been kissed at all, they can't begin to imagine how people might be discerning about being attacked without permission by, quite literally, gauging by his moniker, a dirty old man.

Given the litigation brought to WWE in 2002, the only thing separating this from actual sexual assault was that Lynch wasn't wearing an air stewardess uniform.

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!