10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2001
1. Comparing 9/11 To The Steroid Trials
The WWF earned a lot of praise for putting on the first public gathering and entertainment event in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York. A special, patriotic episode of SmackDown took place a mere 2 days after the horror, and it included a number of pre-recorded promos from members of the roster discussing what had happened and how proud they were to be from the United States.
Stephanie McMahon's promo stood out.
Her speech on the post-9/11 edition of SmackDown was something else. Immediately, Stephanie pretty much compared the tragedy to federal government agents coming for her father in light of the steroid allegations back in the 1990s. It was completely tone deaf, and presumably a bit insulting to those who had lost loved ones in New York.
Granted, Stephanie likely had good intentions, but good lord. If ever a company needed to show some self-awareness. People dying in a terror attack, and the misery that comes with something as incomprehensible as that, is nothing like Vince McMahon being investigated for potentially supplying his wrestlers with anabolic steroids. Nothing like it at all, and to suggest that was simply ridiculous.
Did the McMahon family go through a lot of stress? Undoubtedly, but nobody died. They certainly weren't torn apart by a confusing and utterly shocking terror attack that nobody saw coming. The Wrestling Observer newsletter named this one promo moment as the 'Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic' of 2001, and rightly so.
Some common sense in the light of a tragedy wasn't much to ask for.
What other matches and moments from 2001 should be here? For more like this, check out 15 Exact Moments WCW Booking Stopped Making Sense and 10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2000!