10 Wrestling Moments You Felt Totally Guilty For Laughing At

8. RIP Mae Young

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WWE.com

So this one's a bit dark.

A psychopathic, shaven-headed nutcase half-killed an octogenarian woman. When this sort of reprehensible thing crops up on the news, we - irrespective of political alignment, and all that stuff that ceases to matter - mourn the decay of society or, depending on your point of view, the inherent awfulness of mankind. It is a hard punch to the gut because it is impossibly evil.

When we saw this happen on WWF television, it was p*ss funny.

Bubba Ray Dudley targeted Mae Young, and honed in on that target after tricking Mark Henry which, in the year of 2000, was as easy as asking him to run the ropes. With the target acquired and isolated, Bubba wheeled her into the stage, and instructed D-Von to lift her out of it and on top of his shoulders. Then, in a moment that shocked fans even during the Attitude Era, powerbombed her off it and through a table. This looked like certain death. Some may have waited until Mae's chest heaved to laugh out of relief, but most of us p*ssed ourselves the second Bubba's eyes twitched and rolled into the back of his head, as if this act of unspeakable cruelty had caused him to ejaculate.

In a more minor but no less triumphant visual gig, the camera panned to D-Von Dudley who, satisfied that Mae Young was incapacitated, slowly performed his carvin'-em-up gesture as if signalling the end of an athletic contest, and not revelling in the ostensible death of an old lady.

Contributor
Contributor

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!