10 Wrestling Storylines That Were Much Darker Than You Think

2. Vince McMahon's Ruthless Aggression Character Arc

Rob Van Dam Steve Austin
WWE

Throughout the "Ruthless Aggression" era - which basically was the Attitude Era in terms of format, tone and everything else - Vince McMahon became a grotesque parody of himself, and he was effectively a grotesque parody of himself in his resting state to begin with.

He romanced Sable, and by "romanced", he stuck his tongue so far down her throat that it was as if he was attempting to pump alcohol out of her stomach. He tasked his subordinates on the writing staff with coming up with "funny" names for fake ailments as pretext for him to touch up Candice Michelle on national television. That way, a gross manipulation of a power dynamic became a "What is Vince McMahon like, eh?" moment.

Candice has labiagitis!

Haha!

He booked himself as a camera so that he could get an intimate POV upskirt shot of Stacey Keibler, but it was funny - harmless, even! - because he did a funny orgasm face. He looks like he's in the vinegar strokes, lads! He looks like he's dropping an actual load! He's gone cross-eyed with bliss!

Top bantz. What a lad.

He did all of this on camera as, it would be revealed last year, he wielded his power to a vile and harrowing extent offscreen.

You'd think it was impossible for such a hulking, beet-red ar*ehole to hide in plain sight, but here we are.

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!