6. Randy Orton Lays Out, Kisses Stephanie McMahon - Raw 2009
With the official switch to all shows being TV-PG being in the middle of 2008, the first WrestleMania of the PG era was WrestleMania 25 in 2009, and the match promoted as the main event was Triple H defending the WWE Championship against Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton. Having feuded before a few times, they needed an edge to really put the program over the top. That edge was the involvement of Stephanie McMahon, who was, after several years of winking and nodding, finally being acknowledged on TV as Triple H's real life wife. One night on Raw, when Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase Jr. were beating down Triple H, they handcuffed him to the ropes so they could do horrible things to him. Stephanie ran out to beg for mercy, so Orton, being a crazy person, decided to attack her, dropping her with the hanging DDT. Triple H could only watch as Orton not only attacked his wife, but kissed her on the lips while she was unconscious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a58FP2JV8XM It was an awesome pro wrestling angle to build up WrestleMania, but WWE was clearly still adjusting to what they felt being PG meant. Between the man on woman violence and the rapeyness of the kiss, it's the type of storytelling they'd soon abandon.
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
