31 Years Of WWE SummerSlam Mistakes

18. SummerSlam '00 - The Stinkface Match

If there's one still which sums up the lamentable nature of WWE's treatment of female performers during the Attitude Era, it's this one. Not a single pixel of this image even hints at the word 'equality'.

It was a new millennium, yet the world's biggest wrestling company's attitude towards women was stuck somewhere in the Dark Ages. These weren't legitimate athletes whose athletic prowess should be appreciated, celebrated, but rather a titillating sideshow to raise the heckles of a hormonal fanbase (and some other things, besides).

The Kat's 'match' with Terri Runnels at WrestleMania 2000 redefined deplorable. Awful though it unavoidably was, WWE decided once just wasn't enough, so like an overstocked airline served a second helping of the absolute tripe. Nobody wanted it the first time, and fewer still wanted afters.

Because Kat and Terri were just women, for whom basic dignity needn't apply, the company also added a 'Stinkface' stipulation to the contest. Poor Al Snow and Perry Saturn were thrown in to bolster the action, marking the first occasion in the history of humanity where a man's career trajectory has been improved by becoming intimate with a mop.

Still, at least it'd only take another 15 years for women to be taken semi-seriously by the company.

Benjamin Richardson

Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.

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