5 Most Controversial WCW Gimmicks Ever

The WWF get a lot of credit for being edgy during the halcyon days that were the Attitude Era. In the late 90s and early 2000s, characters like porn star Val Venis, the ambiguous and androgynous Goldust, and the mother-loving Beaver Cleavage showed up on WWE screens.

The results were mixed at best, but this particularly period has been lionised to the extent that a third multi-disc Attitude Era DVD box set is due to drop this year, celebrating all of that weak, distinctly un-PC goodness (as well as actual megastars like Stone Cold, The Rock, and The Undertaker of course).

WCW were generally not afforded the luxury of being so obviously risqué since they were Turner Broadcasting-owned, had a PG rating, and had to answer to a very stringent set of standards and practices. They were supposedly family-friendly entertainment, but there were a handful of out-there gimmicks down the years that caused controversy.

Indeed, several characters caused alarm bells to ring and one even resulted in a lawsuit. Others were so misjudged that they caused fans to question the product, while some were supposed to be cutting-edge but just ended up causing confusion.

On the whole, WCW characters weren't controversial but these five certainly had their naysayers.