50 Absolute Worst Things WWE Has Done In The 21st Century
33. Al Wilson’s Heart Attack (2003)
If you want a laugh, fire up ancient episodes of WWE SmackDown from late 2002 into early 2003 and watch a friend's face as they witness the rise and fall of Al Wilson. It's crazy to think about now, but old Al was one of the most heavily featured characters on the blue brand for a while. Torrie Wilson's dad even got to kayfabe marry Dawn Marie (who was feuding with his daughter).
That led to a barmy 'Mother vs. Daughter' match between the pair at the '03 Royal Rumble. Yes, Triple H vs. Scott Steiner was only the second worst match that night! Seriously though, the stuff with Al was so over the top and daytime soap opera that it almost has a bit of charm to it looking back. Almost is the key word there, because this hoovered up far too much TV time for months.
There was never going to be a satisfying payoff either. It wasn't like Al was going to launch a quest to become a WWE full-timer, make a push to become a champion or even wrestle any matches to speak of. Nah, he was a peripheral butt of commentary jokes until Wilson suffered a worked heart attack brought on by "too much sex".
Al's death takes the nod here, but his entire run was a calamitous showcase of everything wrong with Vince McMahon's sensationalistic approach to wrestling. Sometimes it worked if the characters/wrestlers were strong enough. Poor Al Wilson wasn't. He couldn't act, he couldn't do anything physical, and he always looked really awkward in front of the cameras - this doesn't even qualify as a dumb WWE story nobody wants to admit was genius.
A storyline to forget.