The True Lurid Story Of Free WWE UK Pay-Per-Views

How Mae Young's shock stunt at the 2000 Royal Rumble lost more than one's appetite.

by Michael Sidgwick
Jerry Lawler Sable.jpg
WWE.com

WWF Royal Rumble 2000 holds a certain significance to fans in the United Kingdom.

It was a fantastic show. It was a legitimately dangerous-feeling show. It was also a free show. If you were lucky enough to have a bedroom of your own with a mini television set, you too could watch an octogenarian expose what seemed indistinguishable to her own bare t*ts! No longer was an embarrassing explanation required to justify asking your folks to stay up late downstairs, if you were lucky enough to have Sky. The answer to the question "What am I recording for you tonight, my 14 year-old son?" no longer had to be "Oh nothing, just Sable taking her top off and if you look closely, you can see the outline of the nipple and everything."

Anecdotally, at least, few parents had a problem with their young and disgusting teenage boys watching the sexualised ultra-violence of the Attitude Era. If anything, cost was often the main breast barrier.

"Dad, can I watch a lunatic slowly endure chronic traumatic encephalopathy through repeated, unprotected chair shots to the head?"

"Depends. How much does it cost?"

"...about thirty quid a month."

"Thirty quid? Get fucked sonna."

Your parents were probably just glad that you were in the house, and not choking on your own vomit in the sort of pitiful alcopop-induced death the front pages had warned them about.

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!