The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)

2004 - Kane Vs. Lita/Matt Hardy

The Kane character raped Lita.

That’s a very blunt way of putting it, but he did. WWE never outright said that word, which was sick, really. They wanted the supposed intrigue of such a twisted storyline development, but they didn’t want to outright say it. They were cowards afraid of their own heat.

The Kane character raped Lita, who was shown to be terrified by his sinister, unrelenting advances, and when the rape resulted in an unwanted pregnancy, Lita attempted to concoct scenarios in which she’d lose the baby.

This was so grim and uncomfortable. The antithesis of escapism, much less pro wrestling. Rather than report Kane to the authorities, WWE offered him the chance to marry Lita, at SummerSlam, were he to successfully defeat Matt Hardy. He won the match. It was impossible to take seriously, of course, but why depict yourself as a heel promotion for the sake of this vile trash? It was as if WWE had no idea of how vile it had become as both a real business and storytelling entity.

The dumbest pro wrestling logic, the most disturbing of subject matter, this was horrendous before the twist.

Lita did in fact miscarry, when Snitsky caused Kane to fall on top of her. This plot development humanised a rapist; Kane, mourning the loss of his child, which was the product of rape, turned babyface and feuded with Snitsky, whose accidental actions were framed as being worse than protracted sexual harassment and violent sexual assault.

2004 was one of the least commercially successful years in the history of the promotion. A very small mercy.