37 Professional wrestling controversies

The usage of animals in professional wrestling has varied through the professions history. Animals that have been used as opponents to humans in matches include bears, tigers, cheetahs and orangutans.

The Attitude Era was a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment, to describe the company's programming during the Monday Night Wars, a period in which WWF's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week during the late 1990s and early 2000s. WWF's programming, branded as "WWF Attitude" from 1997 to 2002, featured adult-oriented content, which included an increase in the level of depicted violence, profanity and sexual content. This era was part of a wider surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and Canada as television ratings and pay-per-view buy-rates for WWF and its rival promotions saw record highs.

Bash at the Beach (2000) was the seventh and final Bash at the Beach professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on July 9, 2000 from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Over a three-day period between June 22 and 24, 2007, Chris Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian professional wrestler employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and living in Fayetteville, Georgia, killed his wife Nancy Benoit and their 7-year-old son, Daniel, before hanging himself. Autopsy results showed that Benoit's wife was murdered first as she was bound at the feet and wrists and died of asphyxiation on the night of June 22. On June 25, Nancy was found wrapped in a towel with blood under her head, although Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard reported no other signs of a struggle.

In professional wrestling, the term Black Saturday refers to Saturday, July 14, 1984, the day when Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF) took over the time slot on Superstation WTBS that had been home to Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and its flagship weekly program, World Championship Wrestling, for 12 years. McMahon's purchase led to a longstanding rivalry between himself and WTBS owner Ted Turner, who later bought GCW's successor Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and formed his own company under the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) name.

In professional wrestling, blading is the practice of intentionally cutting oneself to provoke bleeding. It is also known as "juicing", "gigging", or "getting color". Similarly, a blade is an object used for blading and a bladejob is a specific act of blading. The act is usually done a good length into the match as the blood will mix with the flowing sweat to make it look like much more blood is flowing from the wound than there actually is. The preferred area for blading is usually the forehead, as scalp wounds bleed profusely and heal easily. Legitimate, unplanned bleeding which occurs outside the storyline is called "juicing the hard way".

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated blows to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse over time and can result in dementia. It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered.

Dark Side of the Ring is a Canadian documentary television series produced by Vice Studios. The series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of professional wrestling.

William Charles DeMott II is an American retired professional wrestler and road agent. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) under his real name. DeMott also performed as Crash the Terminator in both Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and Japan.

Mary Lillian Ellison was an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah.

The nickname Fingerpoke of Doom (FPOD) refers to an infamous incident in American professional wrestling which occurred on January 4, 1999 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, during a live broadcast of Nitro, the flagship show of World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Many wrestling fans consider this the beginning of the end of World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event and WWE Network event promoted by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event was the first in a series of WWE events held in Saudi Arabia. The event was held on April 27, 2018 at the King Abdullah Sports City's King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the event, all men's main roster championships were defended, in addition to a 50-man Royal Rumble match.

Hart Legacy Wrestling (HLW) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion operated by some members of the Hart wrestling family, it was founded mainly by Teddy Hart and his associates. Smith Hart was also involved with the promotion prior to his death on July 2, 2017. His long-time partner Stacey Angel is the current owner of the promotion. Bret Hart has no involvement in HLW.

Edward Ellsworth Annis is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He wrestled on a National scale for Major League Wrestling (MLW) as the leader of The Hart Foundation, where he held the MLW World Middleweight and MLW Tag Team champion. He has also wrestled for AAA, the short-lived Wrestling Society X, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Dragon Gate USA. He operates a wrestling school in Edmonton. He is the son of Georgia Hart of the Hart family and wrestler B.J. Annis. Hart achieved an early degree of fame when he became the youngest wrestler to be signed to the World Wrestling Federation. His subsequent release and controversial actions while wrestling on the independent circuit have earned him a measure of infamy. Outside of the ring, Annis has been a mentor to several young wrestlers and has been a trainer at wrestling schools. Among his trainees are Jack Evans, Pete Wilson and his younger cousin Matt Hart. Annis is also a cat lover and breeder of Persian cats which he has used sometimes in storylines and brought with him to matches.

Heroes of Wrestling was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event that took place on October 10, 1999 from the Casino Magic hotel and casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was meant to be the first in a series of pay-per-views that would feature popular wrestling stars from the 1980s and early 1990s. Plans for the franchise were abandoned following the event, which suffered from a poor buy rate and several controversies, most notably a disastrous main event featuring an extremely inebriated Jake Roberts.

High Incident was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on October 26, 1996. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The title of the event referred to the main event: a scaffold match.

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a 1998 Canadian documentary film directed, produced and written by Paul Jay. It follows Bret "The Hitman" Hart during his last year in the WWF, from his World Wrestling Federation Championship victory at SummerSlam to his final match with the company and the infamous Montreal Screwjob at the pay-per-view Survivor Series on November 9, 1997.

The Kliq was a backstage group in the World Wrestling Federation during the mid-1990s, composed of Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Triple H and Sean Waltman. Michaels, Nash, and Hall wielded a considerable amount of power within the company at the time, which they reportedly used to positively influence one another's careers and occasionally negatively influence the careers of others.

The Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the Northeastern United States along with Chaotic Wrestling, New England Championship Wrestling and Yankee Pro Wrestling.

The Montreal Screwjob was an infamous and controversial unscripted professional wrestling incident that occurred on November 9, 1997, at the Survivor Series pay per view in which World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon and WWF employees covertly manipulated the pre-determined outcome of the match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. The manipulation – a "shoot screwjob" in professional wrestling parlance – occurred without Hart's knowledge and resulted in Hart, the reigning WWF Champion, losing the title to Michaels in his last WWF match before departing for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The "screwjob" is generally believed to be an off-screen betrayal of Hart, who was one of the WWF's longest-tenured and most popular performers at the time.

Jerome Young is an American professional wrestler & TV Personality, better known by his stage name New Jack. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingness to take dangerous bumps and his stiff hardcore wrestling style, often taking high risks and "shooting" on opponents, including in the infamous 1996 Mass Transit incident. He is also known for being the only wrestler to have had his theme song play throughout his matches in ECW.

No Mercy was the ninth annual No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for their SmackDown! brand division. It took place on October 8, 2006, from the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the final brand-exclusive No Mercy during the first brand extension, as brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued following WrestleMania 23 in April 2007. It was also the last No Mercy to be SmackDown-exclusive until the 2016 event during the second brand extension when brand-exclusive PPVs returned.

In professional wrestling, the NWA World Title Tournament was a live supercard held by the Philadelphia Pennsylvania, United States-based professional wrestling promotion NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994. The event featured a tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The commentator for the event was Joey Styles. Highlights from the event aired on the August 29, 1994 episode of ECW Hardcore TV, while the tournament final and the bout between Shane Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio appeared on the 2012 WWE DVD and Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 1. In a Tournament Quarter-Final match between 911 and Doink the Clown appeared on the 2013 WWE Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 2. Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck versus the Public Enemy was included in the 2005 compilation DVD BloodSport - The Most Violent Matches of ECW.

Over the Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It was held on May 23, 1999, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the second and final Over the Edge event; the first Over the Edge event was held as the 22nd In Your House PPV.

Brian William Pillman was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1990s.

Insurrextion was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on May 4, 2002, at the Wembley Arena in London, England, and was the WWF's first pay-per-view event promoted exclusively for the Raw brand division, with Rebellion that October being SmackDown!-exclusive. It was the third Insurrextion event.

Professional wrestler Roman Reigns debuted on the WWE main roster in November 2012 as part of a faction called "The Shield" and was well-received by fans and critics. Support began to dwindle upon Reigns's transition to a heroic main event singles act in 2014, largely due to his perceived forced push. This would manifest itself in Reigns main eventing four consecutive editions of WWE's premier annual pay-per-view event, WrestleMania, while being booed in all four appearances. Crowd reactions to Reigns's five world championship victories have ranged from favorable to negative.

On December 8, 1963, the Japanese professional wrestler Rikidōzan, real name Mitsuhiro Momota, was stabbed in a Tokyo nightclub after an altercation with a Yakuza member. Considered the "godfather of puroresu", Rikidōzan was a national hero in post-World War II Japan and considered one of the most famous people in the whole country. One week after being stabbed, he died from peritonitis on December 15, 1963. He was 39 years old.

David Schultz is an American former professional wrestler. Although he is known for competing in North American regional promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the late 1970s and early 1980s, he is perhaps best remembered for his short stint in the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, where he gained notoriety after assaulting 20/20 reporter John Stossel during a report on the legitimacy of professional wrestling.

Warrior was an American professional wrestler, who most famously wrestled under the ring name The Ultimate Warrior for the World Wrestling Federation from 1987 to 1991 and again in 1992 and 1996. During his 1998 stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was known as The Warrior. Before WWF, he was known in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) as Dingo Warrior.

James Reiher Snuka was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.

Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family is a book co-written by Diana Hart and journalist Kirstie McLellan. The subtitle, Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family, refers to the Canadian Hart wrestling family, which includes wrestlers such as Smith Hart, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, Dean Hart, Bret Hart, Ross Hart, Owen Hart, Teddy Hart, David Hart Smith and Natalya Neidhart among others. The book is highly controversial and was pulled from stores after Martha Hart, widow of Owen Hart and Diana Hart's sister-in-law, filed a lawsuit. The book became an Alberta top ten nonfiction best-seller on its release.

Mankind vs. The Undertaker was a professional wrestling Hell in a Cell match between Mark Calaway and Mick Foley (Mankind) of the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The match took place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 28, 1998, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It set the standard for future Hell in a Cell matches due to Foley taking two dangerous and highly influential bumps from the top of the cell. Foley received numerous legitimate injuries performing the stunts, and the match had little impact on his career in the short-term but took a severe physical toll on him in the long-term, and eventually became the match he is most remembered for.

Victory Road (2011) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, which took place on March 13, 2011 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the seventh event under the Victory Road chronology and the third event of the 2011 TNA PPV schedule.

The WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal is a professional wrestling battle royal held at WrestleMania by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The inaugural battle royal was held during the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff pre-show in 2018. The winner of the match received the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal Trophy.

The history of WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded in 1953 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). It underwent several name changes throughout the years, from World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963 to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and finally to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002.