WWE's 5 biggest controversies of the year

A predictable segment that backfired big timeIf you do go by Eric Bischoff's statement that controversy does create cash then WWE should have had its share of a money making business through it.It was a year that had a substantial amount of controversies, but many of them aren't really money making ventures for the WWE. There were lawsuits, a retirement and a racial outburst caught on tape that led to an immediate whitewash of a performers existence.Some paved the way for something bigger and better in the long run while the others didn't. These controversies, though, can't be forgotten that easilyHere are the five that made a lot of noise-

#5 Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns was the ‘Chosen One’ and it was no secret. Daniel Bryan returned and delighted everyone by announcing that he’ll participate in the Royal Rumble.

Philadelphia was ready to boo the heck out of Reigns and they did that the moment he made his entrance long after Bryan had been unceremoniously eliminated by Bray Wyatt. They knew who was going to win.

And then they had Kane, Big Show and Reigns as the final three. This was met with major jeers as the people in attendance knew it then that Reigns’ megastar cousin was in the building to get him over.

It all seemed so shameless – which was downright bad. They even cheered the brief Rusev moment where he came outta nowhere as a legal participant. Reigns won and that led to #CancelWWENetwork trending at number 1 on Twitter.

WWE still did not let go of the idea of Reigns being the one and that has made all the difference.

#4 No more Curb Stomp

WWE has been mired by multiple lawsuits by performers who've suffered from concussions.

One of the many accusations were that theWWE has attempted to cover up the dangers of head trauma associated with wrestling. They've been accused of not adopting a formidable concussion policy and not having a proper testing system among other accusations.

Seth Rollins created a major Wrestlemania moment by Curb Stomping Roman Reigns to get the pin and the win. But soon afterwards he stopped using the move altogether. And then the move was just deleted from videos of that Wrestlemania moment.

Soon word came in that the move was banned because of its possibility of causing head injuries. The fans were appalled as to how this move was nixed and many other dangerous moves still exist.

#3 AJ Lee

There were unstoppable rumors about AJ Lee retiring ever since she got engaged to CM Punk but the moment she finally decided to retire came as a little bit of a shock. She did not leave without creating a little chaos, though, and that has somehow made the most difference in the improving main roster divas division.

When Patricia Arquette won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood, she spoke about how there should be wage equality once and for all. Stephanie McMahon congratulated her on Twitter and was one of the many among the sea of supporters online to this speech.

AJ Lee, though, wasn’t impressed. She took to Twitter to talk about wage inequality amongst male and female performers in the WWE and how the female performers are only given a fraction of time on television despite their merchandise and segments doing quite well otherwise.

This came after #GiveDivasAChance trended worldwide just a few days back.

Stephanie gave a very diplomatic response- “Thank you @WWEAJLEE, I appreciate your opinion. #UseYourVoice

AJ Lee later returned to the major delight of the audience and that led to one of the best divas stories on the main roster with the Freaks and Geeks (Lee and Paige) taking on the Bellas at Wrestlemania 31.

AJ Lee retired 5 days later after rumors of the deteriorating relationship between the company and her husband reached the public domain.

#2 Paige - Charlotte contract signing

On a night that featured The Undertaker and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, WWE decided to have a contract signing between two women be the main event.

This came on the heels of the phenomenal news and buzz generated by Ronda Rousey’s first ever loss in MMA to Holy Holm.

Charlotte talked about how she has dedicated her wrestling career to her brother Reid who passed away in 2013. The controversy kicked in after Paige decided to take a shot at Charlotte’s brother. She said, “ Your little baby brother, he didn’t have much fight in him. Did he!”

That statement led to a ripple of sentiments. Charlotte’s own mother was quite upset and furious with this segment and Ric Flair apparently cried throughout watching it at home. He didn’t get any prior notice regarding the subject matter of this segment.

WWE released a statement, later on, mentioning that no such personal subject matter goes out without any consensus from the performers involved – "Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming."

#1 The Hogan situation

The eagerness and quickness with which it all transpired were quite unbelievable.

Hulk Hogan was fired from the WWE. His merchandise, his existence on the Hall of Fame page was removed and any mention of his name on the company's website was nixed. You could search for him in any nook and cranny of WWE's virtual space and there was just no mention of him.

The company released a statement on this complete whitewash, "WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide."

This came after National Enquirer and RadarOnline revealed a racist rant made by Hogan in his leaked sex tape. There he was against the idea of his daughter being with any black man.

This was just shameful for his legacy. Where on one side his representative said that he quit, the WWE maintained that he was fired on the other. Hogan, meanwhile, was quite apologetic and later kicked off a redemption tour.