One of the most important elements of pro-wrestling are the promos, which wrestlers use to get the audience invested the feuds they are witnessing. Faces play the part of the good guys and do what they can to get the audience to cheer them while the heels make sure they are reviled by wrestling fans everywhere. Pretty simple formula.
Except it’s not as easy as it sounds. That’s why in the WWE today, there are so many promos which are completely scripted and feel generic as all hell. We rarely see people who can cut promos the way Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock did in their heydey.
With promos not being everyone’s cup of tea, there are more than a few instances where Superstars have gone off the deep end and cut some insane promos which crossed well beyond the line of what is decent.
So, without any further ado, here are the 5 most offensive WWE promos of all-time:
#5) CM Punk’s drug promo on Jeff Hardy
CM Punk’s whole gimmick in the WWE was pulled from his real life beliefs and practices – he was a straight-edge Superstar. No drugs, no alcohol, no smoking, no addictions. Jeff Hard, on the other hand, was into hardcore drugs, alcohol, smoking and addicted all sorts of substances. You can see what the problem is here.
When the two were feuding during their time together in the WWE, Punk decided to go into full douche mode as he started to berate Hardy for his use of narcotics and tendency to adhere to a strict party lifestyle.
As one might imagine, Punk’s overly pretentious attitude coupled with the WWE Universe’s love for Hardy meant that there was massive heat drawn on the Chicago native, which was admittedly the point of the promo. It did stretch into uncomfortable territory, though, as Hardy’s problems with drugs were well-documented by his multiple Wellness Policy violations.
You can see the promo above.
#4 Randy Orton mocks Eddie Guerrero’s death
The loss of Eddie Guerrero remains one of the saddest instances of wrestlers passing away much before their time and it was an event that deeply affected his closest friends such as Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio.
The WWE played off this angle as they gave Mysterio a monster push allowing him to win the Royal Rumble where he finally eliminated Randy Orton. Orton, channelling his inner jerk, came out the next day when Rey was thanking the spirit of Eddie and said one of the most shocking things even said on WWE TV.
Orton would basically tell Mysterio that his best friend wasn’t smiling down on him from heaven but rather, was looking up at him from hell. It brought mega heat on the young Randy Orton but it was an absolutely atrocious call on the part of the WWE to make this promo happen.
#3 Paul Heyman and CM Punk mock Paul Bearer’s death
When Paul Bearer sadly passed away, the WWE decided to use the great man’s death in an angle between CM Punk and The Undertaker. Bearer, was, of course, The Undertaker’s long-time manager and a good friend both inside the business and on a personal level.
As expected, this drew some mammoth heat from the crowd as Punk teamed with his advocate at the time, Paul Heyman, to constantly disrespect the memory of Bearer and even went as far as desecrating the urn which held Bearer’s ashes.
One needs to question if this was even needed to hype up the much-anticipated matchup between The Deadman and The Cult of Personality. The two were on the top of their game and it would serve the WWE well to not use the death of industry legends so soon after their death for short-term gains.
#2 Chris Jericho’s alcohol promo on CM Punk
From CM Punk being the perpetrator to him becoming the victim. In 2012, Punk was involved in a heated feud with Chris Jericho where Y2J attacked the fact that Punk’s father, sister and mother were all abusers of alcohol and drugs.
Jericho proceeded to mock the Chicago native’s straight edge lifestyle and even went as far as telling Punk that he would end up being an alcoholic just like his father after he which he poured liquor all over Punk’s body and finally broke a bottle of alcohol on The Cult of Personality’s head.
It makes for uncomfortable watching even now and it truly did cross the line of what can be considered as decent.
#1 Vince McMahon’s insane promo
I truly have no words for this promo. It involves Vince McMahon talking to Paul Heyman as he threatens The Undertaker and The Deadman’s wife with sexual assault at the hands of a biker gang.
It is one of the most disgusting promos ever cut and it’s fair to say Vince McMahon won’t be doing something like this again.
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