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Over the years, Vince McMahon's company has had several controversial storylines. One of these angles saw WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus strip to her underwear and bark like a dog inside the ring. Another brought the real-life love triangle between Edge, Lita, and Matt Hardy to the television screen.
Meanwhile, other crazy storyline ideas got rejected before they made it to WWE television. While one superstar turned down an angle because he believed it was racist, another refused to have an on-screen love affair with her father.
Here are five rejected storyline ideas that you wouldn't believe.
#5. Vince McMahon almost became Adam Rose's bunny
In May 2014, Adam Rose made his main roster debut on Monday Night RAW. The 42-year-old would go out to the ring surrounded by his Rosebuds, including a bunny (a person in a rabbit suit).
The Bunny later became Rose's tag team partner. However, he disappeared after Rose turned on him in December 2014 following his loss to R-Truth on RAW. In an interview with WSVN-TV, the 42-year-old disclosed that WWE once discussed the possibility of having Vince McMahon himself play the role of The Bunny:
"Road Dogg was in a meeting for two hours before Raw to figure out who the bunny was going to be and they couldn't decide. I wanted [Justin] Gabriel to do it because he was my friend since I was 15 and he was 16. His dad trained me and we've know each other our whole lives.I said let him do it and they said well no one really knows him anymore and they won't get the reaction they want. Then there was a suggestion that Vince McMahon do it and I was like 'What's the payoff? I don't get it.' They were like 'We don't know where to go, so why not have a crazy billionaire do it?'"
The storyline idea, however, later got rejected and dropped. Although The Bunny never revealed his true identity on television, Justin Gabriel later disclosed that he was the man in the rabbit suit.
#4. WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry rejected a racist storyline
In 2003, Mark Henry was a member of the Thuggin' And Buggin' Enterprises group on Monday Night RAW. The group, led by Theodore Long, claimed in a storyline that they were victims of racism. Although Henry agreed to do that angle, he rejected another one pitched by WWE writers.
The company's creative team pitched the idea of having Henry participate in a "Silverback Gorilla" storyline. However, the Hall of Famer rejected the pitch as he believed it was racist.
In an interview with Vlad TV, Henry opened up about his dislike for the idea, explaining why he turned it down:
"I said to the writers you would not refer to this black man as a Silverback. I'm not a primate. And that s*** stopped. (...) Vince was the one who was like 'look, if you feel that way, then tell them that that's not what you want to be portrayed as.' And I said 'well, I don't want to be portrayed as that.' He said 'ok, it's killed.'" [1:54 - 2:26]
Mark Henry left Vince McMahon's company last year. He is currently a color commentator and coach in AEW.
#3. WWE rejected Malakai Black's controversial pitch
After his feud with Kevin Owens ended in late 2020, Malakai Black (fka Aleister Black) pitched a few ideas for his character to the WWE creative team. However, all his pitches got rejected.
During one of his Twitch streams, Black disclosed the details of one of these ideas, which involved him taking Rey Mysterio's children, Dominik and Aliyah, hostage:
"The good thing about this character was that he could've endlessly blamed people. He would start with Kevin Owens, because Kevin Owens wasn't there for him. After Kevin Owens, I wanted him to go to Rey Mysterio and then Rey Mysterio Junior. While actually the other way around, I wanted to like kinda work an angle where I would take Mysterio Junior and his daughter hostage and kind of make him feel the way he made me feel by abandoning me," he said.
Unfortunately for the former NXT Champion, the pitched storyline never made it to WWE television. Instead, he disappeared from television for six months after getting drafted from Monday Night RAW to SmackDown in October 2020.
Although he returned to the Blue Brand in May 2021, the company released him from his contract less than a month later. The Dutch wrestler is currently active in AEW.
#2. AJ Lee refused to portray a mental case on WWE television
Nearly a decade ago, the WWE creative team pitched a storyline idea to AJ Lee in which she would appear as a mental case. As part of her gimmick, the former Divas Champion would hallucinate, kiss a leprechaun, and dance with dinosaurs from outer space in a series of skits.
However, Lee rejected the idea. The 35-year-old has spoken openly about herself and her mother suffering from bipolar disorder in real life. Hence, she found the angle offensive. In an interview with the New York Post, the former Divas Champion disclosed that she felt disrespected:
"It felt like it disrespected both me and my mother. It was a joke, but to me, it wasn't something to laugh at," she said.
Although the company dropped the idea, WWE punished Lee for rejecting it by taking her off television for two months.
#1. Stephanie McMahon rejected her father's incest storyline idea
In 2003, Stephanie McMahon married Triple H. The Billion Dollar Princess then became pregnant with the couple's first daughter in 2005. At the time, her dad Vince McMahon pitched her the idea of revealing himself as the father of her child as part of a storyline.
Stephanie immediately turned down her father's incest storyline idea. In an old WWE documentary, the current Interim CEO and Chairwoman disclosed that she found it disgusting:
"My dad did approach me about wanting to be the father of my baby in a storyline for TV, which again is only the second time I've ever actually said no to him for something he wanted to do. That one was just a little too gross actually. It's completely disgusting. I don't find the entertainment value in it at all. And he is actually my father, so how could I even play that out? I can't fake kiss my dad like we were in love or something. It's just revolting all the way around," she said. [0:48 - 1:22]
After his daughter rejected his initial pitch, Vince suggested that Stephanie's brother Shane play the role of the father of her child on-screen. Again, The Billion Dollar Princess turned down her father's pitch. In the end, Vince finally gave up and dropped the angle.
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