Top Five Bad Publicity Stunts

Brian Damage

There is an old saying…”there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” While some may believe that is true, it can lead to negativity and people tuning out of your product. Such is the case in pro wrestling. There have been many times where a promoter truly thinks that any publicity…is still publicity and it will attract viewers to their TV show or fans to the arenas. Today’s top five looks at five of the worst publicity stunts to get wrestling fans attention.

The Michael Sam Mystery

In 2014, former NFL player Michael Sam made mainstream headlines by coming out as gay. Leave it to WWE to try and capitalize on that moment by “inviting” Sam to Monday Night Raw. It was announced on the RAW with graphics and everything including Stephanie McMahon going online and promoting it. It was an obvious ratings ploy by the company to get fans and outside eyeballs on the product. For whatever reason, the entire thing was dropped the very next week with zero explanation. It certainly made people wonder if WWE truly invited Sam or simply used his name and situation to get attention without his knowledge.

Feeding off the Von Erich Tragedies

There was an angle in World Class Championship Wrestling where Fritz Von Erich was severely beatdown by the Freebirds inside of a cage. Seems innocent enough considering the years long feud between the Von Erichs and the Freebirds…only this time Fritz walks out of the cage with help from his sons only to collapse on the arena floor. The way it seemed to be presented is that Fritz had a heart attack or in some serious dire need of medical attention. In fairness, it was never said that Fritz suffered a heart attack, but that didn’t stop fans from thinking the very worst. Considering all the tragedies that hit WCCW and the Von Erich family, it seemed that this was one of the final nails in the coffin for World Class. The silence in the arena after he collapsed to the floor was truly deafening. They even had Kevin and Kerry give a medical update on their father from Baylor University hospital. Fans just couldn’t take anymore heartache from this wrestling family and turned away in droves.

Vince McMahon Interviews Melanie Pillman

Following the sudden and tragic death of Brian Pillman, the WWF immediately set up an interview with his widow…Melanie Pillman for Monday Night Raw the very next day. It was built up and advertised during the broadcast and was nothing more than a ratings ploy by Vince McMahon. Regardless of how Melanie Pillman was considered by many years later…it was a very bad look by the company to try and capitalize on a tragedy.

Reliving the Owen Hart Tragedy

Imagine trying to indirectly or perhaps directly attempt to recreate the awful tragedy that befell Owen Hart a little less than a year after that incident. Well, in WCW everything seemed fair game…especially with Vince Russo a major part of creative. Slamboree 2000 was the event that this angle took place. It was the main event of the evening that saw David Arquette defend the WCW world title against Jeff Jarrett and Diamond Dallas Page in a three tiered steel cage match. During the course of the match, Mike Awesome flung Chris Kanyon off the 20 foot cage and on to the rampway. It took place in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City which was the site of Owen Hart’s tragic fall. Whether it was a horrible coincidence or trying to capitalize on a real life tragedy…who knows? Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff were in charge during that time so you decide for yourselves.

Bruiser Brody Stabbing Re-enacted

This angle was extremely disgusting and classless. We all know the story of how Frank “Bruiser Brody” Goodish was stabbed by Jose “Invader 1” Gonzales and bled to death in a shower in Puerto Rico. Two years after that tragic event, Japanese wrestler Atsushi Onita planned a match against Jose Gonzales to take place in Puerto Rico. His idea was to hold a press conference for the match and act as if Gonzales had stabbed him like he did Brody. In reality, Onita had stabbed himself lightly and Gonzales was NOT a part of the actual angle. While in a hospital getting stitched up (only 2 stitches were required) the mainstream media picked up on Onita’s plans and was deservedly maligned. Onita quickly scrapped the storyline.