These Controversial WWE Segments Would Get Them Canceled Today

Across WWE’s lengthy and successful history, the company has offered some of the all-time great segments in professional wrestling. However, WWE sometimes took an interesting and even controversial approach to certain storylines, feuds, and segments, some of which may not fly today.

In a world where sponsors, TV rights, and remaining inoffensive are all way more important than ever before, we shall take a look at some instances in which WWE segments went off the deep end and would in no way have survived the force of criticism in the year 2025, and would likely have seen them canceled.

The Katie Vick Segment

This Triple H Moment Is Regarded As One Of WWE’s Most Insane Segments

• Triple H was feuding with Kane on Raw.
• Triple H uncovered a story about Kane and his girlfriend, Katie Vick.
• He performed a fake necrophilia act on WWE programming

During a feud between Triple H and Kane, the former decided to take a dive into Kane’s past, uncovering the tragic tale of Katie Vick. The exact details of the storyline were unnecessarily graphic and disgusting, but what was worse than Triple H performing those heinous acts on a “dead Katie Vick” mannequin all while wearing a Kane mask.

This whole thing was despicable, and that sort of segment aired today you’d imagine plenty of sponsors would have a great deal to say about being featured on WWE programming. It is the type of segment that would have many TV shows in hot water.

Edge & Lita’s Live Celebration

The Rated-R Couple Took Things Too Far

• Edge and Lita got in bed together in a ring on Raw.
• They stripped down and pretended to have sex with each other.
• The segment was controversial even when it first happened.

Edge and Lita had no issue engaging in PSA on WWE programming, but they decided to take it one step further by hosting a “Live Sex Celebration”, fit with a double bed in the middle of the WWE ring, stripping down, and getting jiggy with it under the sheets. The segment drew a lot of eyes, but it is easy to see why in the current PG landscape of WWE, this sort of segment would go down absolutely terribly.

This was a controversial segment in itself even back then, so fast-forward to today, and it would be even more frowned upon – and rightfully so. It wasn’t exactly world-class storytelling on WWE’s part, and it was never repeated (thankfully). It remains an infamous segment, but for all the wrong reasons.

Brian Pillman Has A Gun

Vince McMahon Apologized For This Segment

• Pillman feuded with Steve Austin in 1996.
• A segment took place in Pillman’s home.
• Austin arrived, but Pillman pulled out a gun, leaving RAW on a cliffhanger.

During the highly intense and personal feud between Brian Pillman and Steve Austin, things escalated to wild proportions, causing even Vince McMahon to apologize! During an interview segment held in his home, Austin crashed the party and things got heated – leading to Pillman pulling out a gun.

Not only that, but Monday Night RAW went off-air with the gun firing and the screen fading to black, leaving things uncertain as to what exactly had occurred. The whole thing was very soap opera-like and well out of the usual realms of what professional wrestling had been to that point. Hosting a segment like this in 2025, without it being something comedic, would cause a lot of issues for sure – especially since it did all the way back in 1996.

Vince McMahon’s Treatment Of Trish Stratus

It Was The Worst Example Of How WWE Degraded Women

• WWE had an uncomfortable storyline with Trish, and Vince and Linda McMahon.
• McMahon made Stratus strip on TV and bark like a dog.
• It’s hard to believe that a Hall of Fame wrestler did this.

The entire storyline involving Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, and Trish Stratus was questionable in itself, but the segment in which Stratus was stripped and made to bark in the middle of the ring was unforgivable.

In an era where women’s wrestling has continued to climb, with many female stars now on the level of the male wrestlers, this segment would be universally slammed if it happened in today’s WWE – and rightfully so. When you consider that Stratus is a well-deserved Hall of Famer, multi-time women’s world champion, and someone who is treated as a legend each and every time she returns to WWE, it is wild to look back and see that she was involved in a segment such as this. You could pick similar segments across WWE’s history involving women that would get the company canceled, but this might be the worst.