Why We Laughed When We Shouldn't Have

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane with Vince McMahon

Watching the Vince McMahon documentary on Netflix was like opening up a time capsule filled with wrestling moves and nostalgia. It took me right back to the 90s when, like every other kid, I was obsessed with pro wrestling. Whether it was trying out a Stunner on my cousins, perfecting the Rock Bottom with my friends, or throwing my brother around on our parents' bed like we were at WrestleMania—it was a golden time. I mean, who didn’t want to be The Rock, Hulk Hogan, or Stone Cold?

Back then, it all seemed so simple and innocent. Wrestling was fun, over-the-top, and full of characters larger than life.

When We Didn’t Notice the Problem

But the documentary also brought back something else: the realization of just how different things look now, and how problematic so much of it was, especially when it came to how women were treated. I mean, it wasn’t just wrestling, right? Every bit of entertainment from the 90s and early 2000s seemed to thrive on degrading women for ratings. It was like society signed up to watch the trainwreck, all while giving a collective thumbs-up to it.

And yeah, watching it all again made me think—why didn’t I see it like this back then? I mean, why would a teenage boy in the 90s even question it? You had hot women on TV doing things that, let’s be honest, were designed to get attention. It was all part of the show. It’s only in hindsight that it starts to feel so off. The women were there to be ogled, objectified, and used to prop up storylines that were, let’s face it, pretty demeaning. But it wasn’t like we, the audience, really noticed, did we?

Society’s Change: The #MeToo Era

It’s crazy how easy it is to look back now and judge the entire era as just wrong. But let’s face it, back then, no one really stopped to think about what it meant. It wasn’t until much later—when movements like #MeToo started to shake things up and figures like Harvey Weinstein got exposed—that people began reflecting on the damage that had been done. We were part of the problem, whether we realized it or not.

But this isn’t to say everyone suddenly woke up to the issue. Some people still cling to those outdated mindsets without a hint of shame (👀 Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar). But for the most part, society did start changing, slowly but surely.

Wrestling's Wild Storylines (and What We Didn't Question)

Now, let’s get back to wrestling. Because man, some of those storylines were wild. I mean, who can forget the feuds like Hulk vs. Ultimate Warrior, or the chaos of D-Generation X? Austin 3:16, The Rock’s insane charisma, the WCW invasion—those were iconic moments. But there were also things that, in hindsight, were seriously questionable. Like, remember when Triple H drugged Stephanie McMahon, took her to a drive-thru wedding chapel, and married her while she was knocked out? Oh, and then casually dropped that bombshell on live TV, admitting he raped her while we all laughed along, thinking, “Well, it's just entertainment.”

We all laughed. We all thought it was funny. And I guess we all thought it was fine? But looking back, it’s hard not to feel a little sick at the idea of normalizing stuff like that on mainstream television. The fact that Vince McMahon even pitched a storyline where he would be revealed as the father of Stephanie’s baby? Yeah, thanks Steph, for shutting that one down—because honestly, what in the actual hell?

So, Were They All Monsters?

Looking back now, it feels pretty easy to slap the “evil” label on everyone involved. But is that fair? Probably not. People aren’t usually 100% good or 100% bad. It’s tempting to paint everyone who played a part in that era as monsters, but in reality, they were reflecting what society accepted at the time.

That doesn’t excuse the behavior, though. I’m all for accountability. People who crossed lines absolutely deserve to face the consequences. But at the same time, I’m a believer in karma—what goes around, comes around. And I like to think that eventually, life has a way of making sure everyone gets what’s coming to them.