Mae Young’s Hand Birth

The birth of Mae Young’s hand has to be one of the most infamous and bizarre moments in professional wrestling history. This wild storyline unfolded in early 2000, a perfect case of the over-the-top nature of WWE’s Attitude Era, and is still talked about today by wrestling fans.

The Setup

The story started at the end of 1999 when the legendary female wrestler Mae Young, in her 70s at that time, began an on-screen romance with Mark Henry aka “Sexual Chocolate.” Already, this was a strange combo due to an immense difference in age between the performers.

Part of this angle involved Mae Young becoming pregnant with Mark Henry’s child. The story development raised many eyebrows and had become a very real push of the envelope, even compared to WWE edgy programming around the time. Indeed, the pregnancy angle only gained further ridiculous proportions as it built on itself and went along with what happened.

The Infamous Birth

The payoff of this angle occurred on the February 28, 2000 edition of WWE Raw. In a notorious vignette, Mae Young went into labor in the arena’s backstage. What was supposed to be a humorous moment—a preposterous birth scene—complete with over-the-top performances and sound effects—blended shock with humor.

As the “delivery” continued, the suspense mounted for the viewing audience, who must have been dying to see how WWE would pay off this absurd scenario. The payoff was even more shocking than one would have imagined: instead of a baby, Mae Young gave birth to a bloody rubber hand.

The Reaction

The revelation of the hand “baby” left the arena audience and those at home in a state of complete disbelief. The scene was replete with over-the-top melodrama, as the other characters in the scene wretched and made shocked faces. In one almost surreal moment, after the initial shock had passed, the characters in the scene started applauding as if this were a normal event.

Instantly, the handbirth segment became one of the most talked-about moments in WWE history. Outrageous enough to transcend wrestling fandom, becoming a pop culture curiosity. To this day, more than two decades later, it is still a commonly cited example of the excesses of the Attitude Era.

Behind the Scenes

While many wrestling fans initially assumed this bizarre idea came from the mind of then-writer Vince Russo, known for his outlandish storylines, it was actually conceived by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon himself. According to former WWE writer Tommy Blancha, McMahon thought the handbirth would be “hysterical” and was completely serious about the idea.

This revelation really shows a great deal about McMahon’s sense of humor and how far he would go to make something entertaining. It also showed the level of creative control McMahon had with WWE programming during this era.

Mae Young’s Involvement

Notably, 77-year-old Mae Young was, in fact, eager to participate in these ridiculous stories. During her late-career run in WWE, Young was more than game for physical comedy and stunts that would challenge performers half her age.

These segments, including the handbirth, made Young a beloved figure in modern WWE history. Her commitment to even the most absurd storyline scenarios drew a lot of admiration from the fans and performers alike.

The Aftermath

In the immediate years following the birth of the hand, WWE continued to reference it in one form or another. The “hand” would periodically pop up, most often for humorous effect. Probably the most memorable incident was when the hand “returned” as a grown adult on the 1000th episode of Raw in 2012.

The hand birth quickly became a staple of WWE lore, often referenced in the Attitude Era retrospectives or in talking about the craziest wrestling moments ever. It has been alternately criticized for being an example of crass, valueless shock-value programming and celebrated as an iconically absurd wrestling moment.

Legacy and Impact

The Mae Young hand birth segment has become one of the most memorable moments in professional wrestling and pop culture.

Defining the Attitude Era: The segment is often used as a prime example of the anything-goes nature of WWE’s Attitude Era, showcasing how far the company was willing to go for shock value.

The Legacy of Mae Young: While Young had a long and storied career before this incident, the handbirth became the most well-known of her career. This helped solidify her as a performer who would do whatever it took in the name of entertainment.

Internet Culture: The ridiculousness of the segment cemented its popularity in memes and online discourse for years after.

Wrestling Discourse The hand birth has often been sighted during discussions of taste and content in professional wrestling; it was a benchmark of sorts for odious storytelling.

Critical Analysis

The segment of Mae Young giving birth to a hand is polarizing in wrestling lore. Critics say it embodies the worst excesses of the Attitude Era: shock value over coherent storytelling or athletic competition. Such a segment, they also say, ruined professional wrestling and drove away people who might have been fans.

Not so, say defenders of the segment, which they argue embodies the anything-can-happen spirit that made the Attitude Era great. They say wrestling has always contained elements of the absurd and that this segment was simply an extreme expression of that tendency.

This, in performance terms, is a factor that has often been highly praised about Mae Young: for agreeing to such an outlandish segment at that age, which spoke volumes about her love for her job and how well she knew what an entertainer was supposed to do.

Cultural Context

With the Mae Young hand birth, this all has to do with the greater cultural context of the late 1990s and early 2000s:

Many forms of entertainment were pushing the envelope when it came to content: one could find entertainment in the show “South Park” to “Jackass.”.

WWE and Wrestling Mainstream: WWE was also enjoying unprecedented success and publicity for the mainstream, so arguably more extreme storylines kept awareness heightened.

Pre-Social Media Era: WWE had more room for spontaneity in content since they were not immediately hounded by feedback, unlike the era when social media struck.

Changing Gender Roles: Much of what occurred during the Attitude Era would certainly have been looked at as problematic today because the social climate then was quite different.

Conclusion

The Mae Young-hand birth is indeed one of pro wrestling’s most memorable and contentious moments. It best captures the ultra-excess feel of WWE Attitude Era and serves as modern-day testimony as to how far the successful company will go for so-called entertainment of the masses with no holds barred.

With opinions of the segment wide-ranging, little question is left about the enduring impact on wrestling culture. More than two decades later, it is still debated and discussed, referred to in the world of pro wrestling.

But however that can be seen—as the absolute bottom in wrestling storytelling or as a brilliance of absurdity in entertainment—the act of Mae Young giving birth to that hand is right there at the front door, one of the most ridiculous moments in pop culture history. It’s one of those moments where, at some juncture in time, professional wrestling would—and continues to, to this day—go to all kinds of forms of ends and degrees to attempt to try to entertain or appease audiences for better or, mostly, worse.

Moments of a handbirth have gotten fewer and farther between with the evolution of wrestling, but its legacy lives on. It’s something of a touchstone in discussions of wrestling’s past and the ever-shifting boundaries of sports entertainment.