Oh boy, is the WWE swimming around in wavering levels of controversy nowadays, and as Eric Bischoff has said before - Controversy creates cash. The WWE stock prices are soaring despite some fans’ consternation about what could happen if Vince McMahon wants to continue to force his way back into gaining creative control of the company.

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But this article is about past issues the company had been mired in. Over the years, WWE has been embroiled in several controversies. Some were major stories, and others were not nearly as innocuous but nevertheless had varying levels of effects on the company.

10 Hulk Chokes Out Richard Belzer

In the later stages of his career, stand-up comedian, Richard Belzer lent his sardonic wit to Detective John Munch, a character who transcended time, space, and television networks. He recently passed away, and while several networks are airing "best of John Munch" Law and Order episodes, wrestling fans are remembering that The Belz was part of the build-up to the original WrestleMania. Belzer was the host of a show called Hot Properties and had Hogan and Mr. T on several days before WrestleMania.

Belzer requested Hogan put him in a sleeper choke hold, to which Hogan acquiesced, and did exactly what the move says - he put Belzer to sleep. He passed out in Hogan's arm and when Hulk released him, the comedian collapsed and cracked his skull. Belzer used the money from his lawsuit to buy a home in France that he mockingly named Chez Hogan.

9 Sheikybaby And Hacksaw Are Arrested

While some fans were aware that the sport was a work, in the eighties plenty of us still knew that wrestling was real combat between hated rivals.

So when The Iron Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan got arrested together for doing drugs, it was a Santa Claus type of moment for younger fans, hearing about the two rivals in close proximity with each other. As far as the WWE brass was concerned, it wasn’t that they got arrested per se, it was more that the two bitter rivals were hanging out together when it happened.

8 Ken Patera Is Signed

At one time, Ken Patera was legitimately the world’s strongest man. The 1972 Olympian was offered a spot to train with Verne Gagne and join the AWA.

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During his time there, he was involved in a wild altercation with Masa Saito where they tore up a McDonald's and assaulted several police officers before they were arrested. 16 months later, Patera was sentenced to two years in prison. He was already hired by the WWE at this time.

7 Dr. D. Slaps Jon Stossel

In the early eighties, the WWE was looking for all sorts of heels to churn out for the Hulk Hogan heel factory and hired Dr. D David Schultz.

While he was getting built up to eventually challenge the Hulkster, concurrently reporter Jon Stossel was wandering around backstage doing an article on the sport. When he asked Dr. D about the F word, Schultz slapped the heck out of him. The slap cost him his career in WWE.

6 The Ring Boys Scandal

In the early nineties, one of the WWE’s top agents was Terry Garvin (no relation to Jimmy Jam and only in Kayfabe to Rugged Ronnie). He was at the center of a pretty nasty scandal - he was accused of forcing himself on one of the ring boys, Tom Cole.

The scandal prompted McMahon to go onto Larry King Live to discuss the matter. Garvin was let go and Pat Patterson, as well as announcer Mel Phillips, resigned for their supposed hand in the incident.

5 Sable’s Lawsuit

Debuting at WrestleMania 12 as Triple H’s valet, it didn’t take fans very long to have their collective jaws on the floor for the blond bombshell, Sable. Much like Hulk Hogan before her, she fit the Vince McMahon model that he felt drew enough money to build a company around. While there weren’t many Divas around back then, that’s exactly what WWE did and put the Women’s Title and a ton of marketing around Sable.

But towards the end of her run/what caused the end of her run was that the Diva wanted a lot more than she was being given. She left the company and sued for over $100 million, citing sexual harassment, among other indignations. The case was settled out of court.

4 Black Saturday

While not as innocuous as some of the other items on this list, Black Saturday was one of the darkest days to happen to Georgia Championship Wrestling fans during The Territory Era.

In trying to expand the WWE, Vince McMahon bought a controlling interest in Georgia and was able to use TBS for air time. But when WWE showed up, the original GCW fans tuned out and were pissed. So pissed that Turner wanted his airtime back and bought it back from McMahon - enough money to help finance the first WrestleMania.

3 Vince Declares WWE Is Sports Entertainment

We all know and any of our kids who are growing up now know full well that the business is a choreographed work. But for years that deep dark secret was kept behind the walls of Kayfabe.

Wrestlers and promoters even had to pay fees to athletic commissions all over the county. But to try and get around gaming commissions, both Vince and Linda testified that it was entertainment. Even the New York Times ran a story about it. The secret was out, and plenty of promoters were not happy about it one bit.

2 Rob Van Dam And Sabu’s Arrest

ECW One Night Stand 2006 was one of the best feel-good moments WWE had in years. After cheering Rob Van Dam and the old ECW on, the fans got what they had been holding out for nearly five years. ECW was reborn and RVD capped off the night by capturing the WWE Championship.

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Unfortunately one fateful evening, he and Sabu were pulled over by police, and the duo was caught with marijuana; which at this time in 2006 was still highly illegal. The arrest made national headlines and RVD was quickly booked to lose both the WWE and ECW titles.

1 The Steroid Trial

In the late eighties and early nineties, WWE doctor George Zaharian was arrested for his part in dealing steroids. The feds decided that this would be a terrific way to link Zaharian to Vince and nail the Chairman for dealing drugs.

However, according to everyone the prosecution interviewed, McMahon never dealt them steroids. But it was when the “star” witness Nailz proclaimed his hatred for McMahon that the defense was easily able to convince the jury that he was innocent.