2002 WWE Plane Ride from Hell: Overview of the Worst Plane Ride Ever Witnessed

WWE jet

I know that many readers of Bleacher Report have probably heard about the "plane ride from hell." I just discovered this story for myself a few days ago, and have done some digging.

I would like to recap the flight in question for fans of the WWE that haven't heard about it. For those that have, look at the slideshow and enjoy the anarchy once more.

These events occurred on a seven hour flight that left London, England, on May 5, 2002. This was after the United Kingdom Insurrextion PPV that took place the day before. The flight was host to top agents and talent like Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, Stephanie McMahon, Linda McMahon, Triple H, Jim Ross, the Undertaker and Dave Finlay.

Most of the people mentioned in this story were either drunk or high on a drug named GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid), which is legal (but regulated) in the UK and USA. For those who are not familiar with the drug, it causes euphoria and makes people very sociable. Another side effect is sleep, and thus it is also considered a "date rape" drug.

Much of this story is recounted by X-Pac in a video at the end of this slideshow.

Now, let us begin. 

Scott Hall and Curt Hennig

Scott Hall and Curt Hennig

Good friends—and recently re-hired superstars at the time—Scott Hall and Curt Hennig allegedly boarded the plane high on GHB.

The drug started to mix with the alcohol that they began to ingest on the flight, which resulted in a shaving cream fight. That's right—these grown men, both talented professionals, began to spray themselves, and everyone else, with shaving cream.  

The dynamic duo began to spray sleeping victims with shaving cream as a part of a game to see how much they could get on them before they woke up.

This was short lived, as Scott Hall stayed true to character and passed out before things really got interesting. Scott's pulse was checked a number of times because he was not moving at all, and that scared numerous people. 

Curt Hennig vs. Brock Lesnar

Mr.Perfect

Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig), father of the current WWE superstar Joseph Hennig (Michael McGillicutty), is one of the greatest talents the WWE ever acquired.

On May 5, 2002, Curt put those talents to use, as he attempted to take down Brock Lesnar. After he not only failed to do so, but was taken down himself, things turned ugly.

Instead of a friendly competition, the two men began a small brawl that came very close to the airplane door. It took Dave Finlay, Paul Heyman and Paul Levesque (Triple H) to tear Curt and Brock apart.

This was made out to be a huge deal, despite the fact that Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon did the exact same thing the flight before. The only difference was that the Undertaker woke up the time before and choked out Angle because he thought he was trying to hurt Vince.  

Michael Hayes, Part 1

Michael Hayes

Michael Hayes, a former Freebird and current WWE manager, was aboard this flight. His alleged sedative of choice was alcohol.

After having multiple drinks, Michael did what any man would and decided it was time to go to the bathroom.

What Michael failed to comprehend was that he was not in front of the urinal. He was not even in the bathroom. He was standing in front of Linda McMahon trying to take out his penis.

You read that right. Michael Hayes was so drunk that he tried to urinate on the boss's wife, Linda McMahon.

After he was directed toward the bathroom and relieved himself, Michael stirred up trouble with John Layfield. Bradshaw had a bruise on his head at the time, and Michael, like any sane person, knuckle-punched him in the targeted area. FREEBIRD STYLE! (The knuckle punch as seen in the photo above.)

Bradshaw, enraged by the attack, knocked out the intoxicated Hayes with one punch. 

Michael Hayes, Part 2

X-Pac

Once Michael Hayes was knocked out cold by JBL, he was victimized further by Sean Waltman. Sean is better known to the WWE audiences as the DX member X-Pac.

Waltman disliked Hayes for booking the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz, Edge and Christian in TLC matches and making them do the most dangerous stunts every night, including house shows. Upon seeing the unconscious Hayes, Waltman grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off Michael's mullet.

Jerry "the King" Lawler loved this because he knew that Hayes buried his kid, Brian Lawler (Grand Master Sexay).

Hayes was furious when he woke up, but things only got worse when he found out that Waltman auctioned off the mullet on the following Raw show.

Ric Flair

Ric Flair

The entire WWE Universe knows that Ric Flair likes to drink and party.

On this particular flight Ric decided to wear one of his famous robes. Normally, that would not be a bad thing. However, the drunk Flair decided that the robe was the only thing he would wear.

Ric walked up and down the aisles screaming his famous line, "Honey you can't be the first, but you can be the next. WOOO!"

He sexually harassed just about every WWE diva and female flight attendant he could get his hands on. Classic Flair! 

Goldust

Goldust and Terri

Dustin Runnels, also known as Goldust, son of the "American Dream" Dusty Runnels and brother to the current Intercontinental Champion Cody Runnels, is a very talented wrestler. However, he got incredibly drunk, ran up to the PA system and began to sing love songs to his ex-wife, Terri Runnels, who was also on the flight.

This apparently went on for a really long time and was finally stopped when Terri complained to Jim Ross, who pulled Dustin off the mic. Sources say that Dustin's singing voice is like a cat being slammed against glass. Needless to say, this incident was very embarrassing for both parties.   

Result

X-Pac's version

The result of the flight was pretty dramatic.

Both Curt Hennig and Scott Hall were let go soon after, and Dustin Runnels was placed in the dog house where he had to job for a few months.

Ric Flair, Michael Hayes and Brock Lesnar went unpunished, as did all the senior figures who did nothing to stop this chaos. Jim Ross also placed a ban on drinking while on WWE flights. This event put a black eye on the WWE.

Check out X-Pac's version of the flight. Warning: he swears a lot.