I think it was a sort of mid-20th century blue-collar humor meme. Think Jackie Gleason of the Honeymooners with his trademark one-of-these-days-pow-right-in-the-kisser when he was upset with his wife.

I suspect this type of thing is generational, too. I, a late Boomer, was taught by Greatest Generation parents that a gentleman never hit a woman. The only violence I was exposed to as a child was cartoon violence. Domestic violence was obviously around, but it simply wasn't discussed or portrayed.