In case you didn’t know, wrestling is a brilliant yet brutally choreographed dance. Wrestling stars like Dwayne Johnson and John Cena circle each other, with every move predetermined and every drop of sweat proving their dedication to the craft. However, sometimes the routine is broken. Keep reading for more about the most unplanned, unhinged, and downright scary real-life fights among wrestlers.
Kofi Kingston Picked A Fight With His Boss
Kofi Kingston may not be a memorable WWE star, but he did pick a fight with his boss, Vince McMahon, in the hopes of leveling up his career. The fight was not planned, and it happened because Kingston got upset when he learned that McMahon was deliberately picking on him. Kingston confronted McMahon, whose response was to do a double leg takedown on the wrestler. After the confrontation, McMahon stopped picking on Kingston.
Kofi Kingston Picked A Fight With His Boss
Chris Jericho Versus Bill Goldberg
Throughout Chris Jericho’s career, he had a dream of fighting Bill Goldberg. Goldberg always declined the fight since he felt Jericho was much smaller than, and beneath him. Jericho got his wish, but the script said he would get pinned down by Goldberg in less than a minute, so Jericho refused. Several years later, because of the trash talking on the internet, Goldberg confronted Jericho. On Jericho’s podcast, he claims that Goldberg made an attempt to choke him, but he put the large man in a front-facelock and finished the job by adding a body scissors.
Chris Jericho Versus Bill Goldberg
Tom Prichard Versuse Tracy Smothers
When Tom Prichard fought together with Tracy Smothers in WWE, Prichard believed that Smothers was hurting other wrestlers intentionally, so they fought about this. While on the road traveling to a show, the two pulled over and had a fist fight. When cops arrived at the scene, they wrestlers convinced the police officers that it was just a practice performance for the show. As the cops were leaving, they heard Smothers telling Prichard that the officers saved Prichard from a beatdown, so the cops turned around and told both of them that if they didn’t leave right away, they would get arrested.
Tom Prichard Versuse Tracy Smothers
Sean Michaels Versus Marty Janetty
Marty Janetty and Shawn Michaels’ tag team was very popular during Shawn’s early career. For some unknown reason, they both got into a fight outside the ring, but Janetty claimed that he beat Michaels pretty easily. After the incident, Janetty commented, “[Shawn] can’t fight. He’s a good wrestler, but he can’t fight.” The truth is the cops had to be called in order to break the fight up. Janetty almost got arrested but Randy Savage told the cops that it was just practice for a future fight.
Sean Michaels Versus Marty Janetty
Ken Shamrock Versus The Nasty Boys
In his early days in the independent leagues as a promising wrestler, Ken Shamrock encountered the Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs). At a bar, the two were hitting on the girlfriend of another wrestler, so Ken interrupted them. They all left the bar and got into a confrontation at their hotel, where Knobbs and Sags gave Shamrock a beating. Shamrock did not forgive the Nasty Boys for what happened, and even years later, he threatened to fight the pair at an airport, but the Nasty Boys didn’t take the bait.
Ken Shamrock Versus The Nasty Boys
Sid Vicious Versus Arn Anderson
Sid Vicious verbally lashed out on Arn Anderson in a meeting, but it did not get physical until later. They argued over money and how some WCW wrestlers were getting much less than other wrestlers. That night, they started yelling at each other and eventually fought each other. Vicious got hold of a pair of scissors and they both suffered serious injuries, which required surgery. It was a miracle that both survived the fight.
Sid Vicious Versus Arn Anderson
Vader Versus Paul Orndorff
The epic fight between Vader and Paul Orndorff should never have happened since it was a case of simple miscommunication. It is said that Vader got permission to come late to a photo shoot, but Paul Orndorff was not informed about this, so he chided Vader for being unprofessional. Vader was a hot head and got into a confrontation with Orndorff, who slapped the behemoth. They fell to the ground and had to be separated. Not long after the incident, WCW released Vader from his contract.
Vader Versus Paul Orndorff
Booker T Versus Batista
The sport of wrestling is overflowing with egos, and one of them was Dave “Batista” Bautista. Back in 2006, he took credit for the rise in ratings of Smackdown, but Booker T didn’t agree and he made sure to let Batista know what he thought. The verbal altercation became a 30-second fight which left plenty of damage. Booker T got a black eye while Batista had his face cut up and bloodied.
Booker T Versus Batista
Buff Bagwell Versus Hurricane Helms
Back in the day, few had bigger egos than Buff Bagwell, and nobody cared when he was still with WCW, but when he transferred to WWE, Bagwell’s ego became a huge problem. It’s possible that it got him fired despite having fought only two matches in the ring. During the short time he spent with WWE, Bagwell fought with Hurricane Helms, though the reason was never revealed. According to Helms, Bagwell attacked from behind, so Helms retaliated by throwing a water bottle at Bagwell, knocking him over and ending the fight.
Buff Bagwell Versus Hurricane Helms
Khali Versus Big Show
On all the fights on the list, this might be the least interesting. With both wrestlers that are very big, one could expect an earthquake, but instead, Big Show and Khali just slapped each other until both of them fell to the ground, and that was it. They fought because of the fact that Khali won’t apologize for pirating the signature move of Big Show. Jericho was there and said that nobody broke up the fight because it was like “King Kong versus Godzilla.” Who would want to get in the middle of that fight?
Khali Versus Big Show
Brock Lesnar Versus Curt Henning
The fight happened during a flight, and the WWE prefers not to talk about this one. It wasn’t just about the fight between Curt Henning and Brock Lesnar which hurt the company’s reputation, but it was also about Ric Flair getting drunk and flashing the flight attendants. Anyway, at the time, Lesnar was a rookie and got into a fight with Henning because of having too much to drink. During the fight, the two nearly opened the plane’s emergency door. Afterward, Lesnar just laughed the incident off and chalked it all up to the fact that it was a seven-hour flight.
Brock Lesnar Versus Curt Henning
Awesome Kong Versus Reby Sky
Awesome Kong got into a fight with Reby Sky in front of Sky’s child. The fight broke out in the changing room. The two wrestlers did not really get along well, but they were assigned to the same dressing room in 2016. Kong was outraged that Sky tried to change near her and made Sky leave the dressing room. Sky came back, though, to get her things, and that’s when Kong grab hold of Sky by the throat. Unfortunately, Maxel, Sky’s son, was in the room with them and witnessed the whole thing. Kong was immediately fired by TNA.
Awesome Kong Versus Reby Sky
Shawn Michaels Versus The Harris Twins
The Harris Twins got into an argument with Shawn Michaels after they found out that Michaels had mocked their performance in 1995. As they left the company, the twins confronted Michaels by locking themselves in the bathroom together with Michaels, who was taking a shower. Michaels got cornered by the Harris Twins and they banged him against the wall. They told him to shut up and they said that he was such an awful human being that he was not worth beating up. The twins left with their heads held high with a moral victory.
Shawn Michaels Versus The Harris Twins
Ric Flair Versus Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair never really got along, and even after they moved from the WCW to WWE, that didn’t change. One day, Flair turned up unannounced at Bishcoff’s office, and demanded a fight. Actually, Bishcoff was on a call with his wife and it caught him off guard. Flair had to throw punches to make Bishcoff realize that he was not joking. Even though Sgt. Slaughter came and broke it up, there was enough bad blood brought up by the incident that Vince McMahon had to get involved and play peacemaker.
Ric Flair Versus Eric Bischoff
Brutus Beefcake Versus Haku
Brutus Beefcake should have considered it carefully before complaining to the management about his fight to Haku. Beefcake told the management that Haku hit him excessively hard during their match. When Haku found out about what Beefcake did, he grabbed Beefcake, who was in the shower, by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Nobody tried to break up the fight as they were too scared of Haku and Haku only let Beefcake go after Hulk Hogan talked to him. Both wrestlers were never punished for the fight, and Haku never got a complaint from Brutus Beefcake ever again.
Brutus Beefcake Versus Haku
Kevin Nash Versus Roddy Piper
One day, Roddy Piper ignored routine in the ring, so Kevin Nash made sure to teach the wrestler a lesson. Piper was in a private room together with Ric Flair when Nash came banging on the door and yelling at Piper for going off-script. When Nash finally got in, he slapped Piper in the face. Piper retaliated by trying to kick Nash’s injured knee, but everybody alse in the room broke the fight and this matter never surfaced between the two again.
Kevin Nash Versus Roddy Piper
Koji Kitao Versus The System
Former (disgraced) sumo wrestler Koji Kitao joined WWE to help promote the sport in Japan. Kitao’s first match was with Earthquake, quite a successful sumo who became a professional wrestler. Kitao was ashamed to fight Earthquake because his rank was higher when they were still doing sumo wrestling. Once the fight began, Kitao went off-script and the two fighters circled each other and had a stare down. Kitao gave the referee a kick, took the microphone, and said that wrestling is fake. He walked out of the arena and never returned.
Koji Kitao Versus The System
Nailz Versus Vince McMahon
Before the 1992 SummerSlam, Nailz determined that he was paid too little for the said event and decided to confront his boss, Vince McMahon, on live TV. He muscled his way to McMahon’s office and started to choke his boss. Once he was pulled off from McMahon, Nailz was fired right away. In later years, Nailz attempted to settle the score in court. McMahon found himself on trial for a steroid offense when Nailz was called in to testify. Since he was very angry, Nailz was unable to put together coherent ideas, and his poor testimony actually helped McMahon get acquitted.
Nailz Versus Vince McMahon
Scott Hall And Kevin Nash Versus The Nasty Boys
There were a bunch of things about this fight that led to the Nasty Boys’ firing, so we will try to make it simple. Jerry Sags, one of the Nasty Boys, had a major neck injury but he was still forced to fight. He agreed to fight so long as other wrestlers wouldn’t go for his neck. Two months later, during a fight, that did not happen. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall went for Jerry’s neck. He lost his temper and bombarded Hall with a bunch of unscripted punches. The Nasty Boys got fired because of the incident, but Nash and Hall were not.
Scott Hall And Kevin Nash Versus The Nasty Boys
Shawn Michaels Versus Bret Hart
In 1997, the tensions finally boiled over between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels after both had unsatisfactory discussions with Vince McMahon. Hart reckoned that the best way to deal with his frustration was to give Michaels a beating. Hart cornered Michaels in one of the dressing rooms and it took several wrestlers who were in the room to break off the brutal fight. Michaels was very upset that he charged into McMahon’s office willing to go back to WCW and quit WWE. Michaels returned to WWE though the following July after being given a leave of absence.
Shawn Michaels Versus Bret Hart
Brock Lesnar Versus Kurt Angle
When Brock Lesnar first started in WWE, he was still young and had a huge ego. He bragged that it would be easy for him to beat Kurt Angle, a WWE icon. Angle who won an Olympic gold medal, took these talks to heart. They both fought in the ring to settle their dispute and Angle won the fight, showing that size doesn’t matter. Once the fight was done, Kurt Angle was humble and admitted that he was a bit scared to fight somebody that was 80 pounds heavier than him.
Brock Lesnar Versus Kurt Angle
Shaemus And Tatsu Fought Over Money
Before they became household names, Shaemus lived and trained together with Yoshi Tatsu. Their relationship went sour when Tatsu became upset that Shaemus didn’t clean a protein shaker before returning it, but the last straw was Shaemus’ refusal to do the dishes. Tatsu got even more upset since Shaemus owed him money, so to settle the score, Tatsu fought Shaemus, who started the brawl when he threw the shaker at his roommate. Tatsu had trained in the New Dojo, so he easily won.
Shaemus And Tatsu Fought Over Money
Joey Styles Was Fed Up With JBL
Former ECW announcer Joey Styles unfortunately became JBL’s target for bullying during a WWE tour. JBL’s gift for gab is widely known and most wrestlers just ignore him, but Styles got sick of JBL’s verbal abuse and decided to do something about it. The two had to be separated by wrestlers, but the altercation didn’t stop there. JBL approached Styles once more, and took a right hook. The wrestler ended up getting a black eye while the announcer got victory.
Joey Styles Was Fed Up With JBL
Simon Gotch Versus Sin Cara
Sin Cara got into backstage fights a lot during his SmackDown! days, though his fight with Simon Gotch is definitely one of the more popular ones. No one really knows what the fight was about, but everyone knows that Sin Cara beat Simon Gotch. It was a quick and pretty one-sided destruction too. The fight occurred during catered meal time.
Simon Gotch Versus Sin Cara
Randy Savage Versus Road Warrior Hawk
In 1996, Randy Savage got into a fight with Road Warrior Hawk for unknown reasons. The first altercation occurred backstage, and ended when Savage got knocked out by Hawk.
Three years later, Savage and Hawk got into it again at a Kid Rock concert. Savage sucker punched Hawk, while Savage’s girlfriend attacked Hawk’s wife, who got seriously injured. Though Hawk threatened to take legal action, he never really did and he said that wrestler feuds could not be settled in court.
Randy Savage Versus Road Warrior Hawk
Chris Jericho Versus Brock Lesnar
During Summerslam one year, Brock Lesnar went off on Randy Orton and this got Chris Jericho infuriated. Y2J wasn’t pleased with the end result of a fight, so he blew up at Lesnar. With full ego on display, Lesnar told him to punch him or kiss him. Needless to say, things didn’t end well and the two started fighting. Initially, Triple H broke up the fight, though the two started again moments later and at this point, Vince McMahon had to separate them.
Chris Jericho Versus Brock Lesnar
Triple H Won Against Scott Steiner In A Power Struggle
Before coming to work for WWE in 2002, Scott Steiner was a staple in the WCW. Stealing him from the rival company appeared to be a good business move, but then Steiner developed a rivalry with Triple H, which caused everything to fall apart. Behind the scenes, Steiner talked trash about Triple H openly, which created bad blood between the two. Even though there was never a story about the two fighting backstage, we’re pretty sure Triple H had something to do with Steiner being let go, seeing as Triple H is still with WWE.
Triple H Won Against Scott Steiner In A Power Struggle
Kurt Angle Versus Jeff Jarrett
When Kurt Angle worked at TNA, his boss started dating his ex-wife. Eventually, Jeff Jarrett married the woman Angle divorced, then used that heartbreak in a storyline. On TNA, Angle was given a feud with Jarrett, but it was more than a simple show. If you watch the fights between Angle and Jarrett, Angle clearly isn’t just acting – he was trying to make a point.
Kurt Angle Versus Jeff Jarrett
Bruno Sammartino Versus Antonio Inoki
Sammartino said that he and Inoki got into a fight during a match in the ’70s. Sammartino disapproved of the behavior Inoki had in the ring and dealt with his foe in a pretty brutal manner. Inoki started fighting Sammartino on the sideline in a tag team match, so the Italian Strongman’s response was putting Inoki in a headlock, nearly incapacitating the Japanese wrestler. While the two never made up, they also never had other problems with each other professionally.
Bruno Sammartino Versus Antonio Inoki
Bill Goldberg Versus Steven Regal
Goldberg was a WCW rookie with a winning streak when he was scheduled to fight Steven. The reports are conflicting about why Regal went off-script, but he practically blindsided Goldberg with moves that the youngster had not seen before.
According to Regal, the higher-ups told him to make the fight a six-minute match, but the problem is that nobody told Goldberg, which turned this routine fight into some real life scuffle in the ring. It was hard for Goldberg to match up with Regal, who made everyone see that the young buck was still not ready to join the big boys just yet.
Bill Goldberg Versus Steven Regal
Saturn Had Trouble Controlling His Temper
Saturn was never really the biggest star in the WWE and the fights he featured in were proof of that. In addition, his bad temper kept him from reaching great heights. For example, in his match against Mike Bell, Saturn almost hit his head and got upset. He unloaded real and vicious blows on Bell one after the other, but the fight didn’t stop there. Saturn finished Bell off by slamming his opponent into steel steps. Saturn was punished by WWE and for his next storyline, he was given a mop for a girlfriend.
Saturn Had Trouble Controlling His Temper
Daniel Puder May Have Beat Kurt Angle
When MTV’s Tough Enough experiment started, Kurt Angle asked anyone who would want to fight him. Daniel Puder accepted the challenge and surely did not make things easy for Angle – after all, the young wrestler had a background in mixed martial arts. Angle might have expected to beat Puder easily, but Puder got serious and began beating Angle with ease. The officials from WWE couldn’t believe their eyes and radioed a referee to call a pin, which came when Puder’s back was to the ground and he was holding Angle in submission. They declared Angle the winner.
Daniel Puder May Have Beat Kurt Angle
JBL Took Things Too Far
John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) got in trouble when he took things too far. During a cross-promotion between ECW and WWE, JBL singled out the Blue Meanie in a planned brawl. Towards the end of the fight, cameras captured Blue Meanie bleeding profusely. In order to settle the score, WWE scheduled a regular fight between the two. After using a chair to hit JBL, Blue Meanie yelled that his opponent had it coming.
JBL Took Things Too Far
Andre The Giant Got Bored
One of biggest stars in WWE, Andre the Giant was scheduled to go up against Akira Maeda. Maeda was known for being temperamental in the ring, whereas Andre was known as someone who doesn’t put up with anyone talking him down. While the match was ongoing, Andre shrugged off almost every move that Maeda tried and looked bored. Andre went off-script and was bored (and drunk), and soon the crowd got bored too and started booing.
Andre The Giant Got Bored
Lex Luger Was Done
Lex Luger’s emotions got the best of him during a real fight in the ring with Bruiser Brody. Luger was supposed to win in the cage match, but Brody refused and went off-script. Luger got confused and then became Brody’s victim. The bruiser attacked Luger with vicious moves one after the other, so in fear, Luger climbed the cage to get out, took his car keys, and drove off without even showering.
Lex Luger Was Done
Mildred Burke And June Byers In An Unscripted Fight
Women’s champion Mildred Burke broke up with her husband Billy Wolfe, a promotion runner. He responded by giving June Byers the title. The women consented to an unscripted fight to settle their score. Burke believed that she would win, but Byers worked quickly in order to attack her opponent’s knee, which was injured. Burke was in a kneelock and her leg was dislocated, and after thirty minutes, the fight ended, with Byers winning by points.
Mildred Burke And June Byers In An Unscripted Fight
Wendi Richter Versus The Spider Lady
Wendi Richter ran into a big problem when she made threats to leave WWE for bigger pay. Vince McMahon scheduled her to fight the Spider Lady, though everybody could tell something was not right from the start. After the Spider Lady pinned her, Richter ripped off the other wrestler’s mask revealing the Fabulous Moolah. Enraged by the double cross, Richter did not give up the belt, though it was taken away from her forcibly backstage. She quit the company right after the match.
Wendi Richter Versus The Spider Lady
The Great Antonio Was Knocked Out By Inoki
When Canadian monstrosity The Great Antonio met Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki in the ring, The Great Antonio decided to go off-script which eventually caused Inoki’s tensions to boil over. Inoki did a surprise leg sweep-foot stomp combination on his opponent, knocking out The Great Antonio. Inoki’s manager had to run into the ring to break up the fight. In the west, people may not be familiar with Antonio Inoki, but he has been described as “Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon rolled into one.”
The Great Antonio Was Knocked Out By Inoki
The Original Fight
In the really early days of wrestling, Wayne Munn went up against Stanislaus Zybsko in the ring. It was agreed that Munn would win the match, but Zybsko went off script since someone had paid him to sabotage the match. Zybsko repeatedly pinned his opponent, and the crowd slowly began chanting his name, which forced the referee to declare him the winner. After collecting his money, Zybsko lost his next match and gave the belt up to Joe Stetcher.
The Original Fight
The Dynamite Kid’s Teeth Was Knocked Out By Jacques Rougeau
The Dynamite Kid was widely known for his terrible treatment of fellow wrestlers, so he might have had this one coming. One night, prior to a show in Miami, the Dynamite Kid ambushed Jacques Rougeau backstage, causing the other wrestler’s nose to bleed. What he didn’t know was that Rougeau spent the next couple of months planning his revenge, and when the two finally met again in the ring, Rougeau sucker punched The Dynamite Kid while holding a roll of quarters. The punched landed so hard that the Dynamite Kid lost four teeth, and others had to pull Rougeau off of him.
The Dynamite Kid’s Teeth Was Knocked Out By Jacques Rougeau
Michael Hayes Vs. JBL And X-Pac
Everyone knows about what was called “The Plane Ride From Hell”. Well, plenty has happened on the flight, but we want to focus on one thing in particular. After things were already set in motion by the drunk WWE wrestlers and managers, Michael Hayes drunkenly punched JBL in the forehead, opening a gash from a previous match. Once Hayes fell asleep, Sean Waltman, otherwise known as X-Pac, grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off his ponytail. Hayes didn’t even notice his hair’s disappearance until going through customs later.
Michael Hayes Vs. JBL And X Pac
MVP Vs. Bill DeMott
During a training session, witnesses claimed that Bill DeMott talked down to MVP. It turns out that DeMott took things a little too far that time. The next day, MVP walked into DeMott’s office and asked to speak with him for a moment outside. The trainer refused as he was in a meeting. Instead, DeMott said that MVP could say what he wanted to inside the office. So MVP did. He said, very explicitly, that if DeMott ever spoke to him that way again, he would beat him to a pulp. This tactic seemed to have worked since DeMott never said a negative word to MVP again.
MVP Vs. Bill DeMott
Shawn Michaels Vs. Marty Jannetty
Even though they were one of the most popular teams in their generations, The Rockers would often get into minor fights for years on end. One time, it got out of hand. Jannetty and Michaels got into a fistfight which led to the police being called. They arrived when Jannetty was on top. And when they saw Shawn bruised and beaten with Jannetty looking worlds better, they assumed he instigated the fight. They were just about to cuff Marty when Macho Man Randy Savage walked in and asked what was going on. The police recognized him and got excited. Jannetty quickly told Savage about the fight, and Savage immediately went to the wrestlers’ defense. He smoothed things over with the cops by claiming the fight had been a setup for a storyline. After signing some pictures for the officers, they let Jannetty go.
Shawn Michaels Vs. Marty Jannetty
AJ Styles Vs. The Zebra Kid
During a UK promotion match, Zebra Kid decided to piledrive Roderick Strong on the outside of the ring, apparently without calling it. While this didn’t sit right with Strong, he complained about it to AJ Styles instead of confronting the Zebra Kid. Once he heard about this, AJ asked to speak with Zebra, and as soon as he walked into the room, he went off on him, asking what he thought he was doing during the match. Zebra remained calm, explaining that he did what he did purposely. AJ was sure Zebra was messing with him and turned to the rest of the room for support. When no one came to his aid, he began to think that he may have made a mistake. Especially since Zebra was becoming more and more angry. Quickly, AJ attempted to difuse the situation and play it off as a joke. When he playfully punched Zebra on the arm, Zebra responded by shoving AJ away in a decidedly not playful manner, before walking away.
AJ Styles Vs. The Zebra Kid
Bruiser Brody Vs. José Gonzalez
This story might just be the most famous and tragic backstage fight there was. It occurred between Frank ‘Bruiser Brody’ Goodish and José Gonzalez in Puerto Rico. It was known that Brody was a difficult customer to deal with since he was set in his ways and did things the way he wanted to. As time went on, the office in Puerto Rico was becoming frustrated with him. Wrestler and agent Gonzalez was given the task of dealing with Brody and he wanted to prove to his superiors that he was up to it. So, Gonzalez walked up to Brody holding a towel and asked if he could talk to him in the dressing room showers. Not long after, other wrestlers in the vicinity heard a scuffle and a terrible scream. Brody stumbled out of the bathroom and it was immediately obvious that he was stabbed by Gonzalez. Due to heavy traffic, it took almost an hour for the ambulance to arrive. Before they arrived, Gonzalez ran away. The next morning, Brody died from his wounds. Gonzalez was never charged with the murder as he claimed self-defense.
Bruiser Brody Vs. José Gonzalez
Mr. McMahon Vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
One of the reasons The Attitude Era was so successful was the rivalry between “Stone Cold” and Mr. McMahon. However, behind the scenes, a professional disagreement between them led to Austin walking out on WWE in 2002. Following Austin’s walkout, WWE and Mr. McMahon publicly acknowledged the situation. Thankfully, time heals all wounds, and a meeting later that year allowed Austin and Mr. McMahon to resolve the matter.
Mr. McMahon Vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Edge Vs. Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy and Edge brought sports entertainment to new levels when they, along with Jeff Hardy and Christian, reinvented the Ladder Match in WWE. However, what is probably the most remembered part about it is Hardy and Edge’s relationship. Their rivalry had some serious personal overtones back in 2005. When Hardy was injured, his then-girlfriend, Diva Lita, began traveling on the road with Edge, thus beginning the backstage hostility. As Lita and Edge began crossing the line from platonic to romantic, the bad feelings between Hardy and Edge grew.
Edge Vs. Matt Hardy
John Cena Vs. The Rock
While their rivalry never came to any kind of backstage fight, John Cena and The Rock had beef that originated far from the bright lights of WrestleMania. Most think their bad feelings stemmed from the comments Cena made about The Rock in an interview back in 2007. Not one to take things lying down, The Rock responded with a video online in which he accused Cena of competing for the money. Whatever harsh feelings the two had must have subsided as two years later, Cena regained the WWE title from The Rock, resulting in The Great One holding the champ’s hand high up.
John Cena Vs. The Rock
CM Punk Vs. Jeff Hardy
Once again, CM Punk caused a huge stir in the wrestling community when he appeared on his good friend Colt Cabana’s podcast and made some startling revelations about WWE performers, upper management, and even the medical staff. Clearly, there was a good amount of animosity going on backstage WWE. Well, in 2009, CM Punk and Jeff Hardy managed to pull together an amazing feud while competing on SmackDown. All the same, the two lead very different lifestyles, which resulted in some real-life heat between them. Punk made some comments at Hardy about his substance abuse. Naturally, Hardy did not take these comments lightly, and he certainly did not appreciate them. In fact, he did retaliate. There is a video online of Jeff at a diner, accusing Punk of not living a straight-edged lifestyle himself, claiming that Punk uses prescription drugs to help him sleep.
CM Punk And Jeff Hardy
Ric Flair Vs. Scott Steiner
At one point, Scott Steiner filmed a WCW promo about “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair in which he stumbled his way through a hate-inspired rant about Flair, claiming he was simply a ripoff of the late Buddy Rodgers. The feud between these two began before this had happened, however. It began when Flair had a massive amount of stroke in WCW. According to Steiner, after the infamous promo, Flair approached him in the arena parking lot but ended up cowering and running away from Steiner.
Ric Flair And Scott Steiner
Randy Orton Vs. Ken Anderson
Over the years, Randy Orton has earned himself a backstage reputation. He became known for being short-tempered and difficult to deal with at times. Ken Anderson, AKA Mr. Kennedy, became a victim of Orton’s when he was released from the company after Randy complained Ken was too dangerous in the ring.
Randy Orton And Ken Anderson
Jim Cornette Vs. Vince Russo
While Jim Cornette and Vince Russo have both been in the professional wrestling world for a while, they’ve both given and received good amounts of criticism. However, no amount of slander can compare to the animosity between the two. Russo, who is often said to be the one who burned down barriers of traditional wrestling, making way for the Attitude Eta, says that Cornette’s feelings towards him originate in their time in WWE. This was when Vince McMahon chose Russo over Cornette as a creative team partner. At times, this feud can feel somewhat one-sided since Cornette has gone off on Russo plenty over the years, even going so far as blaming Vince for Owen Hart’s tragic death. He’s said that it’s Russo who booked Hart as a superhero and he should have just allowed him to be a wrestler.
Jim Cornette And Vince Russo
Mick Foley Vs. Ric Flair
When it comes to choosing between Mick Foley and Ric Flair, most fans have a hard time disliking either of the wrestlers. However, at one point, these two didn’t see eye-to-eye. Their problems stem from a literary standpoint. In Foley’s autobiography, he said: “Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it.” He was referring to Flair’s time on the booking committee in WCW and how Flair thought Flair booked him badly. In response, Flair wrote about Foley in his own autobiography. He said: “I do not care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders he’s fallen off, how many continents he’s supposedly bled on, he will always be known as a glorified stuntman.” After all that, it seems that these two have settled their differences.
Mick Foley And Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Savage
In the late 1980s, a partnership known as The Mega Powers was formed in WWE. It was made up of Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Miss Elizabeth as their manager. Eventually, the split of The Mega Powers would lead to a match between Hogan and Savage at WrestleMania V for the WWE Championship with Miss Elizabeth serving as a mutual party. Naturally, this was all one big storyline, leading up to one of the best built WrestleMania matches of all time. Off-screen, real-life tensions were beginning to build with Hogan and Savage. When his marriage to Miss Elizabeth fell apart, Savage blamed Hogan and his then-wife Linda. While Macho Man has since passed, Hulk Hogan claims to have made peace with him before his untimely passing.
Hulk Hogan And Randy Savage
Ric Flair Vs. Bret Hart
While nowadays, these two are on good terms, that once wasn’t the case. In fact, they downright hated each other. Ric Flair hadn’t been afraid of voicing his opinions about Bret Hart, and in turn, Hart didn’t take those comments lying down. Flair had said that Hart has over-exposed the death of his brother as well as incidents surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. He also said that despite Hart’s popularity in Canada, he wasn’t a money draw in the U.S. While this was all happening, there was an article written for the Calgary Sun where Hart disbuted Flair’s comments. He also claimed he drew more revenue than The Natch, saying that while his headlining performances resulted in sold out crowds, Flair’s performances were only drawing half-empty arenas.
Ric Flair And Bret Hart
Hulk Hogan Vs. Ultimate Warrior
What became known as “The Ultimate Challenge”, WrestleMania VI at the skyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada was an event to remember. Two legends went against each other: WWE Champion, Hulk Hogan, and WWE Intercontinental Champion, The Ultimate Warrior. They headlined the main event match with both titles on the line. The match would determine which Warrior would actually become the ultimate champion. The two decades following this match would see both men go on very different routes while still hanging on to strong resentment to one another. During WrestleMania XXX weekend, Warrior was on hand to take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame. According to Hogan, the two finally made ameds that weekend, but sadly, Warrior passed away just days after his Hall of Fame induction.
Hulk Hogan And Ultimate Warrior
Dulce Maria Garcia Rivas Vs. Rosemary
In modern wrestling, wrestlers don’t often shoot on each other. They’re mostly too busy tweeting about their matches and their love for fellow grapplers instead of confronting them in real life or in the ring. Well, in 2017, women’s wrestler Dulce Maria Garcia Rivas was accused of shooting on her opponent, former TNA Knockouts Champion, Rosemary. The incident happened at TripleMania in Mexico. Just a month earlier, Garcia returned to Mexico’s AAA and won the Reina de Reinas Championship. In a four-way match at TripleMania, Garcia had Rosemary in an arm bar at the end of the match to win. However, the arm bar dislocated Rosemary’s elbow. This incident happened just after strange locker room drama in AAA involving the two. A number of wrestlers spoke out against Rivas’ actions in the ring following this incident. Later on, Rivas released a long statement saying she had no idea Rosemary had been injured during the match.
Dulce Maria Garcia Rivas Vs Rosemary
Stan Hansen Vs. Vader
In 1990, Japan’s wrestling world had already seen its most hostile years. In the 1980s wrestling boom in Japan, American and Japanes wrestlers would jump between companies to get paid the most. Because of all the buildup, Hansen and Vader had to put on a big match when they would battle. They couldn’t let their promotion down. Hansen was the first to enter the ring, and he did so with his bull rope, tossing it around. At the end of it was a large, heavy cowbell. As Vader approached the ring, Hansen whipped the rope at him and broke his nose. The two began hammering each other in the ring. Hansen backed Vader into a corner and began beating him with heavy fists. One of his punches knocked Vader’s eye out of his socket. While this wasn’t done on purpose, the damage was done. Vader’s eye swelled shut, and because of this, his eyeball was held in, allowing it to be put back in later.
Stan Hansen Vs Vader
Koko Ware Vs. The Masked Patriot
Between September 1986 and June 1994, Koko Ware had his “Birdman” gimmick in the WWE, making him a very memorable wrestler. During his run Ware was famous for his colorful clothing in the ring and macaw bird Frankie. Before he joined WWE, he was a staple of Memphis wrestling’s CWA promotion. While working there, he won the tag team titles on seven occasions as well as the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship six times. In 1986, Koko appeared on the CWA’s weekly TV show from the WMC-TV studios. His opponent that day was The Masked Patriot. The match began in a heated fashion. The Masked Patriot backed Ware into a corner and delivered an open hand punch to the jaw. As retaliation, Ware clubbed his fists before whipping the Patriot into the ropes and delivering a throat crushing clothesline that knocked the Patriot out. Then, Ware laid shoot kicks into the dazed man before hauling his limp body up and delivering a shoot brainbuster. To top it off, Ware slapped the Patriot just for good measure during the pin.
Koko Ware Vs The Masked Patriot
Taz Vs. Sabu
While today Taz and Sabu are friendly with each other, in the past they hated each other with a passion. In the 1990s, the two wrestlers practically built ECW and were two of the promotion’s longest-running grapplers. In 1994, they won the ECW World Tag Team titles from Public Enemy. They were set to defend the belts at an upcoming ECW arena show. However, Sabu was booked to wrestle in Japan, while Taz only did the occasional show for ECW at the time. Throughout 1995 and 1996, Taz gave one promo shoot after another about Sabu, trying to coax him into the ring. At last, the two wrestlers were booked for the company’s first-ever pay-per-view, Barely Legal. In the rather stiff match, Sabu’s nose was busted from his opponent’s shots. The two continued to pepper each other through the almost 18-minute match. Down the line, these two would wrestle again multiple times. In a later match, Taz broke Sabu’s neck (again) as he dragon Taz-plexed him through a table.
Taz Vs Sabu