Astute pro wrestling fans will be the first to tell you that their favorite combat sport is pre-determined. More like an action-comedy than an actual sporting event, the outcome of every match is laid out in the locker room, and the performers work together to tell the story. The gold standard in that process isWWE, where the very best eventually cross paths in the squared circle. And even though the action inside the ring is somewhat scripted, that doesn’t always guarantee harmony among the stars.
When some of the most powerful and aggressive people in the world share a ring, they usually cooperate to deliver a product fans can enjoy. But the fact that they spend so much time (in the locker room and traveling) together builds tension. That animosity has often spilled over to somereal-life fights, behind the scenes. There have been several instances in the WWE locker room and backstage where wrestling ‘got real’.
10Joey Styles Punches JBL
The Announcer Grew Tired of the Bully’s Ribbing
Fair or not,John Bradshaw Leyfield gained quite a reputation for being a bully in the WWElocker room - especially when it came to younger and smaller performers. He was often accused of taking liberties with his fellow workers and generally making life hard on the co-workers that he disliked. He also continued that same type of behavior when formerECWannouncer Joey Styles joined WWE. JBL kept agitating Styles until the microphone man couldn’t take it anymore.
In what turned out to be somewhat of a David vs. Goliath kind of story,the bespectacled broadcaster unleashed a punch that sent JBL sprawling.The story of the knockdown blow quickly made the rounds in the company and was leaked onto the internet. Over the years, it’s become a favorite of fans who love hearing about the bully getting his just due in the end.
9Booker T Battles Batista
Two of WWE’s greatest athletes, Booker T and Batista, both had decorated careers, culminating in multiple world championships and various other titles in their careers. While Booker was a longtime WCW star, Batista was a homegrown talent. And while the pair seemed to have an amicable relationship during their tenure together, that wasn’t always the case.
Apparently, as Batista’s star was on the rise, he began to develop a bit of an arrogant attitude. At least, that was Booker T’s opinion, as he called The Animal out for his conduct. During a shoot for aSummerSlam 2006commercial, things escalated into a fight. While some people say there was no clear winner to this war, many more observers say that Booker came out on top in the tussle.
8Jacque Rougeau ‘Changes’ Dynamite Kid’s Mouth
The British Bulldogs were known for tag team excellence in the ring, and their powerful arsenal of moves. Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid revolutionized the division en route to winning the then-WWF World Tag Team titles in the 1980s. During that era, they were considered one of the top teams in the world, and one of their later opponents were the French-Canadian Rougeau Brothers.
Both Davey Boy and Dynamite had a reputation for working stiff in the ring, sometimes to inflict real pain on their opponents.The pair also enjoyed tormenting their co-workers backstage, and the Rougeaus became a favorite target. The ribbing got to a point where Jacque Rougeau (who would later go on to fame as ‘The Mountie’) would take action against his aggressor.
With a roll of quarters in hand, Jacque would nail the Dynamite Kid backstage. The handful of change laid waste to The Kid’s choppers, as the blow knocked all his front teeth out. While it may have seemed like a ‘cheap shot’ to outside observers, most in the WWE locker room agree that DK had it coming. And, it’s said thathe rarely attempted to bully anyone to that degree ever again.
7Buff Bagwell, Shane Helms, and the Water Bottle
Bagwell Blew Up His WWE Career
After leaving World Championship Wrestling,Buff Bagwell’s big move to WWE turned out to be over before it started. His debut match with Booker T was a total stinker, and he appeared to come into the promotion with an entitled attitude. That carried over to an incident between himself and fellow WCW alum Shane Helms, which sealed his fate with the company.
10 Wrestlers Who Regretted Signing For WWE
Despite finding success elsewhere, these stars had the rug pulled out from under them in WWE.
Bagwell was sniping at Hems during a training session, shortly after their home promotion had been purchased in 2001. As wrestlers made the transition, Bagwell apparently didn’t get the memo that he was starting on the bottom rung like everyone else. His continued taunting of the future ‘Hurricane’ escalated to the point that Helms hurled a water bottle, busting open Buff’s head.
When management got to the bottom of the incident and spoke with onlookers, they concluded that Bagwell was to blame. Helms would eventually find fame as WWE’s favorite superhero,while Buff was terminated shortly thereafter.
6Bret Hart Gets a Fistful of Shawn Michaels
An Off-The-Rails Promo Causes a Backstage Brawl
How could these two NOT be on this list? Two of the greatest rivals ever - and the two best wrestlers of the 90s - had a true hatred for one another, but they attempted to work with one another for the sake of business. Butwhen The Heartbreak Kid alluded to Hart having an affair with WWE diva Sunny, things hit the fan quickly. (the irony was that it was HBK who wasreallythe one having romantic interludes with the blonde bombshell).
The promo caused The Hitman problems in the real world, with his wife confronting him about a possible affair. When Hart confronted Michaels about it,he took him down and pulled a huge chunk of hair out of Michaels' scalp. It was one of several incidents that would inevitably lead up to the infamous Montreal Screwjob.
5The Great Khali vs. The Big Show
Two Mammoth Men Have a Meltdown
It’s not often you see two seven-foot giants go to battle, but it happened in WWE. However, this wasn’t a personal issue, it was more of a professional disagreement. The Big Show saw that Khali was copying some of his trademark mannerisms and moves in the ring, and he was none too happy about it.
A verbal confrontation took place in the back, which could have led to a titanic tangle between the two big men.Unfortunately for Show, as the two men locked horns, he fell over a chair in the back and Khali was able to take advantage of the duel. Eventually, many in the back separated the two bulls, and harmony was eventually restored.
4The Olympic Hero Faces Latino Heat
Eddie Guerrero Confronted Kurt Angle
Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle had many classics, including a memorable,underratedWrestleManiamatchin 2006. While both were uncontested masters of the ring, Eddie also had a bit of a temper, and he tended to be a perfectionist who took everything extremely seriously.
After a particularly heated confrontation in the ring,Guerrero returned to the back and accused Angle of hitting him too hard, but Angle confessed that he had not even been involved in the physicality. Latino Heat then went to take down the Gold Medalist, only to get restrained until the scuffle was broken up by some fellow wrestlers.
3Ric Flair Confronts Eric Bischoff
When Eric Bischoff was Ric Flair’s boss in WCW, the two rarely saw eye-to-eye. In fact, when The Nature Boy skipped out on a TV taping to attend his son’s amateur wrestling tournament, Bischoff told the WCW crew that he was going to sue Flair for everything he had and leave him homeless.
Fast-forward to the early 2000s, when both men were working together again - this time as fellow performers in WWE.The bad blood had been brewing so long inside of Flair that he wanted to face up with Bischoff once and for all.With his close friend Arn Anderson watching the door, ‘Naitch’ accosted Bischoff and slapped him. The two have apparently patched up many of their differences in later years, but at the time, they were considered mortal enemies.
2Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle
Two Masters of the Mat Theorize on Who Could Beat the Other
Some backstage joshing between two terrific amateur athletes led to a very real confrontation. As Brock Lesnar began to gain fame in WWE,the former NCAA Champion was overheard stating unequivocally that he could take in-ring rival Kurt Anglein a real-life wrestling match-up. Angle, a former Olympic Gold Medalist, was up for the challenge, and so were many in the back.
What escalated next was reportedly a rather short battle, with WWE higher-ups deciding that it wasn’t in the best interest of either man to fight it out for real. However, there are several eyewitness reports that say Angle was getting the best of the young upstart before the ‘grown-ups’ pulled the plug on their impromptu shoot fight.
1Bret Hart Punches Vince McMahon
The Montreal Screwjob Led to a Confrontation Between the Two
Shortly after the moment that went down in history as the Montreal Screwjob, Bret Hart confronted Vince McMahon about what exactly happened that night in the ring. While there is no footage of the physical altercation that took place, every person in the room has accounted thatHart knocked McMahon off his feet with one blow, blackening the WWE Chairman’s eye and causing him to sprain his ankle.
The aptly named ‘Hitman’ was on his way out of the company, and he had reason to be upset. After getting McMahon’s word that there would be no funny business in his final match, Hart had the rug pulled out from underneath him. So, he took matters into his own hands - the aftermath of which was famously documented in the filmWrestling with Shadows.
The rest is history. Hart would move on to WCW, while McMahon would evolve into one of the biggest heels in the business. Perhaps more than any other incident inWWEhistory, this episode blurred the difference between reality and fiction - and between a work and a shoot.
