10 Behind-The-Scenes Incidents That Caused A Major Rift Between Wrestlers

There’s a very good chance that whoever is reading this has some sort of job. At that job, whatever it may be, there’s a good chance that you have coworkers. There are some coworkers you like and are friends with outside of the office and others that are just acquaintances you do business with. Then, there are others that you’d do what wrestlers do with their coworkers if given the chance to.

10 Pairs Of Wrestlers You Forgot Held Grudges Against Each Other

Because pro wrestling is such an emotionally charged genre, personal issues are bound to arise between wrestlers. Here are ten examples of that.

Not every wrestler gets along, just like you and your coworkers. But often times when you travel around the world together like a band of gypsies, tensions are going to mount from time to time. Sometimes they boil over and create major rifts.

10 Bret, Shawn, And How Montreal Changed Their Lives Forever

Where Were You On November 9, 1997?

Bret And Shawn's First And Last Major Singles Matches Against Each Other Were At The Survivor Series (1992, 1997)
Their Rivalry Spanned The IC and World Title Divisions
Bret Hart Returned To Reconcile With Shawn And WWE On Raw 01/04/2010

While the phrase “a matter of respect” was coined in ECW, it really was a matter of respect that started the rift between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. It began when Shawn told Bret and the locker room that he was going to only going to work with buddies once he won the world title instead of try to bring everyone up. It, of course, escalated from there into missed cues during promos, "Sunny Days" accusations, a backstage hair, pulling fight, and of course, The Montreal Screwjob. It was a rift that existed for over a decade.

9 Booker T Felt Batista Didn't Respect Him

Did The King Tame The Animal?

Booker T Warned Batista He Didn't Like Him, But Should Remain Professional
Batista Always Denied He Was Getting "Too Haughty"
Rey Mysterio Tried To Play Peacekeeper But It Didn't Work

As with many of these stories, it’s all subjective to as to “depending on whose side you take and which wrestler’s account of the story is true.” It’s telephone / tell-a-friend / tell-a-wrestler, and all of these stories get conflated to epic proportions.

Like anyone who has seen an interview, Batista, and it looks like Big Dave is quiet and reserved. Which some can misconstrue as standoffish. According to Booker T, that standoffish attitude was real, and he took issue with The Animal. The two had a major backstage brawl. They did, however, agree to remain professional in the ring in order to do business with each other.

8 The Edge, Lita, Matt Hardy Love Triangle

The Scandal That Put Edge On Top

The Fan Reactions For Edge And Lita At This Time Put Them As The Top Heels Of WWE
Edge Cashed In His Money In The Bank During This Time In His Career
The Real-Life Situation Nearly Ruined Matt Hardy's Professional Career

While out rehabbing from injuries, Edge and Lita grew closer. During this time, The Hardys, Edge, Christian, and Lita were all inseparable; or at least their legacies were inseparable. But after Matt found some text messages between his friend and his girlfriend, all of that changed drastically. The way Matt handled it, was extremely unprofessional at first and was let go for it. Edge and Lita, while being morally wrong, handled the situation like professionals and their careers took off because of it.

7 Alchohol, Scissors, Double A, And Sid Just Don't Mix

Horsemen Battle To The (Almost) Death

The Fight With Arn Was The First Sid Had With A Horseman (He Also Infamously Got Into It With Brian Pillman)
One Of The Few Feuds That Got Potentially Criminally Violent
A Match Between The Two To Cash In On The Feud Never Happened

When the boys are on the road overseas and the pints are flowing, honestly anything is bound to happen. It happened on a fateful evening when Double A Arn Anderson overheard Sid talking smack about Ric Flair. Double A defended his bestie. The situation only got worse after they retired to their hotel rooms. Sid stewed some more and went right after Arn. In defense, The Enforcer stabbed Sid with a pair of scissors. Had it not been for 2 Cold Scorpio’s quick thinking, Sid might have bled out. Had it not been for Arn’s status in WCW, he might have been out of a job.

6 Rick Rude Forcefully Tried To Teach The Warrior How To Work

Another Day, Another Tale Of Warrior Being Difficult

Warrior Vs Rude Happened At SummerSlam 89 For The IC Title And A Year Later For The World Title
Both Superstars Got Big Starts In World Class
Rude Is One Of The Few Superstars To Get More Than One Good Match Out Of Warrior

By all accounts, both Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior acted exactly as they would have in this situation. Warrior was always known for not just working stiff, but outright hurting guys and not caring very much. When Rick Rude tried to have a conversation about to, Warrior basically told him he didn’t have to worry about it since he’s the top guy. Ravishing Rick Rude simply decked the nincompoop, knocking him out cold.

5 Chris Jericho And Goldberg Finally Finished Their Faux-WCW Feud

The WWE Meant A New Battlefield For Y2J And 'Da Man

Jericho Never Intended To Go Over On Goldberg In WCW - He Knew His Place On The Card
The Backstage Skirmish In WWE Was Egged On By Kevin Nash
These Days, Both Men Are Legends And Friends

In WCW, Goldberg was the golden goose and Chris Jericho was trying to get ahead. He had fabricated an entire mock-feud with Goldberg in his head, knowing full well and wanting to get smashed on PPV by Goldberg. Unfortunately, too many people got into Goldberg’s head that he shouldn’t work with Jericho at all. Years later in WWE, those same people got into Goldberg’s head about working together in WWE, even though that’s what Vince wanted. After a scuffle in the back, Jericho said we can keep doing this, or we could make some money together, and walked away. Goldberg smartened up real quick. They would eventually have a brief program together.

4 Paul Orndorff Beat Big Van Vader Wearing Slippers!

The Toughness Of Paul Orndorff Ended The Myth Of The Toughness Of Vader

Vader's Toughness In The Ring Made Him Feared
Paul Orndorff Was Also Considered An Old School Tough Man
The Fight Supposedly Killed Vader's Confidence, According To Mick Foley

Not only did this one end Vader’s WCW career, once word got out, plus injuries and the SummerSlam debacle with Shawn and The Mastodon was never quite the same again. But in WCW, not only was Vader feared in the ring, but some backstage perceived him as a bully there, too. Orndorff, at this point in his career, was an Agent and needed Vader at a photo shoot. Vader showed up late and Orndorff let him verbally have it and supposedly threatened him.

That’s when Vader swung and Orndorff was able to swing back and swing hard. Orndorff would win the ensuing brawl (and do it wearing flip-flops!), to which the entire locker room saw, effectively killing the mystique of Big Van Vader.

3 Eric Bischoff Tried To Make An Example Of Ric Flair

The Feud That Keeps Naitch Up At Night To This Day

Ric Flair Asked For Time Off To See His Son Reid Wrestle
Once He Took The Time Off That Bischoff Claims He Did Not Approve Is When The Problems Started
Bischoff Tries To Not Talk About The Situation Today To Not Trigger Naitch

In order to make a point, Ric Flair was nearly financially ruined, and his reputation nearly destroyed - all because Flair wanted a night off. Flair’s side of the story is that the date was approved and Eric Bischoff’s side is that it wasn’t. After nearly a year of back and forth, Flair came back to work and the drama was turned into a storyline. But Flair never really got over it and every time he thinks about it, or it comes up, his blood boils. One night after Raw, Flair tried to attack Bischoff, but he actually used working punches and didn’t land any. Recently on his podcast, Bischoff mentioned the incident and Flair again went ballistic with a tirade on X.

2 Dynamite Kid And Jacques Rougeau's Ribbing Went Way Too Far

Bulldogs And Quebecers Don't Make Great Friends

After Getting Suckerpunched, Dynamite Had Every Intention Of Maiming Rougeau
Vince McMahon Paid For Dynamite's Dental And Told Him No Retaliations
According To Bret Hart, The Incident Weakened Dynamite's Tough Man Reputation In The Eye's Of His Peers

In the war of pranks and ribs, Mr. Perfect was the king and, thanks to the king, an all-out war happened between The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. The Bulldogs were notorious violent and mean-spirited ribbers.

After incessantly picking on Jacques, Vince McMahon had ordered The Bulldogs to stop their ribs. Dynamite immediately thought it was Jacques who tattled and did more than confront him about it. In retaliation, the future Mountie suckerpunched Dynamite with a sock full of quarters.

1 CM Punk Eats Muffins And Calls Out The Elite

The Great Schism Of AEW Started At "Brawl Out"

Adam Page Going Off Script In A Promo Is What Started The Problems For CM Punk In AEW
Tony Khan Tried To Keep The Peace And Have Collision And Dynamite Have Separate Rosters
Punk Has Already Comically Referenced "Punching People In The Face" Is A Big No No In 2023

This list started with wrestling’s equivalent of The JFK Assassination, and we end with an outright real life Royal Rumble. During the All Out 2022 media scrum, instead of reveling in the fact that he was once again a world champion, CM Punk lambasted anyone and everyone he could run his mouth off about - which included Colt Cabana, and The Elite. Those words turned the aftermath of the scrum into a brawl between Ace Steel, Punk and The Elite. It would take a year, but that was the beginning of the end of Punk and Steel in AEW. Considering that the Iconoclast is back in WWE now, it might also signify the beginning of the end for AEW.