WWE has been at the forefront of pro wrestling, and everything good and bad about the industry, for decades. The company has seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows during its highly successful existence.
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As always, an organization with the kind of longevity and talent turnaround as WWE is bound to have quite a few untethered stories running rampant in the community, which is the case with almost every wrestling promotion anyhow. While many remain open to confirmation and continue to cause raised eyebrows and scratching heads, a few theories have long since been debunked and put to bed.
9 Stephanie McMahon And Randy Savage
There have been multiple stories of a young Stephanie McMahon getting a bit too close to one of the biggest stars of the time, "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Apparently, Vince McMahon even found out about this, and in a rage, forced the latter to leave his company and not return.
While this story has been quite the urban legend in WWE history, it is safe to say that it is as false as they come. While many used Savage's delayed induction into the Hall of Fame as proof of this story, now that the legend is deservedly enshrined, there is not much fuel to this theory.
8 The Montreal Screwjob Was Staged
What hasn't already been spoken about perhaps the most famous episode in wrestling history that is left to be said? And while the Montreal Screwjob remains as discussed today as it ever was, some conspiracy theorists believe that the whole exercise was staged.
This definitely was not the case, as has been proved multiple times. In reality, Bret Hart was really headed to WCW, so it would have made no sense for Vince McMahon to lose a main-event talent by letting him go to the competition and uproot trees there.
7 Brock Lesnar Ending The Streak
Perhaps the most contentious moment in WWE, and wrestling, history was when Brock Lesnar conquered the impossible and beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30. Granted, the New Orleans crowd was left stunned, and so were many talents watching backstage.
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However, it has been made clear many times that this was no accident or middle-of-a-match audible call from The Phenom. Vince McMahon left it late to decide the winner, perhaps just before the two competitors went to the ring, so it was left unknown to many, including officials and talent, until the moment the referee counted to three.
6 Christy Hemme's Firing
The inaugural winner of the annual Diva Search in 2004 who got a contract with WWE as a result, Christy Hemme went on to battle Trish Stratus for the Women's Championship at WrestleMania 21. Things were seemingly looking up for the talent, but it was not long after that it was announced she had been released from the company.
Soon, rumors went around that Hemme was let go because she had been romantically linked to Triple H and Vince McMahon, which didn't sit well with Stephanie McMahon. Of course, this was soon debunked, as the two women have been seen together multiple times after, and Christy is now a mother to five children.
5 Vince McMahon Sent Vince Russo To WCW
This is not the first mention, nor the last, of rumors of a talent being sent to the enemy to destroy them from within. Many felt that Vince McMahon sent Vince Russo to WCW with the intention to bring them down, thus getting rid of the competition.
However, Russo is too proud of a man to have worked that way, and it has been said enough times that this was just a rumor. Also, Vince sending Russo to WCW to bring them down displays hardly any faith in his own talents and creative to win the war, so this is definitely false.
4 Triple H Lost To The Ultimate Warrior As Punishment
Another pretty popular theory is that Triple H was utterly squashed by a returning Ultimate Warrior due to the whole "Curtain Call" issue. Apparently, since that instance had ruffled a lot of feathers the wrong way, HHH was punished for it by having him lose to Warrior.
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However, that can't be true because the WrestleMania where this one-sided beatdown happened was two months before the episode with Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. Hunter was punished for the latter, but by having his purported King of the Ring win snatched away.
3 Two Ultimate Warriors?
This was another big story within the community, as when Ultimate Warrior returned in 1992, he looked much leaner, had shorter hair, and had gone blond. Many fans took this as something darker, assuming the original person behind the character had died and was now replaced.
However, nothing of that sort was true, as it was still the same person, Jim Hellwig, playing the manic performer. What could have happened was that he had stepped off the juice due to the steroid scandal that had engulfed WWE in the early 1990s.
2 Shawn Michaels And Vince McMahon's 'Relationship'
Another popular backstage story was that Vince McMahon was only showing Shawn Michaels so much preferential treatment in the 1990s because they were more than just boss and employee. It was implied that the two had some romantic relationship of sorts, leading to the owner being biased towards HBK.
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Again, this was viewed as way too far-fetched, and the fact that the two battled many times after, inside and outside the ring, was enough to quash any such noises. Also, after Michaels found God and became a complete family man, such stories automatically died down.
1 NWO Was Actually Working For WWE
Another instance of Vince McMahon's genius being given too much credit, it was claimed that he had sent the NWO to go and destroy the competition, WCW. The fact that three huge stars in Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall jumped ship and enjoyed creative freedom added fuel to such speculations.
However, this was again quashed soon, while WCW literally beat down WWE for two straight years in the ratings. Hogan thinking beyond money, and Vince, once again, not placing in his own product and employees, was just a story that was easy to manifest given the times, but was far from the truth.
