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In modern-day WWE, it is very common for Superstars’ on-screen characters to discuss their real-life love of sports entertainment in the 1990s/2000s.
For example, Bayley’s babyface WWE persona from 2013-2019 was largely based on her being a childhood WWE fan, while Sasha Banks has often paid homage to her idol – WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero – in her matches.
Unlike other sports, where athletes usually retire in their 30s, sports entertainers can continue performing into their 40s and, in some cases, even beyond the age of 50. This means that many WWE Superstars end up facing the people whom they grew up idolizing as children.
In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who got to face their idols, as well as five who did not.
#10 Alexa Bliss did not face Trish Stratus in WWE
In an August 2018 interview with the Connecticut Post, Alexa Bliss discussed how excited she was to face Trish Stratus after WWE announced that she was going to go one-on-one with her idol at the first all-women’s pay-per-view, WWE Evolution.
“I’m really excited to be in the ring with her, to have this match with an idol. I really want to work with Trish. I’ve worked hard for this. It might be a little harder to get mad and mean at Trish.”
Unfortunately, Bliss suffered a concussion one month before the match was due to take place. WWE then decided to turn the singles match into a tag team match, with Bliss joining forces with Mickie James to face Stratus and Lita, but the five-time WWE Women’s Champion suffered another concussion just one week before Evolution.
Alicia Fox was named as a last-minute replacement for Bliss, who never got the chance to face Stratus in WWE.
#9 The Miz faced The Rock in WWE
Mike Mizanin’s original “The Miz” character was based on Dwayne Johnson’s “The Rock” character, so it was inevitable that the two men had to cross paths one day in WWE.
In November 2011, The Rock returned to the ring for the first time in over seven years when he teamed with John Cena to defeat The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series.
Speaking to Inverse in 2017, The Miz revealed that he sent a text to his childhood hero before shooting scenes on his first movie, The Marine 3.
“I remember texting The Rock saying, ‘Hey, if you have any advice I’d really appreciate it. I’m on set ready to do my first scene.’ Not a minute later I got a call back and we talked for half an hour.”
The Miz and The Rock also interacted at WrestleMania 27, with “The Great One” hitting the then-WWE Champion with a spinebuster and People’s Elbow at the end of the show.
#8 Roman Reigns did not face Bret Hart in WWE
Roman Reigns revealed in a 2015 interview with Yahoo! Sports that Bret Hart was one of his biggest idols as a young WWE fan.
“Every time he’d come out with that leather jacket and give his sunglasses away to a kid in the crowd, I used to dream about being that kid. That hair, all that gear. To this day I still think he has kicka** gear. He seemed like a stand-up guy. A really nice dude. He is a very cool dude.”
Reigns and Hart are obviously from two very different WWE eras, but there was a brief time at the start of the 2010s when they could potentially have crossed paths.
Hart competed in five televised WWE matches in 2010-11, while he also took part in several WWE live events in November 2010.
This was the same period of time that Reigns performed in the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territory before his November 2012 call-up to WWE's main roster, which meant he only just missed out on working on the same shows as his hero.
#7 Jinder Mahal faced Triple H in WWE
In December 2017, Triple H told Jinder Mahal after defeating him at a WWE live event in India that “The Modern Day Maharajah” had earned his respect during the match.
Speaking to The Times of India, Mahal said he idolized Triple H before joining WWE and he enjoyed hearing what the 14-time WWE World Champion had to say about his work ethic.
“I heard what he said and saw the video clip as well and it is amazing. I grew up idolizing Triple H and to earn his respect is great; but what he said is true, nobody sees my twenty-four hours.”
Mahal and Triple H are yet to face each other in a televised WWE match.
#6 Robert Roode did not face Curt Hennig in WWE
Robert Roode told 710 KEEL in 2018 that he grew up as a huge fan of Curt Hennig (aka Mr. Perfect) and he would choose to face the WWE Hall of Famer if he could have a match with anyone from any era.
"I think growing watching him, I have hours and hours and hours of footage of 'Mr. Perfect' Curt Hennig and just studied his stuff for years. So, unfortunately, that will never happen, but if there was a dream match, that would be it." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Although Roode was never able to face Mr. Perfect, he did share the ring with his son – former WWE Superstar Curtis Axel – on nine occasions from 2018 to 2019.
#5 Liv Morgan faced Lita in WWE
Lita’s 2018 in-ring return is best remembered for her WWE Royal Rumble appearance and the aforementioned tag team match that she competed in at Evolution.
One night after she teamed with Trish Stratus to defeat Alicia Fox and Mickie James, Lita joined forces with Stratus, Bayley, Natalya and Sasha Banks to pick up a victory over Fox and James, as well as all three members of The Riott Squad, on WWE RAW.
Riott Squad member Liv Morgan told (201) Magazine in 2017 that she idolized Lita when she watched WWE as a young fan.
“Just looking at Lita, I felt like she could be my friend. She was someone I related to. That’s all I want to do for girls growing up. I want them to see me and think, ‘Liv can be my friend.’”
Granted, this was not a one-on-one match, but Morgan was still able to go head-to-head with her idol.
#4 Damian Priest did not face The Undertaker in WWE
WWE NXT Superstar Damian Priest told Daily DDT in 2020 that he received advice from his childhood hero, The Undertaker, during the WWE icon’s visit to the Performance Center.
“You can hear it [advice] from others, but when that guy’s telling you something, it holds more weight for some reason. One of the highlights of my career was just talking to him.”
If The Undertaker really has competed in his last WWE match, Priest will never get the opportunity to face “The Deadman” in a WWE ring.
Fortunately, as Priest said, ‘Taker is willing to help out WWE’s up-and-coming Superstars by giving them feedback on their work, so their paths will likely cross again behind the scenes in the future.
#3 Dolph Ziggler faced Shawn Michaels in WWE
It is no secret that Dolph Ziggler was a big fan of Shawn Michaels as a child. In fact, if WWE fans could choose one modern-day Superstar who resembles “The Heartbreak Kid” the most, that person would almost certainly be Ziggler.
Before being repacked as “The Showoff”, Ziggler performed as Spirit Squad member Nicky in the early stages of his WWE career.
In 2006, Ziggler and the rest of The Spirit Squad faced Michaels in eight matches on WWE television, while they also shared the ring with the two-time WWE Hall of Famer on multiple occasions at live events.
Despite their interactions at the start of Ziggler’s career, Michaels never went one-on-one against the former World Heavyweight Champion in WWE.
#2 Seth Rollins did not face Hulk Hogan in WWE
A self-confessed ‘Hulkamaniac’ as a child, Seth Rollins was originally supposed to be part of Hulk Hogan’s team of babyface Superstars against Team Ric Flair in a five-on-five tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel 2019.
However, WWE’s plans for the event changed and Rollins ended up losing his Universal Championship against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, with Roman Reigns leading Hogan’s team instead.
As you can see above, Rollins tweeted (perhaps jokingly) in February 2020 that he wants to face Hogan at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Triple H faced Ric Flair in WWE
It is well-known that Triple H looked up to Ric Flair as a young wrestling fan, so it was no surprise that the 14-time WWE World Champion wanted to align with his idol in 2003 to form the Evolution faction.
That storyline saw Triple H and Flair work on the same side for two years, but they also had plenty of in-ring battles against each other throughout the 2000s.
Their first one-on-one match came in September 2002 when Triple H retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Flair on RAW. Two years later, the Evolution colleagues even feuded at two PPV events, with Flair winning at Taboo Tuesday and Triple H winning at Survivor Series.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
