10 Pairs of wrestling Superstars who have a real-life dislike for each other

Everyone who buys a wrestling ticket in 2018--with the exception of very young children--likely knows that they are going to see a scripted athletic performance. Even if people get injured for real, it's an accident and not because the wrestlers genuinely hate each other.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, as in any other profession, the wrestlers will bump heads with their coworkers and management. While this usually doesn't lead to long-term resentment, occasionally the bad feelings fester over time and turn into real hatred.

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Here are ten pairs of superstar wrestlers who have a genuine beef with each other.

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#1 The New Day and Hulk Hogan

By now, you have probably heard about the Gawker video showing Hulk Hogan in an intimate moment with another man's wife. You probably also know about the billion-dollar payout the Hulkster received from that company for showing the video.

And, unfortunately, you probably also know about Hogan's prejudicial speech on that video, in which he repeatedly used the "N" word to describe black people.

Hogan was stricken from the WWE Hall of Fame, but was recently reinstated. It has been all but assured that Hogan will return to WWE television in some capacity, but there are at least three WWE superstars who won't be rolling out the welcome wagon; The New Day.

The three-man group released a statement, in which they clearly said-- we just do not associate with the people who convey or have conveyed this negative and hurtful mindset.

Hogan may return to the WWE, and all signs point toward soon, but he won't be riding between arenas with the New Day. That is, unless -"we see him make a genuine effort to change, then maybe our opinion will change with him."

Looks like the Hulkster has a long way to go to get forgiveness from the New Day.

#2 Honky Tonk Man and Bret Hart

Honky Tonk Man is one of the most bitter people in wrestling, and this is on the public record. However, he seems to have a considerable beef with the Hitman Bret Hart.

Nearly everyone knows about the infamous Montreal Screwjob, and how Bret was angry with Shawn Michaels for nearly ten years. However, not many know about his backstage beef with Honky Tonk Man.

It seems that Honky Tonk Man's waning years in the WWE were spent slacking off and not working hard in the ring--at least according to Bret Hart. He once told Honky Tonk Man 'You don't hit me hard enough,' ripping on his ability to work snug.

Honky Tonk Man blames Bret Hart for his WWE career ending, believing that Hart used his influence with Vince McMahon to cost Honky his job. We don't know if this is true or not, but the animosity between the two men is genuine enough.

#3 Ric Flair and Jim Herd

Ric Flair with Bobby Heenan

Former WCW President--and Pizza Hut manager--Jim Herd.

For those of you who aren't aware, St. Louis Missouri is HUGE in the pro wrestling world. Numerous schools, independent federations, training camps, and events take place in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. In fact, during the 1980s most of the biggest stars in wrestling appeared on a show called Wrestling at the Chase. The show was wildly successful considering it only appeared on one network, KPLR channel 11.

When Ted Turner bought out Jim Crockett productions and turned it into WCW, he hired Jim Herd as the Vice President of WCW. Herd had zero experience in the wrestling business other than the fact he was the former president of the KPLR station.

Once Crockett got on board, he started making decisions that had everyone scratching their heads. He insisted that wrestlers not come off the top rope, removed the protective pads from ringside, and tried to aim the wrestling product at children. One of his ideas involved a tag team called the Ding Dongs. Google it if you dare.

Another somewhat foolish thing Herd did was make an enemy of Ric Flair. Flair was, without a doubt, the biggest star under contract with WCW at the time. His name was a license to print money. But Herd didn't think Flair was all that impressive, preferring more chiselled and younger athletes like Lex Luger and Sting.

Eventually, the two reached a breaking point, and Herd fired Flair. One problem; Flair owned the WCW heavyweight championship belt. Herd demanded Flair hand over the belt, but didn't want to pay Flair's asking price of 10,000 dollars--the same price Flair had paid for the title belt.

So, within weeks Flair showed up on WWE television--with the WCW championship belt. Flair went on to win the world title about ten more times, while Herd retired from wrestling in disgrace.

#4 The Miz and the entire WWE locker room.

The Miz has become a fixture in the WWE, having been there for over ten years. His social media presence and movie roles have raised his profile to rival that of John Cena.

However, all was not always smooth sailing for Miz. In fact, when he first debuted in the WWE most of the locker room couldn't stand him!

Wrestlers are very big on the concept of 'paying your dues.' This is usually done by working your way up through the independents, or, if you're lucky enough to start in the WWE, by working as 'enhancement' talent and putting other stars over. Miz was pushed right into the mid-card upon his arrival, and this rankled with some of the other talents.

Add into this the fact that the Miz was still quite young and brash, and brought his reality TV attitude with him to the WWE. Miz ended up being kicked out of the locker room, meaning he had to change in bathrooms and broom closets, for over a year, until Undertaker finally told him he could return.

These days most of his coworkers don't have any problem with the Miz, but it was not always that way.

#5 Konnan and Vampiro

The Canadian Vampire and Konnan had their issues dating back to Vampiro's debut in Mexican federation CMLL.

Konnan had been the star, but Vampiro went over well with the crowd and began to rival his popularity. Vampiro was offered a role in a Telenovela, but Konnan sabotaged him by telling the producers Vampiro spoke poor Spanish--which was the truth.

Konnan wound up gaining mainstream stardom, while Vampiro was left without a job. Their feud intensified when Vampiro's girlfriend told him Konnan had attempted to assault her. (Later it would be revealed that the assault never took place, and Konnan and Vampiro's paramour had a consensual romantic entanglement.)

Konnan wound up leaving for WCW, and a few years later Vampiro followed. Konnan allegedly tried to get WCW officials to rescind their contract offer to Vampiro, fearing there would still be bad blood between the two men.

However, time heals all wounds, and the two wound up burying the hatchet and claim to be on friendly terms these days.

#6 Randy Orton and Ken Anderson

This is a tale of two friends who wounded up being enemies.

Being of similar age and experience, Mr. Kennedy and Randy Orton wound up becoming friends. They hung out after the show together, traveled together, and seemed close.

All of that ended when Ken Anderson dropped Orton on his head during a match. Orton began to complain about Anderson's working too stiffly, and John Cena echoed those feelings.

Their feud seems to have cooled, with Anderson no longer blaming Orton after being fired. With so many Impact stars returning to WWE, though, who can say what will happen if Anderson did make it back to the company? Would their friendship be renewed, or their rivalry?

#7 The Young Bucks and Booker T

Despite the seeming amicability of the photo above, Booker T has no respect for the Young Bucks.

In the wrestling industry, it's often considered important for younger, less experienced wrestlers to go out of their way to introduce themselves and pay homage to the veterans. Apparently no one told the Bucks this, because they failed to do that with Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and several other wrestling stars.

Booker T was already fuming because of the apparent slight, but then he discovered that one of the Young Bucks was leaning on his jacket. Booker T flipped out and went on an angry tirade, and the Bucks believe his influence kept them from getting a WWE contract.

#8 Road Warrior Animal and Vince McMahon

The Road Warriors were the most dominant, most popular tag team of the 1980s. From the NWA to Japan, they ran roughshod over the best teams in the world and captured gold wherever they went.

Then, in the 1990s, they finally signed with WWE. While at first, they enjoyed a lengthy and thorough push, over time they drifted down the card. They also ended up in controversial angles where Hawk was a drug addict and attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the Titan Tron.

While Hawk seems to have mostly kept silent about the matter, his partner Animal has no such compunctions. He has stated loudly and often that Vince McMahon didn't like the Road Warriors. The reason given is that Vince didn't 'make' the LOD's careers, rather they were already megastars when they were signed.

He also points to an incident in a strip club where he and Hawk gave McMahon a doomsday device, their finishing move. The pair would often do this to unsuspecting wrestlers outside of the arena, though they always made sure someone would catch their unwitting victim before they spilt to the concrete.

When prompted by Hulk Hogan, the LOD gave Vince a Doomsday Device. Though Vince laughed it off at the time, Animal is convinced that was the turning point for their WWE careers.

#9 Jim Cornette and Kenny Omega

This is an unusual feud in that the two men haven't been in the same room with each other.

Kenny Omega is perhaps the most celebrated talent of this generation. His match against Okada at Wrestle Kingdom put New Japan back onto the wrestling fandom radar, and nearly everyone praises his hard work, technical skills, and fearlessness.

Almost everyone, because there's one man who can't stand Kenny Omega; Jim Cornette. The famous manager and promoter has been enraged at Omega's burgeoning popularity because, in his mind, Omega doesn't take the wrestling business seriously enough.

Before the days of the internet, most wrestling fans knew that the sport was fake but the wrestlers never admitted it. The talent was expected to defend--violently--the sanctity of the sport when it was called into question. This is the attitude that led to Meng/Haku biting the nose off of an unruly fan who called him a 'fake wrestler.'

Times have changed, and it's common knowledge that wrestling is a performance. However, Cornette seems to think the genie can be put back into the bottle and kayfabe will somehow make a comeback if only people like Kenny Omega would just disappear.

For his part, Omega seems amused by Cornette's vendetta against him and says he bears Jim no ill will.

#10 Shinsuke Nakamura and Brock Lesnar

If you think Jim Cornette is passionate about wrestling, he doesn't hold a candle to the Japanese wrestling community.

Wrestling is taken seriously as an art form in that nation, even with all the pomp and showboating. No one is more of an artist in pro wrestling than Shinsuke Nakamura, and he has a grudge against Lesnar stemming from a match they had in Japan.

Nakamura stated that Lesnar didn't bring his A game, and mostly went through the motions during their encounter. Lesnar's lack of passion actually reduced Nakamura to tears after their match because he was so frustrated with the lacklustre performance.

The two currently work for WWE, but it seems like Lesnar might be leaving soon. That could be good news for Shinsuke since he would then be free to join the Raw brand.

There you have it; Ten pairs of wrestlers with real-life animosity. Please leave your comments and questions at the bottom of the article. Thanks for reading!