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WWE Superstars are on the road most of the year hence they travel together, work out together, and even share accommodation. While working together in WWE, many Superstars have managed to form life-long friendships as they are often in each others company,
Not only does this allow them to have a good time while being away from their families, but it also provides them with emotional and mental support. These real bonds between WWE Superstars has resulted in great matches in the ring.
WWE has used real-life friendships well on-screen and given fans some incredible rivalries.
In this article, we will look at the WWE Superstars who’ve had great on-screen rivalries with their real-life friends in the company.
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#10 Former WWE Universal Champions Kevin Owens and Finn Balor
Kevin Owens regards Finn Balor as his best friend in WWE, and the two have a storied history when it comes to competing in the ring.
Balor signed with WWE in 2014 and appeared in NXT soon after. In 2015, Balor received his first shot at the NXT Championship which was held by Kevin Owens. After an unsuccessful first attempt, Balor received another shot at the title at The Beast in the East in Tokyo, Japan, where he went on to become the NXT Champion.
Their rivalry continued as Owens faced Balor in a Ladder Match for the title at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, but he failed to defeat The Demon.
The Prizefighter has labelled Balor as his dream opponent for WrestleMania, and has called him his best friend while speaking to NOLA:
"If you say past, it's Shawn Michaels hands down. If you say present, Sami Zayn and I have had such a rich history, I feel like a one-on-one match at WrestleMania would be so perfect. But there's also Finn Balor. He's my best friend. He's probably the one guy if I could sit across from in the ring at WrestleMania, that would make my career. Finn and I got to WWE at the same time, and we dived into an unknown territory. We gravitated toward each other very quickly. He's like a brother to me now,"
The two men have had a few matches on the main roster against each other, and we can’t wait to see them be on the same brand once again to give us some more big rivalries and matches.
#9 WWE Superstars AJ Styles and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles and Samoa Joe are two phenomenal wrestlers who have competed in several promotions all around the world. They have also worked in many promotions together, which has allowed them to become good friends in real life.
The Phenomenal One and The Samoan Submission Machine had some great matches on different promotions throughout their careers. During an interview with ESPN, Styles revealed what his first impression of Joe was like:
"[I] didn't really get to talk to him, but my first impressions were, 'Wow, OK, this guy, he's a big guy. Didn't really think much about it, just a bunch of guys doing the indies, but literally after that show I saw him everywhere I went and became really good friends with him."
The two men ended up in WWE together, and the biggest promotion in the world did not waste too much time to book a major rivalry between the two WWE Superstars. Styles was the WWE Champion in 2018, and Joe went straight after his friend to give fans one of the best rivalries of 2018.
The two men competed on several occasions, with Styles defeating Joe at SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell, Crown Jewel, and WWE Super ShowDown. Hopefully, we will get more top matches out of these two men before they decide to call it a day.
#8 The leaders of WWE NXT, Shawn Michaels and Triple H
Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ friendship and teamwork has been well documented over the years. The two men are currently working hard to make WWE NXT a fantastic product.
The two were part of a great stable called D-Generation X, and they’ve had several matches and rivalries between themselves too. In the 2000s, we saw the two men engage in rivalries several times, with Triple H delivering a few sledgehammer strikes to Michaels' back following WWE SummerSlam 2002, to put him on the shelf.
During an interview with ESPN, HBK spoke about how Triple H and him are very close and are working together on NXT:
“It’s great. For he and I, other than the fact that he’s in a suit all the time… it’s very much the same relationship we had all those years on the road, that we sort of did in the car. Now we get to do it, in some form, in a much bigger, corporate setting. It’s honestly still the same guys, sitting around and driving up and down the road — that’s what we do.
“It’s just that now, somebody is actually driving us, because he doesn’t actually drive himself anymore. We’re sitting in the back, throwing out ideas, writing shows, coming up with creative things of that nature. Look, you cannot beat it — honestly. I get paid to hang out with my buddy, and it is extremely tough to complain about that.
The Game and the Heartbreak Kid have had some of the most memorable moments in WWE history, and they continue to work together to give fans the best entertainment with NXT.
#7 WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins
In 2014, on the WWE RAW following Payback, Seth Rollins turned on his brothers in The Shield to align with The Authority. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were on the receiving end of a beatdown from Rollins, and fans got to witness exciting feuds between Rollins and the other two men.
At a time when Reigns had to take a break from wrestling to look after his health, Rollins spoke about The Big Dog to La Ley 107.9:
“At the end of the day he doesn’t want to worry about work, he doesn’t want to deal with that headache right now, so it’s about seeing how he’s doing and his recovery right now.“It’s nice to hear from him, and once in a while he’ll have a question about how things are going [with RAW], but it’s mostly just two friends catching up together.”
Reigns and Rollins are two of the biggest names in WWE today, and they have managed to lead their respective brands on several occasions. The two men have had some big matches over the past five years, and we will likely watch them have a few more major rivalries before the end of their careers.
#6 Former WWE Heavyweight Champions Edge and Christian
Unlike most of the friendships that kicked off once two individuals stepped into the ring, Edge and Christian became friends at a very young age. The two have spoken about their friendship on several occasions, and WWE has used this angle on-screen countless times.
Edge appeared on Prime Time with Sean Mooney and spoke about various topics including his friendship with Christian.
“Just so happened to find two people – same mindset, same drive, same goal. That to me is the crazy part. and he fact that we stuck to it is because we had each other to lean on throughout the years, but to get there, to go through all the training, to wrestle in the barns in Fall Branch, TN and go through all of that stuff and then eventually at WrestleMania 16 to be standing there on top of the table holding the tag team belts, just all very, very surreal at times.”
The two men kicked off their WWE careers as a tag team and had a great rivalry in the early 2000s for the Intercontinental Championship. The two featured in several matches together after that, and in 2012, Christian inducted Edge into the WWE Hall of Fame.
#5 WWE Legends Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio
Long before Dominik Mysterio became an in-ring competitor, he was part of a major storyline in WWE. Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio fought for ‘The Custody of Dominik’ at WWE SummerSlam 2005, and that has remained one of the most talked-about rivalries to this day.
Guerrero and Mysterio were great friends and even better partners in the ring. Fans saw both men team up to put on some fantastic matches. However, their rivalry with each other was off the charts as their chemistry was something that not many have been able to bring to WWE screens since.
Since Eddie Guerrero's passing, Rey Mysterio has spoken about their friendship on countless occasions and has dedicated several matches and victories to his late friend.
The Master of the 619 visited Eddie’s grave for the first time early last year and published a heartfelt post regarding the same on social media.
“Always had a hard time wanting to visit Eddie & found myself cowardly refusing it due to the pain & memories from that day………Finally this past Monday, after 13yrs, I had the courage to visit him and have a one on one moment with him…. & …….exactly what I feared of happening, happened. Memories from that day were flashing through my head but his presence was much stronger and was able to cope and maintain my composure,” Mysterio wrote.
“After my conversation & connection with him I left with a Huge internal Smile and felt a soothing & peaceful ♥️! Eddie has been such an inspiration not only to me but to many & will always continue to do so. I witnessed that day, that future wrestlers who never had the opportunity to meet him took the time to stop by and pay their respects wishing they would of had the honor and privilege to have met him & been around him like many of us did!
“I truly miss you WeeWeeto!”
Eddie Guerrero gave fans hilarious and memorable moments in WWE. His rivalry with Rey Mysterio will be remembered by fans of pro wrestling for a very long time.
#4 Former WWE NXT Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are best of friends in real life and the bitterest of enemies on-screen. They’ve known each other for close to 20 years and are great friends in real life. The two men put on an exciting rivalry for the NXT Championship when they were in the Black and Gold brand.
In 2015, Owens won the NXT Championship from Zayn after powerbombing him five times at WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival. The referee had to stop the match and award the title to KO.
The two men continued their rivalry in NXT from thereon, and it became one of the best rivalries the brand had ever seen.
During an episode of ‘In This Corner’ podcast, Owens was the guest and he spoke about his friendship with Zayn in great detail.
“We have known each other for over 15 years… We have been friends, we have been enemies, we have been at each others throats. We have been by each others side, we have done it all.
Every kind of match imaginable, we have been in pretty much, except for maybe the odd Hell in a Cell for example. We have put each other through a lot, and we have been there for each other through a lot. I think that just translates into chemistry a lot of times.”
“I would say that we are more like brothers than we are friends. You know you don’t choose your relatives, you don’t choose who your brother is, you don’t choose who your sister is, you don’t choose your family.
Both WWE Superstars have great potential, and fans are eager to watch them cross paths in WWE once again and give the WWE Universe some more great storylines and matches.
#3 The leading women of WWE, Bayley and Sasha Banks
Just like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Bayley and Sasha Banks are two WWE Superstars who are good friends in real life. The two Superstars have teamed up on countless occasions and were the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
While they’ve had great moments together on-screen, they have also enjoyed great rivalries against each other on a few occasions. During their time in NXT, they had a huge rivalry for the NXT Women’s Championship which led to a stunning match between the two women in 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
From there on, the two women have had rivalries on a few occasions, and are once again gearing up for a big feud on WWE SmackDown. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Bayley expressed her desire to face her best friend Banks at WrestleMania 37.
“I think we can. We’ve bounced ideas off each other for as long as we’ve known each other, and we learn from each other so much. With all of our ideas and how much we are trusted by the people backstage, I think it’s possible. It would be challenging, but I think that would be so cool.
Someday, I hope we do get to work together again. She’s my favourite person to be in the ring with, obviously, so I would be down to try.”
The two women have recently enter into a feud, just months after holding all the women’s gold, and we will likely see this rivalry go on for a long time.
#2 WWE Legends Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are two of the best entertainers to ever perform in WWE. Not only did the two men know how to wrestle and work the crowd, but their gimmick and mic skills were off the charts, too.
Together, the two men had several rivalries and managed to headline WrestleMania thrice, something no duo has ever done before. They had countless rivalries and matches, and The Rock was an expert at selling The Stunner from Austin.
Their rivalries are replayed to this day, and they are among the few legends who have managed to make an impact on an entire generation of wrestlers.
“He’s a very good friend of mine. We headlined three WrestleManias together. No one ever has done that,” Austin told CinemaBlend.
“But me and that guy…he brought out the best of me. I brought out the best [in him] and, you know, there was that instant chemistry that drew tons of money.”
Their chemistry in the ring was phenomenal, and their friendship away from the ring allowed them to work closely together and do what’s best for the business and the WWE Universe.
#1 WWE legends The Undertaker and Kane
Kane thinks that his storyline with The Undertaker is the most brilliant storyline WWE has ever done, and there aren’t many diehard wrestling fans who would disagree. The Brothers of Destruction were among the most destructive tag teams in WWE history, and their rivalry with each other were among the best the WWE Universe has ever seen.
Paul Bearer was instrumental in bringing their storyline to WWE television and making the on-screen half brothers have some outstanding feuds in the company.
Good friends in real-life, The Undertaker and Kane matched each other perfectly and gave fans those big moments that they were willing to pay for.
“Through the years we’ve been together through so much. Very unique the both of us. Bray Wyatt is sort of the new character who has the super-natural component and the cool-creepiness but the fact that we were able to come in and be such fierce rivals but yet everything turned and to be able to join forces and ally with ourselves and split and come back again, if you look (and I’m a big fan) of old NWA you would have these relationships and feuds just go on for years and years and it was the same type of deal. I’ve said this many times and I really believe this is true. I believe that the Kane / Undertaker story if you look at epic storytelling like Greek mythology, that is what it is. It is the best piece of epic story telling that the WWE has ever done. There is a huge story arc with all of these back stories and all of these extremely powerful characters and by that I mean the personalities and to be able to make that work and work as well as it always has is just amazing. Hats off to Vince McMahon for being able to do that with the creative teams and his vision as well as Taker and as well as my good friend the late Paul Bearer. It was a lot of moving parts and he was always able to make them work smoothly and the finished product was beautiful.”
From casket matches to inferno matches, fans got several exciting matches between the two men, and their friendship and rivalry will forever be remembered as some of the best storytelling WWE has ever delivered.
