5 real backstage brawls where the favorites lost

sometimes the lines blur between a pro wrestling match and a real fight behind the scenes

Professional wrestling is built on the concept of men and women working together to put on a dramatic representation of a fight. Yes, a lot of the hits and falls are real, but by and large, the intention isn’t for anyone to get hurt. The objective is entertainment, as opposed to injury.

However, with so many athletes who take pride in what they do, it makes sense enough that there would be some real-life confrontations that escalate into fights. Sometimes it’s a matter of a long-simmering beef boiling over into fisticuffs.

Sometimes it’s a misunderstanding a single incident at the wrong time that blows up into a full-blown fight. Whatever the case may be, backstage brawls are a part of wrestling history.

Sometimes, the brawls go down just the way you’d expect, like when Bret Hart got his hands on Vince McMahon backstage after Survivor Series 1997. There are, however, those occasions when things take a surprise turn.

Maybe it’s because one guy is a much bigger star, or because he has the size advantage, or real life credentials that make us think he’d be a good fighter. Whatever the case, there are times when an underdog ends up getting the better of the favourite in these real brawl situations. This article looks back at five of those cases.

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#5 JBL vs. Joey Styles

Joey Styles was an unlikely man to stand up to JBL.

JBL is well known as a bit of a bully. During his in-ring career, rumours abounded that he was a Vince McMahon’s hired gun to rough up people who needed to be taught a lesson, toughened up, or made an example of. This led to infamous instances of him being stiff with Public Enemy, The Blue Meanie, and DH Smith on different occasions.

It’s also rumoured that he’s either been instructed or chosen to take liberties in verbally digging at guys on commentary, such as pressing Cody Rhodes during a guest commentary spot during his feud with The Shield and The Authority.

When JBL got in broadcaster Joey Styles’s face backstage, you’d have to assume Styles would either just take it, or, if he stood up for himself, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the much bigger athlete. However, Styles infamously not only stood up for himself, but punched out JBL.

It was a classic example of a bully taking a rough hit, and backing down based on it. Maybe JBL recognised he’d only look bad if he came back and really tried to fight the much smaller Styles—win or lose. Or maybe Styles’s punch really did put the Big Texan in his place.

#4 Chris Jericho vs. Sin Cara

Sin Cara may not have Chris Jericho's star power, but he can more than hold his own in a fight

Chris Jericho is a multi-time world champion and surefire eventual Hall of Famer. Sin Cara? The worker playing the gimmick now lucked into the role when Mexican megastar, Mistico, proved an ill fit for WWE. He’s far from a legend, and is rather the kind of talent you have to assume will stay in the mid-card or tag team scene indefinitely, before his eventual release.

Jericho and Sin Cara purportedly got into a fight while WWE was touring Europe last year. Details remain sketchy, but we know a few pieces of the outcome. Jericho was sporting a black eye shortly afterward. Sin Cara was sent to anger management classes. The consensus seems to be that Sin Cara won.

This is a surprise outcome given each man’s standing in pro wrestling, and given Jericho’s courage in previously going toe-to-toe with Goldberg in WCW, and not backing down from a real confrontation with Brock Lesnar. However, Sin Cara reportedly got the best of previous brawls with Simon Gotch and Sheamus as well, so maybe he should have been favoured all along.

#3 Big Van Vader vs. Paul Orndorff

Mr. Wonderful fought a younger, stronger man and still prevailed.

Big Van Vader was a dominant force for WCW in the early 1990s. He captured the world title twice, which included dominating the main event scene for most of 1993. He had a reputation for being a beast, too. He was a stiff worker who was so big and powerful that enhancement workers, in particular, were legitimately frightened to get in the ring with him.

Paul Orndorff was a powerful man with a killer physique. He’d earned his spot as a legend of the wrestling industry via his deceptively great ring work, and giving Hulk Hogan some of the best matches of his first world title reign. For as respected as he was, though, few would guess that he could hold his own in a fight with Vader—at least when Vader was in his prime and Orndorff was well past it.

The two clashed when Orndorff was working in a behind the scenes role, and was charged with getting talent to the right places at the right time in the arena. From Orndorff’s account, Vader refused to head where he was needed and gave him lip. So the two got in a scuffle and he beat up the Mastodon.

Vader’s account is a bit different, suggesting that WCW management had directed him to be in two places at once and he was legitimately confused. He claims that Orndorff went after him and he didn’t fight back to stay out of trouble. There does seem to be some credence to Vader’s claims; while Orndorff might have won a legit fight between them, it’s harder to believe Vader wouldn’t have landed at least a few good shots if he were trying.

#2 Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

Few men would dare square off with Brock Lesnar in real life. Kurt Angle did so and won

Brock Lesnar is arguably the most credible professional wrestler ever based on his size, athleticism, NCAA wrestling background, and, most recently added, this legitimate success in the world of MMA. There’s one thing he doesn’t have, however, and that’s an Olympic gold medal.

Kurt Angle is said to be friendly with Lesnar, but has spoken in a number of interviews about the time the two got physical with one another in front of an audience of just the boys. According to Angle, the question came up of whether Angle or Lesnar would win a legit wrestling match, and Lesnar laughed it off, suggesting with his size advantage, he’d dominate Angle.

Given his pride, competitive spirit, and knowledge that his Olympic level training would at least make him competitive, Angle wouldn’t let it go. He reported challenging Lesnar again and again before they finally had it out before a show.

While it wasn’t a full-on fight per se, the two did legitimately wrestle, and all present agree that Angle decisively won. He won his superior technique and experience to get the better of the younger, stronger man, in a bit of an upset.

#1 Sheamus vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Yoshi Tatsu never became a big star for WWE, but he got the better of Sheamus in a backstage brawl

Sheamus is jacked young man with a reputation for being tough. He has world title victories to his name, and has been a WWE mainstay for nearly a decade now. You can compare that to Yoshi Tatsu, a guy who didn’t look all that impressive by WWE standards, and never climbed any higher than the mid-card for the company.

The two got into a confrontation years back. Some rumours suggest Sheamus owed him money. Others limit the scope of the disagreement to Tatsu taking out his and others’ frustrations about Sheamus neglecting, multiple times, to clean a communal blender backstage.

Regardless, neither man backed down for a fight, and the bigger Celtic Warrior probably didn’t realize Tatsu’s shoot boxing and fighting background. Onlookers all seem to agree that there was no question Tatsu got the better of Sheamus.

Of course, Tatsu’s place as a wrestler didn’t really improve and he wound up released by the company. While Sheamus isn’t a main eventer anymore, he remains a regularly featured star on WWE’s main roster.