5 Times current and former WWE stars were involved in real-life backstage fights

It appears that what WWE Superstar CM Punk said in his recent interview regarding his backstage fight with Jack Perry didn't sit well with AEW boss Tony Khan and EVPs Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.

This is not the first time that professional wrestlers have been involved in real-life backstage fights. Especially in WWE, several reports about backstage fights have been made, which were later confirmed by the wrestlers themselves.

With that in mind, we take a look at five times current and former WWE stars got involved in real fights backstage, featuring Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, and new Universal Champion Cody Rhodes.

#5. Chris Jericho and Goldberg

Chris Jericho and Goldberg are considered two of the best wrestlers of all time in the industry. During their days with WWE, the two had a fight backstage when Jericho found out that Goldberg was saying things about Y2J behind his back.

As the wrestling legend revealed in his Undisputed: How To Become The World Champion in 1372 Easy Steps book, his altercation with Goldberg escalated quickly and turned into a backstage brawl. Jericho beat down the Hall of Famer before they were separated.

#4. Sin Cara and Sheamus

The incident took place in New York back in 2014 and featured Sheamus and Sin Cara brawling in the training room. The Irishman told the Mexican to leave, as Sheamus considered himself much more important to WWE than Sin Cara.

Cara didn't like what the former champion said and confronted him. The two started to brawl, and Sin Cara won the fight.

#3. Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar

The two megastars collided after SummerSlam in 2016 when Brock Lesnar dominated Randy Orton and claimed the victory. However, the Beast Incarnate didn't stop there and elbowed The Viper, with Orton ending up bleeding.

Jericho later confronted Lesnar because he believed he went off script. Things didn't get out of control because former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon interfered.

#2. Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle

It appears that Brock Lesnar wasn't the most quiet guy during his time with WWE. The Beast Incarnate got into a fight with Hall of Famer Kurt Angle after underestimating his ability to beat him.

Angle confronted him, and the two fought for almost 12 minutes. Eventually, the former Olympic Gold medalist won the fight, which took place in 2003.

#1. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes

The new Undisputed Universal Champion Cody Rhodes is one of the superstars involved in a real-life fight backstage. In 2023, the American Nightmare talked about it in more detail but didn't give the name of the guy he confronted.

"I’ve had one backstage skirmish. I’m not going to name the guy. The good thing is, I won. When I came back, this is early in my career, he was wearing one of my vests. I have these special leather vests that I wore as part of my entrance. He was wearing it and kind of mocking me at the talent viewing position. As I went walking towards him, I thought I was going to headbutt him, but a headbutt seems pretty violent these days. I thought, ‘why don’t I just grapple him?’ I have a good folkstyle Greco background. I got an over-under and swept him to the floor," Rhodes said during an appearance on the Dan LeBatard Show. (h/t Fightful).

Cody Rhodes was victorious in the fight, even though he later admitted that it might not be his best decision.