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The WWE has witnessed several elite performers compete under its promotional banner--with only a select few cream-of-the-crop Superstars being accorded the honor of holding the WWE Championship. Now, it's no secret that much like any other business, cordial relations with one's co-workers is of paramount importance in professional wrestling.
In connection with the same, it's a recognized fact that most main-event performers in the WWE or any other pro-wrestling organization for that matter are generally booked in the all-important headlining spots provided that they have a respectable track record of successfully working with their fellow wrestlers. However, at times, the clash of egos, creative differences as well as several other factors may lead to the forenamed headlining wrestlers disagreeing with and perhaps disliking their co-performers.
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Bear in mind that while the illustrious list of gentlemen who've held the WWE Championship have, for the better part, been considered as thorough professionals--these Superstars often butt heads with one another over multiple factors. Except the obvious pair of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels--who undoubtedly shared a ton of real-life heat with each other--today, we are going to be looking at five other pairs of former WWE Champions that didn't like each other in real life...
#5 Randy Orton and CM Punk
Both Randy Orton and CM Punk enjoyed a tremendous amount of success--representing the WWE as its top stars during the PG era alongside the likes of John Cena and Daniel Bryan. However, while Orton continues performing as a top-tier Superstar for the company today, Punk unceremoniously exited the WWE back in 2014.
Speaking to Sam Roberts in an appearance on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast, Randy Orton notably recalled CM Punk's backstage demeanor during their time together in WWE. Orton explained--"Punk likes to be upset about sh**. That's his thing, is to always have a chip on his shoulder." Notwithstanding, Orton also revealed to Roberts that Punk is great on the microphone as well as in the ring.
Moreover, The Viper emphasized the fact that Punk seemed to have his inner demons--whilst also joking that the latter may be a pretty "f***ed up", considering that Punk has never had a glass of alcohol in his life. Orton concurred that Punk depended on a sort of rage to keep him going--which could have led to the "Voice of the Voiceless" always being upset about things backstage in the company.
Punk, on his part, took a jab at Orton last year--retweeting then-indie talent Ricochet, and siding with the majority of indie wrestlers in their online exchanges against Orton. This transpired after the latter had mocked them for their 'Dives' and spot-heavy style of wrestling, while also taking a jab at their paychecks...
#4 Hulk Hogan and Superstar Billy Graham
Honestly speaking, both Superstar Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan have too much history with one another for us to discuss in an individual article. Fret not though, since we have listed a few of the major occurrences in the Graham-Hogan story below...
Superstar Billy Graham wrestled from 1969 to 1989--with his prime being noted as the time he essayed the "Superstar" gimmick in the WWE which was then known as the WWWF, from 1977 to 1981. In the year 1982, Graham debuted his new karate-inspired gimmick with a completely revamped look--something which didn't exactly get over with the fans.
It was around 1983 that Hulk Hogan truly broke through as the biggest star in professional wrestling, with Hulkamania being popularized all over the world. In an interview with The Hannibal TV a few years ago, Billy Graham recalled that it was around 1975 that Hogan approached him at a nightclub in Florida--following which he took the young 6'7" Hogan under his wings.
For long, Graham has claimed that back in 1975 Hogan confided in him about taking a considerable amount of steroids on a regular basis. However, during the WWF steroid scandal in the early-1990s--particularly through 1991, '93, and '94; Hogan insinuated that it was former wrestlers such as Graham who were steroid users.
Moreover, in Hogan's now-infamous "Arsenio Hall Show" appearance in 1991, Hogan accused Graham of being a steroid user, whilst noting that the only time The Hulkster used steroids was to recover from injuries. The real-life heat between Graham and Hogan persisted for years, however, Hogan published his memoir in ensuing years and confessed that he'd in fact lied as regards his steroid usage...Hogan eventually apologized to Graham, but the real-life heat which boiled over for years is arguably one of the most notable between any former WWE Champions...
#3 Triple H and Rob Van Dam (RVD)
Rob Van Dam notably won the WWE Championship at the One Night Stand PPV back in 2006--defeating John Cena in an Extreme Rules Match after cashing in his Money In The Bank contract. While RVD's reign was relatively brief, with him being one of the most beloved performers in pro-wrestling history, fans clamored for the WWE to accord more of a push to the high-flyer.
Van Dam subsequently parted ways with the WWE, returning to the indies in 2007; and apart from a brief comeback to WWE (2013-14), RVD has largely wrestled on the independent professional wrestling circuit. While certain sections of fans believed that the WWE higher-ups took issue with his marijuana-smoking habit, which is why they chose to refrain from putting the WWE Championship back on him--a few others alleged that it was Paul "Triple H" Levesque who played a huge role in phasing out Van Dam from WWE.
Addressing the same on a YouShoot interview a few years ago, RVD explained that pro-wrestling is an extremely cliquish business, and that Triple H was indeed involved in the WWE creative meetings around the mid-2000s as well. Van Dam noted that while he can't downright blame Triple H for 'burying' him, it's no secret that "The Game" didn't view RVD as someone whom they could put the WWE Championship on and have him represent the company.
Meanwhile, Triple H took a rather intriguing shot at RVD in a promo on the October 21st, 2013 episode of Monday Night RAW--tagging Daniel Bryan as a "B+ Player" and comparing the latter to Chris Jericho, RVD and Edge; whilst noting that none of them were ever "The One". While Triple H's promo was written off by many as part of the WWE's storylines, most hardcore fans and experts claimed that The Game had taken a truly cunning jab at RVD under the guise of his promo against Bryan...
#2 Kevin Nash and Eddie Guerrero
The late great Eddie Guerrero wrestled for WCW from 1989 until he parted ways with the promotion in 2000; joining the WWE where he would go on to capture several titles including the WWE Championship. On the other hand, Diesel aka Kevin Nash is a former WWE Champion as well--with Nash reigning as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion in the mid-1990s.
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall jumped ship to WCW in 1996, and the rest as they say is history--with the formation of the nWo comprising Nash, Hall and Hulk Hogan who led the charge led in WCW's Monday night ratings war against the WWE. Back in the day, it was common knowledge in pro-wrestling circles that Nash, Hall and Hogan were allegedly of the view that 'vanilla midgets'--a term coined by Nash himself--weren't worthy of being accorded important spots on the match cards.
In fact, Nash had famously referred to performers such as Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit as vanilla midgets--with his definition of the term being that smaller wrestlers such as Guerrero and Benoit being booked in main-event spots, wouldn't draw well for a wrestling promotion. Before Guerrero passed away in 2005, "Latino Heat" addressed Nash's criticism of him--noting that he doesn't like to speak ill about others, thereby indicating that he wouldn't want to fire back at Nash.
The real-life differences between Nash and Guerrero persisted until the latter's death. Although in the years that ensued, Nash's stance of Guerrero seems to have softened a tad; during their respective primes, these two ex-WWE Champions had a ton of real-life heat with each other...
#1 John Cena and Batista
Both John Cena and Batista are multiple time WWE Champions--withe the former having performed for WWE's developmental territories since 2000, until he broke through as a major star on the main roster in 2002.
On the other hand, Batista worked for the WWE from 2000 to 2010--with his rise to prominence paralleling that of Cena's timeline in the company. Addressing his 2010 departure from the WWE, Batista made it no secret that he disagreed with the PG direction WWE seemed to be heading in after the revolutionary changed in the company back when it adopted PG norms in order to put forth a more child-friendly product from 2008 onward.
In addition, the professional wrestling world was rife with talk of backstage heat between Cena and The Animal through the 2000s--with Batista noting that Cena's WWE character is something he disagrees with, especially given how he hates the PG direction of the company. While Batista refrained from commenting further on the issue, during his brief return to WWE which lasted from 2013 to '14, talk of Batista's backstage heat with several WWE Superstars including John Cena once again gained steam.
Well, when one places a couple of intensely competitive individuals such as Dave Batista and John Cena in a tense, cut-throat world such as that of pro-wrestling--tension and disagreements are indeed inevitable.
Which other real-life rivalries between WWE Superstars and pro-wrestlers in general would you like to hear about? Your opinion matters, and this writer is here to shed light upon stories untold. Please provide us your feedback in the comments section below...
