5 WWE storylines based on real-life events

WWE is a soap opera, with countless various storylines taking place over the company's many years.

In case things weren't quite clear, no, Steve Austin does not hate Vince McMahon's guts, and The Undertaker did not burn down his family's funeral home with his brother Kane inside it.

But though these iconic tales remain in the world of fiction, there have been some stories that proved that truth is something stranger than fiction. Sometimes, a wrestler's real life will weave its way into the stories on screen, for a variety of reasons.

Whether it be due to real-life beef between two wrestlers or something else, there have been some stories that borrowed from facts. Here are five WWE storylines that were based off of real-life events.

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#5: Bradshaw bullies the Blue Guy

The Blue Meanie and the former WWE Champion seem to have made ammends in recent years.

ECW One Night Stand 2005 was supposed to be an amazing night for the Extreme faithful, but the show is arguably best remembered for one man.

JBL.

During the brawl near the end of the night, Bradshaw legitimately attacked the Blue Meanie, busting the bWo member up badly in the ruckus. After threatening legal action, the WWE calmed Meanie by offering him a brief contract, turning the real-life fight into an angle.

The angle even saw Meanie beat the former WWE Champion in a No-DQ match, albeit with help by Batista, and with the bout seeing Bradshaw dominate the ECW alum for the majority of the contest.

Released shortly after the match, at least Meanie got to make some money out of the beating he received, and based on recent posts, it seemed the pair have buried their beef.

#4: Money Inc butchers the Barber

A masked Beefcake returned to WWE, after a very real parasailing accident.

When Brutus Beefcake teamed with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 9, fans quickly noticed a change.

The Barber now donned a protective mask, of course in Hogan red and yellow, and the story had been given that the mask was due to opponent's Money Inc attacking his face.

Whilst the team of Ted DiBiase and IRS did indeed attack Beefcake's face before the Mania tag match, this was only because of Brutus' real-life parasailing accident that happened before.

The accident, which occurred nearly three years prior, saw Beefcake help his friend prepare for takeoff when parasailing, and when the boat-driver mistook that as a cue, Beefcake's pal smashed into his friend's face.

After over 100 metal plates were put in to repair the damaged face, the protective mask was written into the story upon his return to the WWF in 1993.

#3: A sober end for the Charismatic Enigma

Hardy and Punk's 2009 feud brought up a lot of Jeff's problems.

When Jeff Hardy finally toppled Edge to win the World Heavyweight title at Extreme Rules 2009, his reign was short lived.

After losing the title to CM Punk's MITB cash-in, the two engaged in an entertaining feud which saw Punk turn heel for the first time in WWE.

As a heel, Punk held nothing back, saying he was disgusted by the WWE Universe for cheering Jeff, bringing up the Charismatic Enigma's real-life substance abuse problems, whilst the Second City Savior led a drug-free, straight edge lifestyle.

What followed was a new edge to the feud, as fans learned more about Hardy as a person, who admitted he wasn't perfect.

Unfortunately, it would be Jeff's substance problems that would end the feud, as, after more brushes with the law for drugs, Hardy was fired from the company in September, and later posted a video where he admitted he found Punk to be preachy.

#2: Hawk's real-life problems

Hawk (left) had his real-life demons put out on WWE TV.

Fans will often hold the Attitude Era up as the greatest period in wrestling, and though those brief years did see stars like The Rock and Steve Austin become household names, not everything was great.

One controversial storyline during the period involved Hawk, one-half of the legendary Road Warriors, who was replaced on-screen by long-time partner Animal, with Droz.

The reason Animal gave was that Hawk had been battling alcohol addiction, and this angle gets even more tasteless when you discover not only had Hawk had problem with booze in the past, but he was having it whilst the story was ongoing.

The low point came when Droz revealed he had been enabling Hawk's problems on-screen so that he could replace him in LOD, though the story would thankfully be scrapped before the end of 1998.

#1: The Hardy/Edge/Lita love triangle

Hardy and Edge would have a war in 2005.

2005 was a bad year for Matt Hardy.

After being sidelined with an injury, Matt discovered his real-life girlfriend Lita had been cheating on him with close friend Edge for quite a while. Reacting on instinct, Matt made the affair public, a shocking act that cut a lot of storylines on WWE TV, and briefly saw Hardy be released from the company.

Back on TV, Edge and Hardy would engage in a deeply personal feud, which saw the duo having a bloody war at Summerslam, before ripping each other apart the next month in a steel cage.

After Hardy lost a loser leaves RAW match, the story ended with Matt's move to SmackDown. Though it seems the trio have been able to put all this behind them, no-one could really blame Matt for his actions back in 2005.