5 WWE Superstars who were accused of backstage politics

#3 WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels now works in WWE NXT

It is no secret that Shawn Michaels was difficult to deal with backstage in WWE during the 1990s. As one of the top attractions in the company, The Heartbreak Kid allegedly used his backstage power to his advantage on multiple occasions.

One of those occasions came in 1996 when he made a complaint about Vader following their WWE Championship match in the main event of WWE SummerSlam.

Vader was originally supposed to win the title from Michaels at WWE Survivor Series 1996 before dropping it back to his rival at the 1997 WWE Royal Rumble.

Unfortunately, Vader botched two spots in the SummerSlam match and he was replaced in the storyline by Sycho Sid.

Speaking on WWE show The Bump in 2020, Michaels addressed the reputation that he used to have as someone who politicked backstage.

“I will say, certainly for me anyway, ignorance was always bliss for me. I never got, for a guy who had the reputation of politicking, I don't really ever know what's going on for me, company standpoint, how they want to advance. I just don't pay attention to that stuff. It was more, in-ring was my focus.” [H/T Bleeding Cool]

It was also claimed by Bob Holly that Sycho Sid walked out on WWE because he was fed up of Michaels and Kevin Nash’s backstage politics.