5 WWE Superstars who complained to management about colleagues

Regardless of their on-screen roles as babyfaces or heels, WWE Superstars have to work together to tell compelling stories and entertain audiences around the world.

CM Punk and John Cena, for example, were involved in heated rivalries on WWE television in the early 2010s, but both men have made it clear in out-of-character interviews that they have a huge amount of respect for each other.

On the flip side, there have been some Superstars throughout WWE history who have taken exception to something that has happened with their in-ring rival – so much so that they felt the need to complain about them to WWE management.

In this article, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at five WWE Superstars who complained to the company’s higher-ups about their colleagues.

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#5 Randy Orton complained to WWE officials about Kofi Kingston

Throughout the 2010s, there was a long-standing rumor that Kofi Kingston’s WWE push in 2010 came to an abrupt end after Randy Orton complained about him to company officials.

The two Superstars competed in a Triple Threat match – also involving John Cena – on a January 2010 episode of RAW to determine a No.1 contender for Sheamus’ WWE Championship.

Orton was supposed to win the match by hitting Kingston with his trademark punt kick to the head, but the future New Day member kept getting back to his feet every time “The Viper” positioned himself to deliver the move.

This led Orton to improvise by hitting Kingston with an aggressive RKO to pick up the victory, while he repeatedly shouted “Stupid! Stupid!” at his opponent before covering him for the pinfall.

Nine years after the incident, Kingston retained the WWE Championship against Orton at SummerSlam and Clash of Champions in 2019.

Speaking to FOX News during the time of the storyline, he confirmed the rumor about his on-screen rival complaining about him a decade earlier.

"It was a very real thing, not a storyline thing, when Randy Orton didn't want me to get to a certain point in WWE. As you saw ten years ago, I was kind of on the rise and logic would suggest that I would have become Champion based on the run I was having at the time and Randy Orton put a stop to all of that."

#4 Nia Jax complained to WWE officials about Ronda Rousey

Nia Jax cryptically revealed during a Twitch stream in April 2020 that she complained to the WWE officials about a Superstar who hurt Alexa Bliss during a match.

Without naming the person, Jax said she told the higher-ups within the company that Bliss was “getting thrown around like a little ragdoll and injured every night”, so she offered to take her place by facing the unnamed Superstar instead.

Two months after making the comments, the former RAW Women’s Champion confirmed in an interview with talkSPORT that she was talking about Ronda Rousey.

“Yes, it was Ronda. I do not think she took liberties, I think things happen… She came into the scene and she really didn’t get the proper WWE training that I was able to get at the Performance Center. So she had to learn things on the fly and her instinct is MMA/UFC fighting, so her instinct is to go somewhere different than where our instincts tell us where to go in the ring if that makes sense.”

Bliss previously confirmed during her ‘WWE 365’ documentary on the WWE Network that she suffered two concussions in separate matches against Rousey in 2018.

She has also called for the UFC Hall of Famer to issue an apology to WWE Superstars for referring to sports entertainment as “fake fighting”.

#3 Shawn Michaels complained to WWE officials about Vader

Shawn Michaels retained the WWE Championship against Vader at SummerSlam 1996 in what was supposed to be the first of three title matches between the two men.

Unfortunately for Vader, the SummerSlam encounter included a series of botches and miscommunications, including one spot where a frustrated Michaels kicked his opponent in the head because he failed to move out of the way of an elbow drop.

The match also featured an awkward spot where Vader did not kick out of one of Michaels’ pinfalls. The referee knew that the SummerSlam main event was not due to end at that moment, so he only counted to two and allowed the match to continue.

Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, WWE director Bruce Prichard confirmed rumors that the company changed their storyline plans due to Michaels being “livid” with his SummerSlam match against Vader.

The original plan called for Vader to win the WWE Championship in a rematch at Survivor Series 1996 before losing the title back to Michaels at the 1997 Royal Rumble, but Sycho Sid ended up being used in that role instead.

#2 Bret Hart complained about Shawn Michaels before WWE Survivor Series

The most controversial behind-the-scenes story in WWE history took place at Survivor Series 1997 when Shawn Michaels defeated WCW-bound Bret Hart for the WWE Championship in Montreal.

Heading into the match, Hart told Vince McMahon that he refused to lose the title against Michaels due to his rival saying he would not be willing to put him over in the same scenario if the roles were reversed.

“The Hitman” thought the match was going to end in a disqualification, resulting in him retaining the WWE Championship in his home country of Canada. However, without Hart knowing, McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to award the win to Michaels when he locked in a sharpshooter, even though Hart did not submit.

Over two decades later, different versions of what happened that night in Montreal are often retold by former Superstars and backstage personnel who were in WWE at the time.

In March 2020, Natalya – Hart’s niece – even revealed that she initially found it difficult to get hired by WWE due to the strained relationship between the Hart and McMahon families.

#1 CM Punk complained about Triple H and losing to WWE part-timers

Unlike the other names in this list, this is an example of somebody complaining to WWE management about, ironically, somebody else in WWE management.

CM Punk's appearance on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast in November 2014 made plenty of headlines, particularly his story about his final meeting with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

With Triple H present in the room, Punk rejected McMahon's idea about him facing “The Game” again at WrestleMania 30, even though he was booked to win, and said he seriously resented the WWE NXT founder for not allowing him to pick up the victory when they fought at Night of Champions 2011.

"I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would have been best for business but you had to ****ing come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to ****ing Truth and Miz." [H/T Cageside Seats]

Punk also disclosed a conversation that he had with McMahon about the number of part-time Superstars that disappeared from WWE programming after defeating him.

This became a common theme throughout 2013, with Punk losing against The Rock (WWE Royal Rumble and WWE Elimination Chamber), The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania 29) and Brock Lesnar (WWE SummerSlam).

After learning that he was going to lose his “Best versus The Beast” match against Lesnar, Punk made it clear to McMahon that he did not think he should lose against so many Superstars who work on a limited schedule.

"So I've gotta put over The Rock and he goes away, I've gotta put over 'Taker and he goes away, and now I'm putting over Brock and he goes away? My stock is dropping rapidly in the eyes of the casual viewer, who is who they care about."