The advent of social media has been a blessing for the pro-wrestling industry, as wrestlers now have a major platform to advance their feuds, in addition to weekly TV. Over the past decade or so, fans have witnessed WWE Superstars using Twitter to kick off a new feud, react to a segment or a match that took place mere minutes ago, or simply take shots at their opponents.
As a lifelong fan, my first exposure to this practice was way back in 2011, when CM Punk had won the WWE title at Money In The Bank. Punk left the company in the storyline and posted a tweet featuring the WWE title, that was kept inside a refrigerator. This article won't be looking at wholesome tweets, or posts taking slight jibes at Superstars.
In the following slideshow, we'll take a look at a bunch of social media controversies surrounding WWE Superstars, who went too far with their tweets or Instagram posts.
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#5 CM Punk attacks The Miz and WWE
Back in January, The Miz made an appearance on WWE Backstage. The show's analyst, CM Punk was not featured on this particular episode. At the end of the show, The Miz had something to say to the fans. He ended up taking a slight jibe at Punk while doing so.
"Oh yeah, we are now done with WWE Backstage. They're taking the microphones off of me, it was great, it was amazing. I feel like this was the best WWE Backstage ever. Name one that was better. Sorry, sorry I didn't change the culture, my bad, my bad."
This didn't sit well with the former WWE Champion. Punk posted a tweet in response, taking a shot at The Miz, as well as WWE's association with Saudi Arabia. Punk also dubbed The Miz as a 'dork'. He soon realized that he had gone too far in the heat of the moment, and deleted the tweet.
#4 Seth Rollins compares bank accounts
There was a time when Seth Rollins was the most over babyface on the WWE roster. He won the Universal title at WrestleMania 35, and the fans couldn't be happier. Months later, Seth tweeted that WWE was the best pro-wrestling company on the planet, sometime around the WWE Stomping Grounds PPV. He also dubbed himself the best at what he does. Will Ospreay of NJPW objected to the tweet, kicking off a Twitter feud.
At one point, Osprey stated that he wrestled more matches than Rollins in 2019. The BeastSlayer responded with a tweet that compared bank accounts of both Superstars. The tweet garnered a major negative response from fans, and Rollins immediately turned into a controversial figure in the eyes of the WWE Universe. He apologized for his tweet later, but the damage was already done. Rollins began getting booed on WWE TV and on PPVs following the exchange, and it kept getting worse by the end of the year. WWE capitalized on the heat he was receiving, by turning him into a full-fledged heel following Survivor Series 2019.
#3 Becky Lynch targets Travis Browne
On the road to WWE WrestleMania 35 last year, Becky Lynch was doing everything in her power to promote the Women's title feud. Lynch was very active on Twitter at the time and was regularly tweeting out insults and jibes at both Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. During one of Lynch and Ronda's Twitter feuds, The Man told Ronda to concentrate on getting better at the business. The Baddest Woman On The Planet responded with a picture that showed Lynch applying an armbar on her during the buildup to WWE Survivor Series 2018, and dubbed it as 'fake'.
Lynch made a small edit to the picture and put up Travis Browne's face on Ronda's hand. This infuriated Rousey to no end, who addressed Lynch by her real name and threatened to break the script and beat the tar out of her the next time they would meet. Ronda did what she promised, and launched a vicious attack on Lynch on an episode of WWE RAW. Becky had the last laugh though, as she pinned Rousey in the main event of WrestleMania to win the RAW and SmackDown Women's titles.
#2 Nia Jax goes too far while shaming Becky Lynch
Back in late 2018, Nia Jax accidentally punched Becky Lynch for real on an episode of WWE RAW, leaving her with a bloodied face. The iconic image of Lynch looking down at the ring, with her face all crimson, was instrumental in her becoming a bigger star than she ever was. Jax failed to win the Women's Tag Team titles at WrestleMania, while Lynch won the main event and both the Women's titles.
After WrestleMania, Lynch got into a feud with Lacey Evans, and the two women exchanged some heated tweets during the buildup to their match. In one of her tweets, Becky brought up Nia and compared her to a toilet. This angered Jax to such a degree, that she posted an incredibly hateful tweet, shaming Lynch in the process. An irate Jax called Lynch a "moldy cabbage smelling ginger". The tweet received major backlash from fans, who called out Nia for shaming Lynch, with some of them accusing her of being a bully. Interestingly, Becky didn't respond to Nia and nothing came of it.
#1 Shayna Baszler talks about Becky Lynch's pregnancy
On this past week's episode of WWE RAW, Becky Lynch surprised the WWE Universe by announcing that she is pregnant. The Man vacated her RAW Women's title belt and revealed that when Asuka won the 2020 Women's Money In The Bank Ladder match, she had won the RAW Women's Championship. On the same episode, Shayna Baszler gave a backstage interview where she took a shot at Lynch's pregnancy. Baszler wasn't done though, as she took to Instagram soon after, and took a shot at Lynch's pregnancy again.
This time, Baszler posted a story that highlighted the word "parasite", followed by the meaning of the word. Baszler had earlier dubbed Lynch's unborn child a parasite. Fans might remember that Baszler kicked off a feuded with Lynch on the road to WrestleMania 36, by attacking her on an episode of WWE RAW and biting her on the neck. The eventual match saw Becky retain her title belt by defeating Baszler. Lynch didn't respond to Baszler's story, and one wonders whether the two women will resume their feud once The Man returns somewhere down the line.