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Nothing is perfect, period. Reaching WWE is the ultimate dream of the wrestlers out there but the company is far from being the perfect workplace. Over the years, the promotion has been subjected to a lot of controversies. Being under the bad spotlight because of their employers is the worst kind of controversy from the lot.
A plethora of professional wrestlers has shown the guts to talk against WWE. Irrespective of what forced them to do so, such incidents always went into the books as a black mark for Vince McMahon. In this list, we take a look at ten such superstars who talked against WWE.
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The Ultimate Warrior
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The relationship between WWE and The Ultimate Warrior was in turmoil for most of the time. It all started when Warrior demanded a paycheck similar to that of Hulk Hogan’s. Later, when he left for WCW, things got worse. WWE's release of the DVD that apparently defamed Ultimate Warrior was the final nail in the relationship.
Warrior took a lot of shots at the company afterwards. He even had a one-hour long shoot video about Hulk Hogan. Thankfully for the fans and WWE, the two sides patched up just before Warrior's death. Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and this marked a happy ending.
Bret Hart
Bret Hart had all the reasons in the world to talk against WWE. First of all, he was the victim of the infamous Montreal Screwjob. The incident changed the face of Wrestling business and it was just natural of Bret to speak out. He has taken shots at WWE on various occasions due to this.
And if the Screwjob was not enough, Owen Hart's death was another reason for Bret. The Hitman solved the problems he had with WWE afterwards. But the years that followed the Montreal incident were highly tensed. Even now, Bret is not hesitant in expressing his opinion about the product. His intensity, however, has toned down radically.
Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner might not make it to the WWE again and for some good reason. Last year, Steiner went on to call the current WWE product S**t. It made the news back then and he produced a similar claim this year as well. Steiner is known for talking out his mind whenever he gets the opportunity to. These ranting against WWE was similar instances.
The recent dilemma that he had with Hulk Hogan is not doing any good for his future as well. As things stand currently, the chances of seeing Steiner inside a WWE ring is pretty low. As we know, he might have to end his career in an independent promotion rather than getting a fitting farewell in WWE.
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman never belonged in the corporate structure of WWE. He was and is a wrestling genius. But when it came to working under someone, Paul had some problems. Despite all this, he had a long stint in the WWE once his ECW went bankrupt. From being the lead writer of SmackDown to managing Lesnar, Heyman did a lot of things for WWE.
The relationship derailed when WWE brought back ECW. The newer version of ECW was nothing compared to the original. Heyman started expressing his concerns about the same. He had many disputes with Vince McMahon and eventually, the show was called off. Heyman later went out in public and said how WWE shouldn’t have come up with the new ECW as it completely defamed the original aura.
AJ Lee
There are a lot of reasons why AJ Lee and CM Punk are made for each other. One of those is their habit of talking out without fear. The way in which WWE treated their divas was clearly nothing to be proud of. While most of the divas did not react to this, AJ Lee took it public.
She spoke out against Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon about their treatment of divas. The fans soon picked up on the same and started rallying behind her. AJ Lee did all these while she was still working in the company. It was a great show of courage by the former Divas champion and she deserves respect for the same.
Brock Lesnar
While most of the other superstars in the list chose verbal medium, Lesnar chose lawsuit to speak out against WWE. In 2003, Lesnar signed a new deal with the company which tied him till 2010. Just a year later in 2004, Lesnar wanted to leave the company for a career in NFL.
WWE let him go with a condition in the contract. This restricted him from competing in any other sports entertainment company. Once his NFL dreams bombed, Lesnar filed a case against WWE to take out this clause. In his lawsuit, he claimed that WWE is taking away his right to earn a living.
Lesnar added that the end of the non-compete clause will only happen when he turns 33. According to him, this was an age where most of the superstars retired due to physical demands of the profession.
WWE and Lesnar later buried the hatchet and Lesnar is having a run he wished for in the company now.
Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff was someone who wanted to see WWE go out of business. He did everything in his power to make it happen, but Bischoff eventually failed. He did come to work in WWE after the demise of WCW, but he never managed to love the promotion.
He gave a lot of shoot interviews about WWE during his WCW days. He did the same during his TNA run and even included similar claims in his book. Bischoff has legitimate heat with a lot of people in WWE as well. He could not defeat WWE in the Monday night wars, but the man sure was a genius.
Steve Austin
Steve Austin is synonymous to the success of WWE during the Attitude Era. He was the backbone of the promotion throughout the period. The Austin – WWE relationship took a big twist in 2002. WWE had the idea of pushing Brock Lesnar to the top of the business. Steve, meanwhile, was supposed to take a drop the mid card.
The first step of this was to let Lesnar get a win over Austin in the King of the Ring Qualifier match. Austin did not like the idea of jobbing to Lesnar and walked out of the company. He later went out and spoke about the incident in public. He pointed out that Vince should have booked the match with proper buildup. Austin later said that he regretted his decision to walk away.
Goldberg
Bill Goldberg's lack of love for the wrestling business is no secret. The way in which WCW booked him was the only reason for his success there. This was exposed during his WWE run afterwards. Goldberg, however, had a different point of view. He told that WWE was not a good place to work and also claimed that Vince McMahon had a big ego.
He did not spare Triple H as well. Goldberg made it clear that he will not come back to WWE as long as Hunter and Vince are there. Although it is a strong claim from the former WCW Champion, this is the wrestling business. Anything can happen here.
CM Punk
The problems that CM Punk have with WWE broke the internet a few months back. After his abrupt departure from the company, Punk poured out all his emotions in a podcast. He walked away from the company after the 2014 Royal Rumble. At first, no one knew the reasons but Punk soon cleared the air.
Punk appeared in the podcast of his best friend Colt Cabana and simply lashed out at WWE. He spoke about all the backstage politics that WWE had. Punk also pointed fingers at the way the company treated their superstars. Punk's claims shook the entire wrestling business but somehow, WWE managed to recover from the big shots.
