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Feuds that occur in the WWE are generally products of fiction, originating from the writer’s judgement of which wrestlers to pair together. There are many instances where the WWE has paired wrestlers accurately, leading to absorbing feuds by virtue of the chemistry between the wrestlers. Yet, WWE’s track record is blighted with a fair few instances where the characters involved in a feud where almost inert with one another; Such feuds rarely gained traction with the audience. However, while examining the myriad of factors that are involved in the process to establish a feud, it is hard to argue against the school of thought propounded by Vince McMahon; Real life heat, makes the best on-screen feuds. It is no secret that Vince Mcmahon thinks this way, and so, very unconsciously gives the liberty to his wrestlers to not maintain a completely professional inter-personal relationship with one another.
We have witnessed plenty of wrestlers whose on-screen bad blood often times translated over into reality. Sometimes, the converse also rung true. Either way, the WWE has afforded plenty of material over the years to compile a list of major feuds that spilt over into real life or vice versa. Here is a look at one side of the coin; Major feuds that spilt over onto real life.
#1 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart vs Shawn Michaels
The adorning crown jewel of TV feuds that spilt onto reality, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart's grouse with the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michael is undoubtedly one of the highlights in wrestling lore. Not merely for the quality of matches that these two supremely gifted performers put forth, but rather primarily due to the off-ring altercation between the two that had grown to all-encompassing proportions. Bret Hart did not have a problem dropping the title to a cocky and entitled Shawn Michaels but merely refused to do it in his hometown of Montreal.
The Montreal Screwjob thus ensued, ensuring that Bret Hart left the company, while also establishing Vince McMahon as a villainous boss character on TV. Shawn Michaels on the other hand, stayed unrepentant about his actions, all the while vindicating his decision with stellar performances that have paved the way to the legendary status he now enjoys in the WWE Universe.
Looking back, we can unanimously agree that it was this feud that proved to be the turning point in the wrestling industry then, changing the industry for good in the way the TV programming has been produced ever since. Bret Hart went on to WCW, where unsound booking laid him the victim of a pre-mature career tail-down, instead of capitalising on the wave of sympathy that the Screwjob had generated. Shawn Michaels went on to become Mr.Wrestlemania.
When the pair shook hands and afforded the viewers a public reconciliation on Raw, one of the most intense and relevant feuds in WWE history had finally been laid to a quietly satisfying rest.
#2 John Cena vs Dwayne \'The Rock\' Johnson
John Cena’s feud with The Rock provided a sense of completion to the metaphorical “Mount Rushmore” of WWE. With the victory over John Cena at Wrestlemania 28, The Rock earned the unique privilege of scoring Wrestlemania main-event victories over Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena. While this sits pretty on The Rock’s CV, it did not go down too well with John Cena.
John Cena was the undisputed leader of the WWE, proving his claim by leaving his heart out in the ring each week. The Rock’s reappearance in WWE meant that for the first time during the tiring PG era, a WWE Superstar clearly outshone John Cena. That too, by wrestling a part-time schedule snipped around the edges to accommodate his movie career. In short, a recipe for inevitable friction.
However, owing to the first class work ethic of these two superstars, the feud rarely simmered past the slightly personal jibes that were exchanged during the year-long build-up to their first match. Since the location of Wrestlemania 28 might have influenced the result of their first match, their second match then became a formality that only happened in order to “settle the score”.
“Once in a lifetime” happened twice. Perhaps this was the greatest indication as to the egotistical aspect that attached itself to the feud between the two men, with John Cena clearly willing to make the WWE blatantly override its own advertising strategy to ensure that he gets even with The Rock.
#3 Phil Brooks vs Paul Levesque
This rivalry has not been titled as CM Punk vs Triple H wholly to offer tribute to CM Punk’s colossal promo on Raw. CM Punk is, and has always been a radical. Admired and idolised for the qualities that he brings to the table, yet he will always remain a pioneer on the sidelines, toeing the boundaries. His intensely well articulated gripes with the overall functioning of the WWE will one day surely be considered a catalyst that facilitated the way the product has evolved, if it already has not.
Was it perhaps any surprise then that Triple H, the embodiment of The Authority, was at incessant odds with CM Punk? Those engaging pipe bombs that CM Punk dropped on a fairly regular basis disquietingly ruffled the feathers of even the most hardcore WWE fan who has learnt to bear the machinations of the WWE with a patient shrug. Triple H has never been known to back down from a challenge - even confronting CM Punk on RAW to go toe-to-toe with him on the mic, sometimes well-considered to be a tougher thing to do than perhaps wrestle the man.
Punk’s dissatisfaction at the WWE not ‘pushing’ talent who do not fit the mold of the archetypal top babyface was met with an extended run as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, so we can assume that CM Punk did manage to get what he wanted; But the real question now that he is UFC-in-waiting, is did the WWE Universe get all we wanted from CM Punk?
#4 Hulk Hogan vs Randy 'Macho Man' Savage
The decomposition of the Mega Powers at Wrestlemania 5 was met with equal anticipation as was their dawn, the previous year. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were massive stars in their own rights, and their convenient temporary confluence was a dream come true for many wrestling fans. That Miss Elizabeth was at the epicenter of their alliance lent the most natural angle for two men to feud over, a woman.
Being Randy Savage’s real-life spouse, Miss Elizabeth was featured on TV programming as his girlfriend, who also served as his manager. The tag-team between Hogan and Savage inevitably led to brushes between Hogan and Miss Elizabeth, a fact that Randy Savage was loath to be comfortable with.
His jealousy sparked off an off-screen rivalry between the men, with Savage losing to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 5, in typical Hogan era fashion. The rivalry shared by these superstars in real life, did not cease to exist despite their respective moves to WCW, and continued till recent times, where reportedly they made peace with the other’s legacy, thankfully before the passing of the fondly remembered and recently felicitated Randy Savage.
#5 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart vs Ric Flair
One only needs to glance at the two above names to realize that there is no mean measure of ego involved in this tryst. “The best there was, the best there is and the best there ever will be” has an obvious conflict of claim with the Nature Boy, the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion who had, and still has, a posse of wrestlers that unequivocally proclaim that he is the greatest wrestler of all time.
“The Hitman” alleged that Flair did not put the same heart into the matches that they wrestled when Hart was champion, unlike his more convincing earlier displays when he himself had held the title. This, Hart surmised, was an unabashed attempt to undermine his championship reign. Flair disputed the claim, citing personal reasons for his lacklustre showing, and Vince McMahon who had stepped in to mediate between the wrestlers ceded the benefit of the doubt to Ric Flair.
The bad blood between the two wrestlers continued over the years, with Hart claiming that Flair was always over-rated as a performer while Flair knocked the money-drawing power of Bret Hart as World Champion. Which wrestler was more justified in his criticism? Or was it another classic case of the caustic nature of the industry influencing and affecting two talented wrestlers in the heat of the moment?
For by now, it has surely become established beyond a shadow of a doubt that both have gone down in history as stalwarts of the business.
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