The fans are well aware of the fact that Professional wrestling might not be the right background for a friendship to flourish. And the promotions have used this formula to lay out some great storylines which made the fans jump out of their seats.Betrayals and turns have been a mainstay in the business for a long time. Recently, WWE made big headlines by breaking up The Shield, urging us to look back into the memory lane for the superstars who had backstabbed before.The names range from regular superstars to legends in the business and here is a look at 10 of the most effective ones from the lot.
#10 Sycho Sid betrays Shawn Michaels
After his stint in WCW, Sycho Sid returned as the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels. At first the relationship went well but it soon started to develop some friction. Michaels wasnt happy with the way Sid involved in his matches and gave Sid a night off when Michaels was going to face Diesel.
Sid didnt like the way Michaels gave him a night off and attacked the heart break kid from the back saying You dont give me the night off. Sid then went on to power bomb Michaels thrice which caused a legitimate injury.
Diesel saved Michaels from getting more beaten up but Michaels was ruled out of action for almost six months. When Michaels returned, he got revenge against Sid but learnt lessons the hard way.
#9 Randy Savage betrays Hulk Hogan
Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan were the number one and number two respectively in the company’s ranks. And someone in the creative decided to team them up and call them the Mega powers. Along with Miss. Elizabeth, the team turned out to be a successful one.
However, Randy didn’t like the way Hogan became close with Elizabeth and this started to make cracks in the tag team.
The team then finally exploded at Main Event where Savage accidently knocked out Elizabeth. Hogan had to take her backstage for some medical attention leaving Savage alone in the ring. Savage didn’t appreciate this and knocked out Hogan in the backstage to end their relationship.
#8 Paul Bearer betraying The Undertaker
Paul Bearer was instrumental in the rise of both Undertaker and Kane. Taker turning on Bearer after the introduction of Kane wasn’t a big shock but when Bearer turned against Taker to aid Mankind, it drove the fans crazy.
Bearer turned against Taker at SummerSlam 1996 to help Mankind and later went on to hire Vader and Executioner to take out the Phenom.
Taker got revenge for Bearer’s acts a year later when he set his former managers face ablaze using fire. The duo later buried the differences to team up, but the turn that Bearer did against Taker still remains as a memorable one.
#7 Shawn Michaels betrays Marty Jannetty
Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty had a successful stint at AWA which forced Vince McMahon to get the tag team on board. Named as the Rockers, Michaels and Jannetty managed to become a mainstay in the tag team division.
They even challenged the Hart dynasty for the tag titles but never officially won it. And at one pointed they were invited to the Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake segment where Michaels did the unthinkable.
Michaels super kicked Jannetty and threw him into the glass window ending their long term partnership just like that. Jannetty never found a bigger place in the company after that while Michaels went on to become a legend.
#6 Stone Cold betrays Texas and The Rock
Stone Cold Steve Austin managed to be the back bone of WWE during the attitude era with his rebel gimmick that was against Vince McMahon.
He was one of those characters that the crowd loved and when it was in his hometown of Texas, the fans it was a whole different level. Austin was facing the Rock at WrestleMania X7 and in between the match Triple H decided to interfere.
Hunter teased a fight with Austin only for the two to turn on Rock. Vince McMahon later came in the ring and the Texas fans were shocked to the core when they saw Austin shake hands with his long term rival and double cross every that was present there.
#5 Seth Rollins betrays The Shield
The most recent addition in the list and one of the most shocking ones in ages, Seth Rollins betraying the Shield was something which caught the fans completely as a surprise.
Though everyone knew that the Shield was going to explode, Hunter being in on it wasnt on the expected script. Along with that, Dean Ambrose was the natural heel in the group while Seth Rollin got the pick for the turn.
The Shield was already on the top of the company after defeating Evolution two times in a row. The WWE thus convinced the fans that they are going to continue the run before pulling the plug. It was executed well and turns out to be a successful one as well.
#4 Triple H betrays Shawn Michaels
The friendship between Hunter and Michaels is something which the WWE loves to celebrate. The two had a great run with D generation X and was disbanded when Michaels decided to take a break from wrestling.
After his return, it seemed that Hunter was going to convince Michaels to reform DX but instead the fans got to see something brutal.
When the duo was going to perform their trade mark suck it taunt, Hunter turned on Michaels and nailed him with a pedigree. He then went on to destroy Michaels throughout the week and sparked a chaotic feud between the two.
#3 Evolution betrays Randy Orton
Back in their initial run, the Evolution was considered as a stable which had the power to take over the entire Raw locker room.
The lights of Ric Flair, Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista piled up most of the titles but when Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight title things started to fall apart.
Hunter got jealous of Orton’s achievement and the whole stable turned on Orton while they were seemingly celebrating his success, this lead to a great angle with Orton fighting against his former teammates.
It also gave rise to the famous thumbs down act by Triple H and gave the fans a memorable betrayal as well.
#2 Stephanie McMahon betrays Mr. McMahon
Stephanie McMahon was introduced to the WWE fans back in 1999 and was having an on screen relationship with Test which Vince McMahon accepted. Happy with Test, McMahon arranged the marriage of Stephanie but Triple H played the spoil sport.
He kidnapped and married a drugged Stephanie only to force Vince McMahon to seek revenge. Vince got in the ring with Hunter at Armageddon to avenge his daughter in a street fight.
As the fight progressed, Stephanie decided to turn on her father and align with Hunter which gave a classic WWE moment. It paved the way to the McMahon- Helmsley era that is being modified and presented as the Authority angle at the moment.
#1 Hulk Hogan betrays WCW and its fans
During the Monday Night Wars, one thing which pushed WCW ahead of WWE was the formation of NWo. And this was aided by arguably the biggest turn of that decade.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash was running around as the outsiders in WCW and they had a mystery partner at Bash at the Beach where they faced Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage. Luger was taken out of the match early and when Hulk Hogan came through the curtain everyone thought that he was with the WCW team.
However, Hogan revealed that he is the third member that Nash and Hall were talking about and gave birth to NWo while the fans and the WCW who believed in him were left stunned as Hogan ripped the crowd and made history.
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