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Rhea Ripley shocked the WWE Universe when she turned on tag team partner Liv Morgan. The former RAW Women's Champion attacked her Liv for Brutality teammate after losing a Tag Team Championship match, much to the disapproval of the Buffalo crowd. This betrayal had an extra element of surprise because Ripley and Morgan are friends in real life.
Historically, real-life friends have been known to produce the most entertaining, intense and believable rivalries. Their intimate knowledge of each other's lives makes for passionate and electric promos, leading to great matches with amazing chemistry.
Some of the most legendary rivalries in history have been between real-life friends: Austin vs The Rock, Undertaker vs Kane, HHH vs Michaels, the list goes on. In anticipation of Morgan vs Ripley, let's take a stroll down memory lane and run down a list of three superstars who turned heel against real-life friends.
#5: Kevin Owens betrayed Sami Zayn at WWE NXT R Evolution
WWE Superstars Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have been friends for decades. Beginning their professional wrestling careers together, the duo have teamed up and faced off all over the world. Their legendary battles as Kevin Steen and El Generico are well documented and highly treasured on the independent scene.
Upon their arrival in NXT, fans knew it was just a matter of time before they were treated to more chapters of this epic story. They did not have to wait long. On the night of Owens' debut, Zayn won the NXT Championship in the main event of the R Evolution pay-per-view.
The Prizefighter joined the new champion for a title celebration before executing a shocking turn by powerbombing his best friend onto the ring apron. Owens would go on to win the title at TakeOver: Rival by stoppage after repeatedly powerbombing the Underdog from the Underground. Owens' relentless heel brutality and Zayn's incredibly sympathetic nature as a face elevated this feud to an extra special level.
#2: Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano have both turned on each other in WWE
In another case of a ruthless WWE anti-hero turning on his extremely beloved best friend, the Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa tale added another wrinkle. The duo, who were familiar with each other on the independent scene, formed DIY in 2015, going on to capture the NXT Tag Team Championships at TakeOver: Toronto. They would later lose the titles before Ciampa suffered a long-term injury, kicking off Gargano's solo career on the brand.
Upon the Blackheart's return, he attacked his former partner with a crutch after a match, turning heel in the process. In the weeks that followed, the feud took many twists and turns, with the two men costing each other matches and Gargano's wife Candice LeRae even getting knocked out.
Johnny TakeOver slowly started leaning into his meaner side to overcome a foe who knew him inside and out. A few years later, Gargano betrayed Ciampa in a brilliant subversion of their initial feud after a brief reunion. That encore failed to take off due to a Ciampa injury, but one can only hope that we get to see this rivalry again one day.
#1: Randy Orton cut short WWE Hall Of Famer Edge's emotional homecoming in the most twisted way
Randy Orton and Edge are former WWE Tag Team Champions, who hold 25 world championship reigns between them. The Rated-RKO duo are two of the greatest heels in company history, an Apex Predator and an Ultimate Opportunist. So when the Rated-R Superstar returned from an injury-enforced retirement at the 2020 Royal Rumble and eliminated the Viper, fans knew that a turn from either superstar was a possibility.
However, due to the overwhelming positivity garnered by this comeback, most anticipated a lengthy babyface run for Edge and possibly a reunion of the team before any such turn.
Oh, how wrong they were! The very next night on RAW, Orton betrayed his friend, nailing him with an RKO before executing a Con-Chair-To. The following week, Edge's spouse Beth Phoenix confronted the Viper for an explanation, receiving an RKO for her troubles.
The Ultimate Opportunist soon returned to kick this personal feud into high gear, culminating in matches at WrestleMania 36 and Backlash 2020. The result was one of the best feuds of the year, and one of the best real-life friend rivalries of all time.
