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Paul Heyman turned on Brock Lesnar at WWE Royal Rumble 2022, which shocked the fans worldwide. The advocate joined forces with Roman Reigns once again in what seemed to be a well-thought-out plan from the very start.
The Universal Champion attacked Lesnar and left him flat in the ring for Bobby Lashley to take advantage and clinch the championship. The duo are now on a collision course but what left the fans stunned was how Heyman left his client hanging.
With that in mind, we take a look at the five betrayals that stunned the fans. You can also check out our video here:
#5 - Kevin Owens ends The Festival of Friendship on WWE RAW
Kevin Owens has arguably been one of WWE's best superstars since his debut in 2014. The former Universal champion has worked as the face and heel in the company, but his best work on the main roster was with Chris Jericho.
The 'best friends' worked well together, and Jericho held a 'Festival of Friendship' on RAW to show his appreciation. Owens was not impressed with what was on offer and ended up attacking his partner – sending shockwaves across the WWE Universe.
Last year, Chris Jericho revealed that WWE wanted to make changes ahead of The Festival of Friendship on Monday Night RAW.
He told Digital Spy:
"The Festival of Friendship, something that I had planned out and basically pitched and got approved months earlier, the night of the show they wanted to change everything. That was one of the times when I was like, 'Absolutely not, we built to this, this is what's going to work. You have to trust my vision at some point after being here for almost 20 years. You have to let the professionals be professionals.'"
Safe to say, the WWE Universe is glad the superstars stuck to the original plan, as the feud between the two was one of the highlights in the buildup to WrestleMania 34.
The two were expected to clash for Owens' Universal Championship at WrestleMania, but WWE changed plans and put the title on Goldberg. The former best friends ended up battling for Jericho's United States championship, with KO picking up the win.
Owens has penned a new deal with the company while Jericho, who left the company shortly after WrestleMania 34, is now with AEW.
#4 - WWE's Evolution on Randy Orton
From the betrayal at a festival to the one that happened at a celebration. Ric Flair, Triple H, and Batista were celebrating in the ring with Randy Orton when the trio turned on the champion.
Orton had beaten Chris Benoit for the Heavyweight championship – something Triple H failed to do despite multiple attempts. The win did not go well with Evolution's leader, and he took out his frustration on the young champion.
Triple H and Orton did not have a long feud at that time as WWE pushed the champion as 'The Legend Killer,' but the duo renewed their rivalry years later.
However, the duo did team up years later to form The Authority – one of the best villainous stables in recent history.
The Viper joined forces with Triple H after the latter helped him with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam but was ejected from the stable after he attacked Seth Rollins – the face of the stable at that time.
#3 - WWE NXT's Ciampa turns on Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa joined forces to take part in the 2015 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament but did not make it far.
However, the duo stuck together and went on to win their first tag-team title in just over a year.
The title reign lasted over five months before The Authors of Pain defeated them in the first-ever ladder match for the title. The result left the fans stunned but Ciampa attacking Gargano as they made their way back, left them speechless.
The attack disbanded their tag team and became one of the best feuds in NXT history. However, it did take a while for them to get their hands on each other as Ciampa suffered an ACL injury shortly after attacking Gargano.
Ciampa is still a part of NXT, while Johnny Gargano has taken time away from the ring. His contract with Vince McMahon's company expired a few weeks back, and he is waiting for the right time before making his next move.
#2 - WWE's Shawn Michaels on Marty Jannetty
The Rockers had many backstage issues going on when WWE (then WWF) decided it was best to end things on-screen. The two reportedly wanted to leave the company but blamed each other when Vince McMahon approved their release.
The heat between the two was an opportunity for the company to push one of them as a heel on screen, and Shawn Michaels was picked. He attacked Jannetty on Brutus Beefcake's "Barbershop" after they were interviewed regarding their recent issues.
Michaels superkicked his partner, threw him into the glass, and went on to rip a photo of them, signifying their breakup. Their feud did not kick off immediately as Janenetty was under house arrest for an incident in Tampa and had to wait before getting his hands on his former partner.
Jannetty failed in his first couple of attempts to defeat HBK for the Intercontinental Championship, but when he finally managed it on RAW in May 1993, his title reign did not last long, and he dropped the title back to Michael at a house show.
#1 - WWE's Seth Rollins on The Shield
The Shield are arguably the best stable in WWE's post-attitude era history. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley) debuted in November 2012 on the main roster and had an amazing run until 2014.
Seth Rollins' attack on Reigns and Ambrose in the ring left the fans stunned as they did not see a split coming. Triple H confirmed a 'Plan B,' and that saw 'The Architect' attack his brothers and join forces with The Authority.
The dominant force were winning championships and were squashing records. However, the split was very much needed as the trio did well as singles wrestlers and the timing of the split was simply perfect.
The Shield had a couple of reunion matches before Ambrose left the company in 2019. He has now joined AEW while Rollins and Reigns clashed for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble last Saturday.
All three members of the Shield have held the WWE Championship, while Ambrose is the only one who has not won the Universal Championship.
