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WWE is hands down the biggest pro-wrestling promotion in the world, in addition to being a global media giant. Over the course of the past few decades, WWE has given us a string of feuds and storylines that have been etched in history. Longtime fans of pro-wrestling might be aware that WWE isn't the only game in town, and there are a bunch of other major promotions in the USA as well as in other countries.
As there are several other promotions in the industry, there have been a number of instances where WWE bagged their popular Superstars from these companies. These signings made way for interesting scenarios. One such scenario is a feud outside WWE being reignited in the company. In the following slideshow, we'll take a look at 5 outside rivalries that we saw in WWE as well.
#5 Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez
By late 2010, Brock Lesnar had become a major mainstream star courtesy of his dominant run in UFC. At UFC 121, Lesnar faced Cain Velasquez with the former's UFC Heavyweight title on the line. Velasquez defeated Lesnar via TKO in the first round, winning the Heavyweight title in the process.
Nine years later, Velasquez made his WWE debut on the premiere edition of SmackDown on FOX and attacked Lesnar right away. Lesnar had won the WWE title seconds ago but didn't get to celebrate for long. The duo squared off at WWE Crown Jewel 2019. This time though, Lesnar was the one who came out victorious when all was said and done, exacting revenge for his UFC 121 loss to Velasquez.
Velasquez later teamed up with Humberto Carrillo at a WWE Live show and defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. He didn't appear on a PPV again and was recently released by WWE
#4 Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
Before making his way to WWE in 2013, Sami Zayn had worked in several independent promotions, with his most notable stint being in Ring of Honor. Dubbed as El Generico, Zayn won the ROH World Tag Team titles alongside Kevin Steen on one occasion. In late 2009, Steen turned on Generico following a loss to The Young Bucks. The year-long feud ended with Generico picking up a win over Steen that led to the latter's exit from ROH.
In WWE NXT, Steen, now dubbed as Owens, attacked Zayn minutes after the former had defeated Neville to win the NXT title. This kicked off a feud between the two, which culminated at WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival.
Owens won the match and the NXT title via referee stoppage. The former best friends feuded on the main roster as well, but later settled their differences and became two of the biggest heels on SmackDown. Owens and Sami took on a returning Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 34, with the babyfaces picking up the win.
#3 Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley was a force to be reckoned with during his first WWE stint, but he never managed to win the big one. The same story followed with Drew McIntyre, who was used as an enhancement talent during the final years of his first WWE run.
Lashley and WWE parted ways in 2008, while McIntyre was released in 2014. The duo got into a feud on Impact Wrestling, which ended with a World title match at the Slammiversary 2016 PPV. Lashley defeated McIntyre to win his third Impact World title.
McIntyre and Lashley both went on to sign with WWE again. Both men joined forces as heels on WWE RAW for a while, back in 2018-19. At WrestleMania 36, McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE title for the first time in his career. McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to retain his title at Money In The Bank. He went on to kick start a feud with Lashley, and the two behemoths are set to compete for the WWE title at Backlash on 14th June.
#2 Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk
Back when both Daniel Bryan and CM Punk hadn't become mainstream stars in WWE, they were locking horns in Ring of Honor's sister promotion named Full Impact Pro. Bryan made his debut in the promotion in February 2005. He faced CM Punk at Dangerous Intentions and ended up losing the match. This led to a brief rivalry between the two future WWE Champions.
While in WWE, the duo got into a long feud that went on for months in mid-2012, soon after WrestleMania 28. Bryan and Punk wrestled for the latter's WWE title at Over The Limit 2012, with Punk retaining his title. At the next PPV named No Way Out, Punk defeated Bryan and Kane to retain his title.
At Money In The Bank 2012 PPV, Punk defeated Bryan again, this time in a No DQ match, with AJ Lee as the special guest referee. Punk left WWE in early 2014 after being unhappy with his position on the main roster. Bryan retired in 2015 following an injury, but made a miraculous return three years later and is still an active Superstar on the SmackDown roster.
#1 AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Mere days before he debuted at the 2016 Royal Rumble PPV, AJ Styles faced off against Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in the Tokyo Dome. The two masters of the squared circle went at it with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on the line. Styles failed to defeat Nakamura and signed with WWE soon after.
On the road to WrestleMania 34, Nakamura won the Men's Royal Rumble match and challenged Styles for the WWE title. The match was hyped for weeks on end, as this was a legit dream match that the WWE Universe had been wanting to witness ever since their previous encounter in NJPW.
At WrestleMania 34, Styles and Nakamura faced off in a match that didn't meet the fans' expectations, with Styles retaining the WWE title. Following Styles' victory, Nakamura turned heel and attacked the Champion, kicking off a long feud with him. Nakamura failed to win the WWE title though, and Styles came out of the feud with the belt still on his shoulder.
