5 WWE Superstars who insulted Hall of Famers in real life

Professional wrestling is similar to a weekly soap opera, with pre-determined storylines and matches that go on for weeks, months, or even years in some cases. The basic necessity of a wrestling storyline is having a babyface and a heel. The two Superstars then feud with each other, over some kind of personal animosity, or to claim the top prize for themselves.

Sometimes, the animosity between the Superstars crosses the barrier of kayfabe and turns into something real. The real-life feud between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels immediately comes to mind. On some occasions, we see an active Superstar getting into a feud with an already established Superstar, who has proven his worth a long time ago, and has the WWE Hall of Fame ring to prove it! In the following list, we'll take a look at five times active WWE Superstars feuded with WWE Hall of Famers in real life.

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#5 Kofi Kingston vs Billy Graham/Jim Ross

Ross and Kingston

Billy Graham made a shocking statement on the road to WrestleMania 35, by calling Kofi Kingston's WrestleMania match "a joke". After Kingston won the WWE Title at The Grandest Stage Of Them All, Graham had another shocker in store for him. The Hall of Famer suggested Kofi to start doing steroids. This angered several wrestling personalities to no end. Jim Ross, current AEW announcer, chimed in and criticized Kofi's character mannerisms on SmackDown Live.

Kofi finally broke his silence over the comments made by both Hall of Famers. In response to Graham, Kofi said that no matter what he says, he will have to see Kofi on his TV screen as the WWE Champion. As for Ross' comments, Kofi couldn't have given a more savage reply, as he made it clear that he doesn't need his advice on how to act like a champion.

For me personally, I'm going to continue to do what I do in the ring. I didn't need their help or advice getting to this point and I certainly don't need it now, to tell me how to be a champion.

#4 Matt Riddle vs Goldberg

Riddle and Goldberg

A long while ago, Matt Riddle gave an interview where he buried WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg to no end. This didn't sit well with Goldberg, who proceeded to block Riddle on Twitter. When The King of Bros recently foud out that Goldberg had blocked him, he posted a series of tweets and memes targeting the Hall of Famer.

After Goldberg's match against The Undertaker at Super ShowDown, Riddle posted a video on Twitter, calling Goldberg the absolute worst wrestler in the business. The tweet was deleted soon after, but was followed by a meme that showed Riddle slapping Goldberg, and another video where Riddle made fun of Goldberg's moveset.

It's being reported that WWE officials are happy with Riddle's attacks and he won't be getting any heat for the same. Riddle later also stated that Goldberg "is unsafe and a liability".

#3 Brock Lesnar vs Hulk Hogan

Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan

Although this incident actually happened inside a WWE ring, it was as real as it could be! On the road to Summerslam 2014, Hulk Hogan celebrated his birthday on an episode of Monday Night Raw, with several WWE legends and Hall of Famers alongside him. The party was soon crashed by Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, who proceeded to shove Roddy Piper and get in Hulk Hogan's face. Brock then uttered those infamous words, "Party's over grandpa!".

Reportedly, Brock came up with the line himself and it wasn't a part of the script. Hogan was said to be furious after the incident and wasn't thrilled with Brock referring to him as grandpa. The Hall of Famer later gave a scathing statement, warning Brock Lesnar of serious consequences if he ever did the same again.

#2 Becky Lynch vs Beth Phoenix

Becky and Beth

Recently, WWE went on a tour to Europe, and had several shows across the continent. Becky Lynch was still the WWE Raw and SmackDown Women's Champion at that time. Days after the tour, a fan posted a clip from a WWE event in Liverpool, which showed Beth Phoenix trying to take one of Becky's belts. Lynch immediately snatched the belt out of her hand, and Phoenix backed away.

Later, the Hall of Famer explained her action, stating that she was just trying to help Becky carry it, to which "The Man" replied by stating that Beth Phoenix can retire herself again, or Becky could do it for her.

The off-screen rivalry between the two women could possibly be inculcated into WWE TV in the near future. Lynch and Phoenix recently had another Twitter war, which saw Becky attacking another Hall of Famer, Edge. It was later reported that Edge wasn't thrilled with Becky involving his daughter in the feud.

#1 Chris Jericho vs Billy Graham

Chris Jericho still ended up being the bigger man

Back in 2013, CM Punk dropped another pipebomb, where he criticized WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino and stated that his schedule was tougher than Sammartino's. Although Bruno praised Punk for his heelish promo, fellow WWE Hall of Famer Billy Graham didn't take it well. He proceeded to bash CM Punk for insulting Bruno Sammartino and added that Punk should've said no to the writers when they pitched him the line.

WWE Superstar Chris Jericho joined in on the feud and called out Graham, calling him a mark for taking Punk's promo too seriously. Here's what Jericho had to say to Graham:

Dear Superstar Billy Graham, Shut the hell up and stop being such a mark. Your Pal, Chris Jericho.

Jericho's insult resulted in Graham posting a long-winded rant in response. There's a happy ending to this story though, as Chris Jericho recently donated $1,500 to Graham's GoFundMe campaign.