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A WWE match, unlike other sports that aren't scripted, is choreographed on most occasions and the result of the same is pre-determined. Thus, it needs every Superstar involved in the match to make sure that they are in sync with every move that their opponent is about to execute.
There are times when WWE Superstars lose their cool during a match, due to a variety of possible reasons. A backstage beef with their opponent, or a wrongly executed move by them is the most likely reason why a Superstar could get legitimately angry during a match. In the following slideshow, we will take a look at five instances from WWE's history, when Superstars lost their cool during a match and got genuinely angry at their opponents.
#5 Brock Lesnar gives it back to Braun Strowman (WWE Royal Rumble 2018)
By the time Royal Rumble 2018 came around, Brock Lesnar was still holding on to his WWE Universal title. At the 2018 Royal Rumble event, Lesnar defended his belt against Kane and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat match. At one point during the contest, Lesnar got hit with a hard knee to his head, courtesy The Monster Among Men. Lesnar was heard yelling at Strowman, and he also gave it back to him with a legit punch to the head.
The profanity was edited out by WWE, but it was later revealed that Lesnar had told his opponent to "calm the f**k down". Strowman and Lesnar later met backstage and if the former is to be believed, laughed it all off. The match was eventually won by Lesnar, who went on to keep the belt on his shoulder for several more months. Lesnar finally lost it to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2018, thus ending one of the most dominant reigns in WWE history.
#4 Shawn Michaels yells at Vader (WWE SummerSlam 1996)
This incident was recalled by Jim Cornette, who was once the manager of Vader in WWE. Back in the mid-90s, Vader got into a feud with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. Michaels was infamous for being incredibly unprofessional and a major backstage politician at the time. The two WWE Superstars collided at SummerSlam 1996, with Michaels' WWE title on the line. During the match, The Heartbreak Kid was about to hit an Elbow Drop on Vader.
Vader was supposed to move, as per the script. When he didn't, Michaels got angry and yelled at him, hitting him on the head at the same time. Michaels eventually defeated Vader to retain his WWE Championship, but the match became infamous for that controversial bit where he screamed at Vader. This was just one of a long list of incidents from that time that saw Michaels acting unprofessionally during matches and in backstage areas. Michaels lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14 two years later and took a 4-year hiatus from in-ring action due to an injury.
#3 Randy Orton gets visibly angry at Mr. Kennedy following a Back Suplex (WWE RAW)
In April 2009, Mr. Kennedy was drafted to WWE RAW. A month later, Kennedy made his first official RAW appearance following his move to the Red brand and competed in a 10-Man Tag Team match. Kennedy teamed up with John Cena, Batista, MVP, and Jerry Lawler to take on Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, The Miz, and Big Show. The babyfaces won the match, but this turned out to be Kennedy's final WWE appearance. At one point during the match, Kennedy hit Orton with a Back Suplex. Orton seemed to be in legitimate pain following the move and was visibly angry at Kennedy.
Orton went backstage after the match and stated that Kennedy had dropped him on his head. Kennedy was let go by WWE mere days later.
His head was facing rampside rather than straight back opposite hard-cam, but his neck…and you can see on the video…his neck never even comes into contact with the mat, which makes me question why he then would go back and get his neck iced up. I mean it didn’t make any sense to me. Or his shoulders.
Orton felt that Kennedy's move could have ended his career. Upon his release, Kennedy spent a short time in the independent circuit and was later signed by TNA. He found success in TNA and went on to win the World title on two separate occasions.
#2 Chris Jericho tells Shane McMahon to calm down (WWE Survivor Series 2016)
While speaking with Barstool Sports in 2017, WWE legend Chris Jericho opened up on an incident that took place during a traditional Survivor Series match pitting RAW and SmackDown Superstars, at WWE Survivor Series 2016. The Interbrand match saw Jericho, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, and Owens take on AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and Shane McMahon.
During the match, Shane McMahon went overboard with his moves and hit several stiff punches on Jericho. The former WWE World Champion didn't take this lightly and was visibly angry at McMahon. He quickly returned the favor by hitting him with a vicious dropkick. Jericho added that Shane asked him if he was okay, to which he replied by telling him to "calm the f**k down". Shane had the last laugh though, as Team SmackDown went on to defeat Team RAW in the end. The ending to the match saw Bray Wyatt hitting a Sister Abigail on Roman Reigns for the pin. Wyatt and Randy Orton were the survivors for Team SmackDown when all was said and done.
#1 Randy Orton yells 'stupid' at Kofi Kingston (WWE RAW)
Back in 2009, Kofi Kingston received a major push on WWE RAW and kicked off a feud with Randy Orton, the biggest villain on WWE TV at the time. Kofi had his fair share of memorable moments during the feud, including a major win at Survivor Series 2009 which saw him last eliminating Orton for the victory. Weeks later, Orton, Kofi, and John Cena met in a Triple Threat match on WWE RAW, with the winner getting a title shot against Sheamus at the 2010 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
During the final moments of the match, Orton prepared to hit a Punt on Kofi, but the latter got back up before the move could be executed. Orton hit Kofi with an RKO that looked stiff, and yelled 'stupid' twice at him, before securing him for the pin. Kofi's push was halted immediately after, and it would be around a decade before he would get his moment to shine at the big stage. Kofi won the WWE title at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 and went on to defeat Orton to retain his title months later.
