5 Times WWE Superstars got legitimately angry at their opponents in the ring

#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.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das