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While WWE Superstars are always expected to remain professional, some wrestlers occasionally refuse to work with others. Many different reasons lead to these decisions, but more often than not it has something to do with a previous altercation.
In recent years, this has possibly become much more frequent because social media has opened the door for Superstars to air their thoughts on one another publicly. This means that other stars can become easily offended.
Many wrestlers have noted that they disliked working with a certain star but have managed to remain professional to do their job. This isn't the case for this list of stars who have all stated that they refuse to work with a fellow WWE star.
#5. Brock Lesnar refused to work with Matt Riddle in WWE
Brock Lesnar has become one of WWE's biggest stars over the past decade. In that time, many up-and-coming stars have made it clear that they would love to have a match with the man known as The Beast Incarnate.
Given his background with UFC much like Lesnar, Matt Riddle maintained that he wanted to face off against the former Universal Champion at some point in a WWE ring.
Lesnar is obviously not someone who regularly looks at social media. Still, Lesnar told the King of Bros outright that he would never work with him when he and The Beast Incarnate finally crossed paths at Royal Rumble back in January.
Riddle revealed the extent of the conversation in an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani.
"Let's just say he came up to me with a security guard, not that he needed the security guard. He came up to me, put his arm around me and told me we were never going to work. So, I shouldn't mention his name or talk about him or anything like that. And I should not call him out on social media. And I said, 'Whatever you want, Bro.'
Needless to say, Brock Lesnar is not the only star who has refused to work with Matt Riddle in recent months.
#4. The Rock refused to wrestle a WWE match against Shawn Michaels
The Rock is one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time. Over the years, many fans have questioned why The People's Champion never entered a feud with Shawn Michaels.
Both men were in a position where they could have had a fantastic program on WWE programming, but according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, The Rock refused to wrestle HBK.
According to the report, The Rock took issue with Shawn Michaels for some time. The Great One particularly had a problem with some of the things that The Heartbreak Kid managed to get away with while The Rock was still coming up through the ranks with WWE.
The bitterness is said to have started before The Rock’s career even began when he was a teenager growing up in Hawaii. Michaels came to work and reportedly said something derogatory about Rock’s promoter grandmother, Lia Maivia. Later, Michaels landed a superkick on Rock during a segment and caught him on the jaw. When told backstage it was too stiff, HBK responded by telling Rock “If you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t be in the business.” via Talksport.
It's a surprise that WWE never tried to push this feud since it was considered a dream match for many fans.
#3. Many WWE stars refused to work with Hulk Hogan
It is well documented as to why WWE fired Hulk Hogan back in 2015. In recent years, the company has attempted to move past the controversy. As of now, the Immortal star has appeared for the company again on numerous occasions.
WWE forced Hulk Hogan to apologize publically for his racist comments before he would be allowed to return as a part of Crown Jewel in 2018, which led to a lot of backlash from the WWE locker room. Hogan later went on to apologize to the WWE locker room as well, which seemingly didn't go over well with some members of the roster.
Several WWE stars reportedly refused to work with Hogan despite his apology. Many were offended by WWE Hall of Famer's candid comments and they didn't feel his apology acknowledged what he did wrong.
Hogan is seemingly still pushing for that final WWE match, even though The Immortal One is in no condition to wrestle at present. It's unclear when Hogan will appear in a WWE ring again. However, it seems like the company will continue to work with him despite any lingering reservations from current WWE Superstars.
#2. Brock Lesnar refused to wrestle Hardcore Holly in WWE
Brock Lesnar's WWE contract recently expired. Still, one could argue that if he returned to the company, he would continue to have a lot of pull backstage.
This means that Lesnar has the ability to tell officials who he wants to face. The Beast Incarnate had faced off against Hardcore Holly many times throughout 2003. However, he decided that he had wrestled him enough and went on to refuse a match against the former star as part of WWE's South African tour in 2004.
Lesnar revealed this in his book, Death Clutch.
Now I have to travel all the way to South Africa to work with Bob Holly? Could anyone please tell me why? I knew no one would pay to see that match. Since I'm not really needed, give me some time off. I really needed the break by this time, but John Laurinaitis told me how much I'm needed on the card. AGAINST BOB HOLLY? Are you sh***ing me?"
Despite this brief disagreement, Lesnar eventually accepted his fate and wrestled the match against Holly in South Africa.
#1. Seth Rollins refused to work with Matt Riddle in WWE
Seth Rollins is the latest WWE superstar to refuse to work with a fellow member of the locker room. The man, who was formerly known as The Monday Night Messiah, made it clear that he didn't want to wrestle Matt Riddle while he was on the SmackDown earlier this week.
Rollins moved to SmackDown as part of night one of the WWE Draft and went on to comment on Riddle, which has led to several rumors.
Many have speculated that the issues between the two men could stem from what Riddle's wife, Lisa, said about Becky Lynch on her Instagram account. To add fuel to the flames, Riddle reportedly talked trash about the former WWE Champion and his career as early as last weekend.
''Throughout the entire weekend, Riddle talked sh*t about Rollins, and how he never evolved as a performer, how he didn’t take care of his opponents in the ring, how he was stale, etc. This wasn’t just one conversation, it was every time I saw Riddle that weekend.''
As already noted in this article, Rollins isn't the only star to refuse to work with Riddle. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg have made it clear that they don't want to share the ring with the former UFC fighter either.
