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Professional wrestling is a business that showcases two or more wrestlers squaring up in the ring to tell a story in a predetermined bout to entertain the masses. This requires co-operation and dedication from all the members involved to ensure that everything goes smoothly, safely and according to plan. Sometimes, however, all is not so rosy. Whether it is due to personal disagreements, disinterest, egoism or refusal to put someone else over, some WWE Superstars were not in favor of working with each other, costing the fans a chance to witness a blockbuster clash.
While the rivalries we see on WWE TV are usually part of a script, they've also spiraled behind the scenes causing tension between two or more parties. There have even been cases where real-life feuds were incorporated into a storyline.
Reaching the top of the mountain has proven to be a very difficult task for many WWE Superstars, so the person on top fights hard to stay there, even if it means declining to work with a fellow Supertar. This has resulted in a lot of disagreements among several competitors.
With that being said, here are five times WWE Superstars refused to work together.
#5 Goldberg and Chris Jericho
Former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg was a dominant force in WCW where he demolished anyone and everyone he crossed paths with. He defeated most of his opponents instantly and his huge popularity made him a mainstream star.
Chris Jericho, on the other hand, was floundering around on the mid-card during his time with the now-defunct company. Around 1998, the Ayatollah of Rock 'n Rolla was on his way out of WCW due to creative frustrations.
Before his departure, Jericho was booked to put Goldberg over in a 30-second squash match on WCW TV but he refused. Y2J told Eric Bischoff that he wanted the match to happen on pay-per-view instead, but Goldberg refused to work with Jericho, leading to the whole thing being scrapped.
Chris Jericho left WCW and went on to sign with WWE. Goldberg later joined the company in 2003 after WCW went defunct. The two Superstars got into a real fight backstage on WWE Raw that same year, a fight that Jericho won.
#4 "Stone Cold Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar
In 2002, Stone Cold Steve Austin's wrestling career was nearing its end while Brock Lesnar was starting off as the Next Big Thing in WWE. Austin fought through his injuries for many years before retiring, especially the botched piledriver he received from Owen Hart that broke his neck.
By 2002, the Monday Night Wars were over and the Ruthless Aggression Era replaced the Attitude Era. Stone Cold was already butting heads with the company over creative issues and he became very difficult to work with.
Vince McMahon, on the other hand, built himself a new machine in the form of The Beast Incarnate who was booked to run through everyone on his way to the WWE Championship. Before getting there, Lesnar was set to win the King of the Ring tournament first.
He was scheduled to defeat The Rattlesnake on Monday Night Raw among other Superstars on his way to the crown.
Steve Austin, however, was not in favor of putting a rookie over in an unadvertised match on free TV. A big Superstar such as Stone Cold losing to a rookie just like that sounds absolutely absurd.
Austin refused to put Brock Lesnar over or participate in the bout. Although he did not outright refuse to face Lesnar, he walked away from a match that was designed to literally crown him as WWE's new biggest Superstar. During that time, Austin walk out of WWE and went on to have his final match in 2003.
In an interview with Jon Robinson of ESPN to promote the WWE '12 video game, Brock Lesnar was asked which Superstar he would like to wrestle at WWE WrestleMania that he has never faced before. The Beast responded by saying:
"Ironically it's probably the guy that walked out on me. The guy that took his ball and went home. A guy that I was supposed to face and I think that he was just plain downright scared to get in the ring with me because he was one of those guys that was on top and saw a huge threat in Brock Lesnar at the time. That's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin."
#3 CM Punk And Triple H
By 2014, CM Punk already grew unhappy with his time in WWE. He always wanted to main event WrestleMania, but the company had other plans for him instead. Triple H needed someone to face at WrestleMania XXX, so Punk was chosen to face The Game.
The Straight Edge Superstar, however, refused to work with the WWE COO. In all of their past matches, The Game always came out with the win, so it made no sense for Punk to face and possibly lose at WrestleMania to a man who's career was coming to an end soon.
Triple H was not thrilled that Punk refused to work with him. The latter chose to walk out of the company rather than accepting the match. \
CM Punk was fired by WWE the very same year and he went on to retire from professional wrestling.
#2 Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan are major Superstars and they were also the faces of WWE during their respective times.
In 2002, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash as the New World Order. WWE had plans for Austin to face Hogan at WrestleMania X8, a bout that would've seen two titans colliding.
The Rattlesnake, however, wasn't interested in having a match with The Hulkster, even admitting that he had a grudge against The Immortal One at that time. The match was scrapped and Hulk Hogan went on to have an epic clash with The Rock instead.
Stone Cold was pitted against Razor Ramon at the Show of Shows, who he defeated to win the match. The WWE Universe would've gotten a dream match between two of the biggest stars in the company's history.
#1 Shawn Michaels and Bret "Hitman' Hart
Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels is arguably the most popular personal feud in WWE/pro wrestling history. Both Superstars were great in the ring and they were top stars. Although they were presented on-screen as enemies, they legitimately didn't like each other in real life too.
HBK defeated The Hitman at WrestleMania XII to win the WWE Championship in a 60-minute Iron Man match. The plan was for the two Superstars to have a rematch at WrestleMania 13 where Hart would reclaim the title but Michaels suffered a knee injury forcing the plans to change.
In 1997, Bret Hart was about to leave WWE for WCW, but he still refused to drop the title to Michaels at Survivor Series in Canada. This led to the creation of the Montreal Screwjob. Thanks to Vince McMahon's orders, HBK won the title after locking Hart in the Sharpshooter, although the latter didn't submit.
The two Superstars shook hands and made up years later.
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