5 Times WWE used real-life events in a storyline

Over the years, WWE has given us a string of memorable storylines that fans still talk about, to this day. Be it Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon, Daniel Bryan's rise to the top on the road to WrestleMania 30, or Brock Lesnar's path of destruction following his WrestleMania victory over The Undertaker- WWE's archives are chock-full of storylines that will be remembered for a long time to come.

There are occasions when in order to engage the fans and grab more eyeballs, WWE used realism in a storyline. In such cases, WWE sometimes uses a real-life event from a particular Superstar's life, and turn it into a storyline on TV. These attempts have always been a mixture of hit-and-miss, and end up creating controversy due to the nature of the content. In the following slideshow, we will be taking a look at five WWE Superstars whose real-life issues ended up in TV storylines.

#5 CM Punk disrespects the late Paul Bearer during his feud with The Undertaker on the road to WrestleMania 29

As WrestleMania 29 approached near, CM Punk won a Fatal Four-Way match to determine The Undertaker's opponent at The Show of Shows, by defeating Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Big Show. The next night, The Undertaker's former manager Paul Bearer passed away due to respiratory issues, and WWE decided to use the tragedy in storyline. Punk began boasting that he would break The Undertaker's streak, and got hold of the legendary urn that Bearer used to hold during The Deadman's matches.

CM Punk was The Undertaker's 21st victim at WWE WrestleMania

Punk went on to beat The Undertaker up with the urn, and then emptied the urn's contents over The Phenom, who was in an unconscious state after Punk's attack. At WrestleMania, Punk and The Undertaker had a classic, with the former WWE Champion doing everything in his power to put The Deadman down. In the end, The Undertaker managed to defeat Punk and the streak remained unbroken.

The Undertaker was initially against the idea of using Paul Bearer's passing in the storyline. He later realized that Paul Bearer would have loved it, and agreed to insert it in his feud with CM Punk.

#4 Drake Maverick's WWE release is turned into a storyline on NXT TV

Mere days after Drake Maverick was announced as a participant for the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament, he was released by WWE as a part of the company's budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Maverick posted an emotional message on Twitter soon after, but no one had imagined what was about to come. Maverick did incredibly well in the tournament, but lost the finals to El Hijo Del Fantasma, following which Triple H offered him an NXT contract.

Drake Maverick's WWE release was truly a heartbreaking moment

Maverick quickly accepted the offer, and is still under contract with WWE, months later. While speaking with TalkSPORT, Maverick didn't reveal the exact moment when he learned that he would be getting re-signed with WWE, but stated that he noticed that things were different around the time he faced KUSHIDA on May 20.

The fact that Maverick realized that he was getting rehired during the tournament, means that his demeanor during the early stages of the tournament was as real as it could get. It did make for a gripping angle and the visual of him bagging another contract was certainly one that fans wouldn't forget for a long time to come.

#3 John Cena and The Rock's real-life heat gives us two straight WrestleMania matches

John Cena and The Rock are two of the biggest Superstars in the history of WWE. The Rock had been away from WWE for seven long years. Around that time, Cena talked about The Rock's absence from WWE in several interviews, and The Great One didn't like his tone.

"I had left, and he had done a series of interviews, radio interviews, and I just felt… somebody had referenced me and said, 'hey, is Rock ever coming back?' And he said, 'I not quite too sure,' but I just didn't like how he said it and it stuck with me."

The duo headlined two WWE WrestleMania events

The Rock and Cena kicked off their feud on the road to WrestleMania 27, where several elements of their real-life feud were used. Cena berated The Rock for leaving the fans for Hollywood, and a match was set between the two at WrestleMania 28. They traded wins at WrestleMania 28 and 29, and it was years later that The Rock finally revealed that the duo had squashed their real-life rivalry.

#2 Brock Lesnar isn't interested in appearing in front of the WWE Universe

Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest draws in WWE history, and his mainstream popularity helped him bag a lucrative contract that would enable him to miss a string of RAW shows in a row. Back when Lesnar was the Universal Champion, he was missing several RAW episodes, and many fans had started dubbing his run as 'The Reign of Terror'. The WWE Universe wasn't happy one bit that Lesnar was able to miss RAW shows for weeks on end, while taking the Universal title with him.

Brock Lesnar's WWE contract was second to none when it came to perks

WWE used this element in the Lesnar-Reigns feud on the road to WrestleMania 34. On an episode of RAW, fans could see Lesnar reading a magazine in a backstage area, with Paul Heyman trying his best to convince him to go out and make an appearance in front of the WWE fans. Lesnar didn't care one bit though, and even intimidated Heyman at one point.

Roman Reigns cut a scathing promo around the same time, taking shots at Lesnar for not caring about the business. Eventually, Lesnar managed to retain his Universal title at WrestleMania, in what many regard as one of the worst main events in the show's history.

#1 Randy Orton goes too far during his feud with Rey Mysterio following Royal Rumble loss

Eddie Guerrero's untimely death left the WWE in a state of utter disbelief. WWE held full-fledged tribute shows in memory of the fallen legend on RAW and SmackDown, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. On the road to WrestleMania 22, Randy Orton came close to winning the Royal Rumble match, but Rey Mysterio eventually eliminated him to bag a shot at the World title at The Show of Shows.

Randy Orton is one of the most despised WWE heels in history

Orton began playing mind games with Mysterio on SmackDown, leading to the infamous segment where he stated that Eddie Guerrero is in hell. The segment was poorly received by the WWE Universe, with fans calling out the company for taking it too far by involving Eddie Guerrero in the angle. Eventually, Rey Mysterio won the World title in a Triple Threat match against Kurt Angle and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 22, and dedicated it to his best friend who was looking down on him with nothing but pride.