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It is no secret that some of the greatest WWE rivals of all time are actually good friends behind the scenes.
Bayley and Sasha Banks, for example, can convince WWE fans that their on-screen characters, The Role Model and The Boss, despise each other. However, in reality, the majority of people know that they are best friends when the cameras are not rolling.
Once WWE Superstars have finished their in-ring battle, it is common courtesy for them to shake hands with one another following a match. The backstage tradition is seen as a sign of respect between Superstars after putting their bodies on the line for each other.
Now, while a post-match handshake usually suffices, some Superstars have gone one step further to show how much appreciation they have for their in-ring rival.
In this article, let’s take a look at five Superstars who gave their WWE opponent a gift after a match.
#5 Seth Rollins gave Dominik Mysterio a gift (WWE SummerSlam 2020)
At the age of 23, Dominik Mysterio competed in his first WWE match against Seth Rollins at WWE SummerSlam 2020. The fact that Rey Mysterio's WWE PPV debut came at SummerSlam 2002 made Dominik’s first match all the more special.
WWE fans did not know what to expect from Rey Mysterio’s son, especially as he had only gotten physical a few times on television. As it turned out, his loss to Rollins was widely considered to be one of the best matches on the SummerSlam card.
Three weeks after SummerSlam, WWE released post-match footage of Dominik and Rey Mysterio on an episode of ‘WWE Day Of’. During a backstage conversation, a referee walked up to Dominik and gave him Rollins’ wrist tape as a souvenir from his first match.
Speaking in an out-of-character interview, Rollins made it clear that he was very happy with his match against Dominik.
“I was really proud of it and I was really proud of his performance and the fact he brought it. It’s going to mean a lot moving forward and put him on the map, hopefully. Hopefully we established him or, at least, get him kick-started and making sure this business is good for years to come after I’m gone.” [H/T talkSPORT]
One week after SummerSlam, Dominik teamed with Rey Mysterio to defeat Rollins and Murphy at Payback.
#4 Shane McMahon gave The Undertaker a gift (WWE WrestleMania 32)
Shane McMahon competed in his first WWE match in almost seven years when he fought The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. The 30-minute Hell in a Cell match, which The Undertaker won, is best remembered for McMahon jumping off the top of the steel structure.
In 2020, the man behind The Undertaker persona, Mark Calaway, began discussing his WWE career in out-of-character media interviews. He also opened up about his difficult retirement decision in the Last Ride docuseries on the WWE Network.
Ahead of one of the Last Ride episodes, McMahon wrote an article for ESPN about his friendship with The Undertaker. He revealed in the article that the two men exchanged gifts after their WrestleMania 32 match.
“I always have extra baseball jerseys made for important events, so I presented one to him after the match, and as I was doing that, he was giving me one of his [MMA-style] gloves. That old-school appreciation.”
Three years later, the long-time friends shared the ring again at WWE Extreme Rules 2019. On that occasion, The Undertaker teamed with Roman Reigns to defeat McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a tag team match.
#3 Lacey Evans gave Natalya a gift (WWE Crown Jewel 2019)
In October 2019, Natalya defeated Lacey Evans at the WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The history-making match marked the first time that female WWE Superstars faced each other in the country.
Following the match, Natalya took to Instagram to reveal that she had been given a gift from her Crown Jewel opponent. Evans sent The Queen of Harts a framed picture, accompanied by a heartfelt message explaining how much the seven-minute match meant to her.
“Nattie, I can’t put into words how much this match meant to me. Not only for what it stands for, but for the fact that of all the people who could have been across the ring, guiding, and helping me… it was you. You have impacted me in so many ways in this journey and I am so thankful for strong, passionate, giving, leaders like you. Thank you for everything, Lacey Evans.”
Natalya posted the picture on her Instagram story and said she will have to find space for it in her dungeon.
Following the success of Natalya vs. Evans, WWE’s next Saudi Arabia event (Super ShowDown 2020) included another women’s match, Bayley vs. Naomi. Bayley retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a match lasting 11 minutes.
#2 Shawn Michaels gave Ric Flair a gift (WWE WrestleMania 24)
Ric Flair’s WWE career came to an emotional end when he lost against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. On the same weekend, WWE inducted Flair into the Hall of Fame and held a celebration for him on RAW.
Former WWE commentator Jim Ross gave his thoughts on WrestleMania 24 in a blog on his website. During his recap of Flair vs. Michaels, Ross revealed that The Heartbreak Kid gave his opponent a Rolex watch after their famous match.
"This WM24 was all about the ‘Naitch.’ I love the guy, as does anyone who is Ric’s friend. I had to wipe tears from my eyes a few times during Ric’s match with HBK, who also had an emotional day on Sunday.
"Ric showed me a custom made Rolex that Shawn presented him to commemorate Ric’s induction into the HOF. Shawn Michaels, who has enduring respect for his boyhood idol, is a class act." [H/T prowrestling.net]
Three years later, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on the weekend of WrestleMania 27. As the video above shows, Flair gave his former in-ring rival a ruby-encrusted Western belt buckle containing the letters “HBK”.
#1 Triple H gave gifts to Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania 28)
The Undertaker defeated Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at WWE WrestleMania 28. The match, which was billed as “The End of an Era”, was refereed by a close friend of both Superstars, Shawn Michaels.
Heading into the match, The Undertaker boasted a record of 19 wins and no losses at WrestleMania. He defeated Triple H one year earlier at WrestleMania 27, while he emerged victorious against Michaels at back-to-back WrestleManias prior to that.
Following the hard-fought match, all three WWE veterans stood at the top of the WrestleMania stage and looked out at the WWE Universe. The moment has gone down as one of the most iconic images in WrestleMania history.
Speaking in a Facebook Live interview in 2017, Triple H revealed that he has the picture on his office wall. He also gave Michaels and The Undertaker a plaque of that image.
“There was a moment with the three of us standing on stage together after that match was over and that was very real to us and it’s still very meaningful. I have that picture in my office and I made a plaque with all… for all three of us that has that picture and memorabilia from the match. It was very important and very meaningful to all three of us.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Six-and-a-half years after that match, Shawn Michaels came out of retirement at WWE Crown Jewel 2018. The Heartbreak Kid teamed with Triple H to defeat The Undertaker and Kane in a battle between D-Generation X and The Brothers of Destruction.
