Wrestling is not a business to be in if you want to make both money and friends. It is quite often the case that it’s one or the other. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule but the more successfully you become, the harder it is to remember where you came from, and the harder it is to stay humble.
Not only that but with a female division joining the roster on the road, a lot of sexual tension flows through the locker room, and the wrestlers are only human and end up getting it on now and then. Sometimes it even accidentally makes it online for all to see.
All the backstage politics are hard to avoid, and they all now become common knowledge within a few hours. This means we know who are friends, we know who are enemies, and we know all the juicy details that go with it.
This article takes a look at 7 friendships that were completely ruined due to one reason or another. It’s often quite sobering to see that wrestlers are human just the same as the rest of us. They make bonds and those bonds get broken.
Let’s get started with the Straight Edge Saviour and the Charismatic Enigma.
Also read: 5 WWE moves that hurt like hell in real life
#7 Jeff Hardy and CM Punk
I think it’s fair to say that although they have never been the absolute best of friends, they would have been perfectly civil to each other before they started feuding. Unfortunately, due to the blurring of lines between scripted drama and reality, it’s unlikely CM Punk and Jeff Hardy will ever speak again.
CM Punk is a straight edge wrestler who is completely against drugs and alcohol and leads a completely clean life. Jeff Hardy, on the other hand, likes to party and sometimes his use of drugs and other addictions have got in the way of his career.
When the two superstars were on SmackDown together back in 2009, they exchanged verbal blows that went beyond a professional rivalry and started getting personal. CM Punk, in particular, was guilty of this as he referenced Hardy’s drug use as well as him being arrested during his time in WWE.
Jeff Hardy has been less than complementary about Punk too, calling him out for being judgemental purely because of their different lifestyles. Jeff Hardy left the company in 2009, and by the time he returned in 2017, CM Punk was long gone.
I can’t see the two men being friends again anytime soon.
#6 Bob Holly and Steve Austin
Believe it or not, Bob Holly and Steve Austin used to be friends. They would ride to and from shows together and spend a lot of their time on the road. Billy Gunn also used to ride in the same car.
Fame can do funny things to people though, and in a shoot interview Bob Holly participated in, he exclaimed that Austin became egotistical and didn’t want to know Bob or Billy after he had reached the top of the mountain.
He didn’t moan about his pay checks getting better, but the fact that he was snubbed by the Rattlesnake did not sit well with Bob, and his beef with Austin has not subsided, with the former Intercontinental Champion dissing Austin for not being a real tough guy.
Austin did invite Holly for an interview on his podcast not so long ago, but this did not come to pass, so one can only assume that this is a friendship that can never be salvaged. I’m sure the two men still have a mutual respect for each other professionally, but their days of riding together are long gone.
#5 Matt Hardy and Edge
Possibly the most famous broken friendship on the list, Matt Hardy and Edge have done it all in the ring together. They travelled the road together, put on fantastic tag team matches with their respective partners and paved the way for the high-flying tag teams by throwing caution to the wind every time they went out to perform.
As Team Extreme, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Lita were a big part of this revolution, and Matt and Lita became romantically involved. It seemed like the perfect relationship. Edge, who was extremely close to Matt, had an affair with Lita which started the chain reaction that led to the implosion of their friendship.
WWE would let Matt go as he made this information public on the Internet. This was before the days of everyone knowing everything, so the WWE tried to limit the damage to their brand by wishing Matt luck in his future endeavours.
However, due to crowd reaction to the situation, and this making Matt Hardy hotter than a cattle brand, WWE hired him back, and the two went at it, trading real blows in a segment on Raw.
The feud would result in a series of matches, and it must be said that despite the actual hatred for one another, they remained as professional as humanly possible. It is a testament to them as workers and wrestlers.
Now they have both moved on; I do believe they are both civil but will never be as close as they once were.
#4 Randy Orton and Mr Kennedy
Mr Kennedy was fast becoming one of the biggest stars in WWE when his life fell apart as he lost his friend and his job in a matter of weeks. I think the man still would have been with us now and could have been a top star of either Raw or SmackDown if it wasn’t for the botched suplex that caused all the drama.
Similar to when Randy Orton publicly admonished Kofi Kingston in the middle of the ring, Randy was not kind when the unfortunate accident occurred. In fairness to him, it could have quite easily broken his neck, but he nearly did that to one of the Singh Brothers at Backlash so it just shows how easy it can happen.
However, Randy was a lot younger back then and maybe not as level-headed as he probably is now. He ended up screaming to management that Mr Kennedy wasn’t safe in the ring and that was the end of that. He wandered off to TNA where he never quite reached the heights he could have done had he stayed in WWE.
I don’t think we’ll be seeing pictures of them hand in hand in the near future.
#3 Michael Cole and Tazz
When the first brand split happened, we were all incredibly lucky as we had a great commentary team on both brands. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler kept their place at the head of Raw and Tazz and Michael Cole took the helm on SmackDown.
Michael Cole had been the commentator on SmackDown for a while, learning his trade sat next to the legend that is Jerry “The King” Lawler. He also had the experience of heading a few pay-per-views when Jim Ross was out of action.
I have an unwavering hate of Michael Cole’s commentary, and it all happened when he changed his style and went to Raw, but before this, he was actually an excellent play-by-play guy, and due to the friendship he built up with Tazz, the commentary flowed, and the product was enjoyable.
However, when Tazz left the company, Michael Cole showed his loyalty to the WWE and was probably overly upset at his colleague leaving, so he cut all ties with the Suplex Machine.
It’s a massive shame really because if Tazz hadn’t left, maybe Cole might still be a half decent commentator.
#2 Matt Hardy and Paul London
It’s not a surprise that Matt is so broken as we look at another friendship that was ruined by a woman. That’s right; a second love triangle has plagued another of Matt Hardy’s friendships.
The girl in question this time was Ashley Massaro. Matt Hardy had been going out with her after the first brand split, and at the same time, she had struck a friendship with Paul London as they had been assigned to the same brand.
During my research, several different accounts tell several different tales about what happened but Ashley and Matt split up, and she started dating London which Hardy took exception to, probably because it brought up old memories about what happened with Lita.
This jealousy got in the way of a friendship and started a real beef that Paul London would not stop going on about in interviews. He even challenged Matt Hardy to a fight at one point, but this did not come to fruition.
It’ll be a cold day in hell If these two ever make up.
#1 CM Punk and Colt Cabana
When CM Punk left the WWE in 2014, it was not on good terms by any stretch of the imagination. He is now embroiled in a legal battle with the company following a very frank and brutally honest podcast with former best friend Colt Cabana, in which he besmirched the Doctor that was tending to his health concerns at the time.
CM Punk and Colt Cabana’s relationship has been well documented in recent years, and they have always been best friends since their time on the independent scene together. They looked to be inseparable, and I thought their friendship would be something that lasted into their old age, but alas, it wasn’t to be.
Colt committed the cardinal sin of wanting to see a few friends at a WWE show, and CM Punk wasn’t happy with this. The Straight Edge Superstar has also stated in several interviews that his conversations with Cabana primarily consist of him declining invitations to appear on the Art of Wrestling Podcast. Punk has burned quite a few bridges over the past few years, and this is just the most recent episode.
I hope the two long-time friends can reconcile in the future.
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