Top 5 rivalries between friends who turned into foes

WWE is one of the most entertaining TV programs when it comes to storylines and feuds. It has produced several storylines which have garnered a lot of attention and excitement from the WWE Universe. WWE storylines have flourished and plundered several friendships. The storylines create may friends and both the wrestlers have each other's back for a very long time unless the writers plan to pillage their friendship by turning them against each other and making them bitter nemesis.

There are many examples to substantiate the subject of this article. Here are few friends who have turned into bitter enemies in the past:

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#5 Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho

KO made it to his list

"You just made the List!"

This iconic punchline was built during his storyline friendship with Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho formed a tag-team and defeated Enzo and Big Cass at Summerslam. The legendary JeriKO began there. They helped each other win matches and considered each other as best friends. This heel tag team created havoc by interfering in every single match of each other. They feuded against the likes of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and made it one of the most entertaining feuds of the year.

The ship began to sink when the Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla accepted the challenge of Goldberg for the RAW Universal Championship on behalf of Kevin Owens. He hosted the 'Festival of Friendship' for Owens where the latter attacked him viciously. At Fastlane, Jericho interfered during Owens vs Goldberg match which led to Owens losing his championship.

Jericho challenged Owens at WM 33, and he lost his US Title to him. Then, he retained it at Payback and got drafted to SD Live. Owens viciously attacked him and sent him out of the programming on a stretcher which led to the end of their feud.

#4 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

Best friends, bitter enemies

When they debuted as a tag team in ROH in 2007, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were like brothers. They'd won the ROH tag team championship once and then Zayn got signed on NXT in 2013.

For the past 15 years, they've been friends and they have had each other's side through thick and thin.

On being asked about his friendship with Zayn, Owens told Give me Sport,

“I would say that we are more like brothers than we are friends. You know you don’t choose your relatives, you don’t choose who your brother is, you don’t choose who your sister is, you don’t choose your family.

You were born into a family. In this case, we weren’t born into each other's families but we, from the start of our careers when we started wrestling on the independent scene in the U.S and even back home in Canada. Once we started getting our name out there and more recognized, people just booked us together all the time, and that wasn’t our choice.”

In 2014, Owens made his debut at NXT Takeover: R Evolution against TJ Parker. The main event was a match between Zayn and Neville for the NXT Championship. Zayn won the title, and Owens came out to congratulate his best friend but ended up attacking him viciously and powerbombing him on the apron which acted as a catalyst for their feud. In 2015, at

NXT Takeover: Rival, Owens won the title from Zayn after mercilessly powerbombing him continuously which led to his win via knockout. That led to Zayn's injury, and he went on a hiatus for seven months.

#3 Johnny Gargano and Ciampa

Friends turned foes

The team of Johnny Gargano and Ciampa were one of the most famous tag teams of the third brand of WWE, NXT. They had snowballed a lot of crowd support for themselves with their over the top performance and unbelievable growth. They won the NXT Tag Team Championships in 2016 and won the best match award when they battled against The Revival.

It is said that Gargano and Ciampa were friends for a very long time. Ciampa had attended Gargano's wedding, and he also moved in with Gargano later.

Despite their losing effort against The Authors of Pain in 2017, the match was memorable and exciting. Ciampa was annoyed with the loss, and he attacked Gargano before leaving the program due to a ruptured ACL which also made Gargano a hero.

Ciampa returned in mid-2018 and attacked Gargano after his loss to Almas. Gargano demanded a rematch which he lost after Ciampa interfered. Their feud is one of the longest running feuds in WWE.

#2 Triple H and Shawn Michaels

D-Generation X plagued with Hunter's betrayal

The friendship between Triple H and HBK has remained very pure, and it has been branded as the ideal friendship. They have had each other's backs for a very long time. The two were teammates in D-Generation X, and they have won many championships under the tag team. DX disbanded after Michaels decided to take a break from wrestling in 2000 and started his wrestling institute.

Michaels made his return in 2002, and Triple H came up with the idea that they will reunite as DX and make Eric Bischoff life hell. Much to everyone's excitement, the duo came out with DX pyro and crotch chop. Triple H turned on him after giving him a pedigree in the middle of the ring. This led to a genesis of a long feud between them, and it ended after Triple H secured a victory at Bad Blood in 2004.

#1 The Shield

The Architect destroyed the stable he created

The Shield was known as The Hounds of Justice when it debuted in the year 2012. From the beginning, they were known as The Shield brethren, and they stood by each other always. They defeated the likes of Big Show, Kane, Wyatt Family, John Cena, Evolution, Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan to name a few. They were all champions at the same time as Dean Ambrose was the US Champion and Rollins and Reigns were the tag team champion in 2014-2015. They have also won The Slammy's five times.

The stable was a very strong one because of the bond the three of them had with each other. But, during their feud with The Authority, the Universe could see the crack between them. In the year 2014, after The Evolution failed to defeat The Shield once again, Hunter announced his Plan B. Seth Rollins, the Architect of The Shield destroyed their alliance by hitting his teammates with a steel chair and by aligning with The Authority. This led to the end to one of the most prominent stables of the modern era. In 2018, they've reunited for a feud against Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.