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Partnerships in WWE are constantly hanging by a thread. Best friends can turn to sworn enemies on a dime. It's the nature of the thing. 2023 was no different.
WWE has a history full of superstars turning on each other. Think Randy Savage turning on Hulk Hogan as The Mega Powers imploded in the late 80s. Shawn Michaels kicking Marty Jannetty through the Barber Shop window in the early '90s. Seth Rollins turning on the rest of The Shield in 2014.
As the year comes to an end, let's take a gander at the most heinous betrayals that took place on WWE TV.
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#5. Brock Lesnar attacks Cody Rhodes on the WWE RAW after WrestleMania
Following his controversial loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes was ready to throw down. Confronting Reigns at the next night's RAW, Rhodes challenged the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion to a rematch. When the Head of the Table said "no," Cody instead proposed a tag team match: Reigns and Solo Sikoa against himself and a partner of his choosing.
That's when The Beast Brock Lesnar came to the ring to offer his services to The American Nightmare. The main event was set - Roman's old foe, Brock Lesnar, would team with his current foe, Cody Rhodes, against him and his cousin.
However, before the match could even begin, Lesnar destroyed Rhodes. Thourghally.
Let's be honest: this would be ranked higher if everybody and their dog didn't see this coming. While this didn't turn out well (and that's putting it mildly) for Cody, it led to three incredible matches between the two over the year.
#4. Santos Escobar turns on Rey Mysterio and the LWO
Along the lines of "Who didn't see that coming?" betrayals (which we're not knocking, by the way - not everything in pro wrestling needs to be unpredictable), let's look at Santos Escobar turning against not only WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio but the rest of the Latino World Order.
Escobar had earned the right to face then-United States Champion Austin Theory on an episode of SmackDown in August. However, an attack backstage left him unable to compete. With Santos' blessing, Rey took his place and won the championship.
Mysterio promised Escobar that the two would have a match against each other for the title. Both stars faced on the September 29 edition of SmackDown, where the Hall of Famer picked up the victory via a surprise roll-up pin.
However, at Crown Jewel in November, the veteran would drop the belt to Logan Paul, thanks to Santos, who left brass knuckles in the ring, which the YouTuber later used to win his first championship in WWE.
In the following episode of SmackDown, Carlito blamed Santos for leaving the weapon in the ring, which led to Escobar turning on the Mysterio and rest of the LWO.
Not cool, Santos. Not cool.
#3. Shayna Baszler turns on Ronda Rousey mid-match
Former NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler and UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey go back a long way. It took them a while to cross paths, but once they did, they dominated the women's tag team division.
The two won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship earlier this year, and it seemed like nobody would be able to take it away from them.
Which made it all the more shocking when, at Money in the Bank in July, Shayna Baszler did it. Near the end of their title defense against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, Baszler attacked her partner, effectively handing the championship to their opponents.
This led to an "MMA Rules" match between the two at SummerSlam this year, which Baszler won. This would be Rousey's last appearance in WWE - at least for now.
#2. Trish Stratus turns on Becky Lynch
It's rare when a returning legend turns heel, but that's exactly what happened when Hall of Famer Trish Stratus returned to WWE earlier this year.
Earlier in the year, The Man Becky Lynch won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with another legend, Lita.
However, on an episode of SmackDown in April, someone attacked Lita backstage before the team's title defense against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Rather than forfeit the match, Trish took the Extreme Diva's place in the bout.
Becky and Trish lost.
It turned out that Trish was the one who attacked Lita in the first place. That Jezebell!
#1. Jimmy Uso turns on Jey Uso
The saga of The Bloodline has been, pardon the pun, the lifeblood of WWE's storytelling for the past couple of years. Even now, almost every major feud in the company these days can be traced back somewhat to the faction and their story. It's like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but weirder.
When The Usos lost their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Night One of WrestleMania 39, their status in The Bloodline came into jeopardy. Jimmy eventually couldn't handle the abuse Reigns was giving him and his brother and eventually snapped.
And then, so did Jey.
This led to Jey getting an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Reigns at SummerSlam in a Tribal Combat. Despite interference from Solo Sikoa, it looked like the former Right Hand Man might actually pull it off and become the new Tribal Chief.
Then, as what usually happens in Roman's matches, a hooded individual ran to the ring. He prevented Jey from pinning the champion, then revealed himself to be... Jimmy Uso. A superkick from his brother later and Jey was pinned.
Now, the two Usos are on different brands but could be heading for a confrontation at WrestleMania 40 next year.
