5 WWE Superstars that backstabbed their friends in real life
When pro-wrestling takes over your life, the fallout isn't always healthy.
In an industry in which a hierarchy is so very important, there is only room for a select few at the top of the food chain. Many times, WWE Superstars scrap and claw their way to get there but sometimes, a select bunch of individuals are cherry-picked and gifted a spot.
Either way, it is completely understandable that morality takes a back seat sometimes when it comes to advancing one’s career – after all, opportunities are limited and the way the industry functions makes it quite vulnerable to politicking.
But when that ultra-competitive and shady mentality spills over into real life, it isn’t quite okay anymore. When pro-wrestlers employ nefarious means outside of the industry as well, things get ugly pretty fast.
Sometimes it costs friendships, and sometimes, even more.
On that note, here are 5 WWE Superstars who – found direly wanting of discretion – ended up backstabbing their friends in real life too.
#1 Randy Orton – Diamond Dallas Page
After the Stone Cold Stunner, the RKO may just be the most over finisher in the WWE in quite a while. Its unpredictability and the fact that Randy Orton has sculpted his strike-from-anywhere Viper persona to add to the suddenness of the move has only served to accentuate its effect.
But did you know that he obtained the move from someone else and then refused to give them credit?
Diamond Dallas Page used a very similar move called the Diamond Cutter, and being friends with Orton, even recalls calling him up after his retirement in the WWE to tell him that he wanted to pass that move on to him.
Orton – true to his reptilian nature – conveniently claims to have no memory of the conversation but distinguishes the RKO from the Diamond Cutter anyway, saying that he ‘put his own spin on it’.
Although the two have reportedly sorted out their beef since, I can understand why DDP would feel aggrieved that Orton didn’t afford him due credit.
#2 Paul Heyman – Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer was ECW through and through. Quite frankly, many performers in that close-knit bracket of Dreamer, Funk, Sabu, RVD and Sandman among others, bled for the company and were so committed to the cause that they were quite happy to go down with the ship when it went out of business.
But it wasn’t for the want of offers from other interested parties.
Apparently, WCW was so interested in Tommy Dreamer that they made a big money offer to him – something that made him seriously consider jumping ship and joining them. That’s when Paul Heyman intervened and pleaded with Dreamer to stay, citing that ‘big money’ was invested in ECW and that it was on the cusp of breaking out into the big time.
That, and the sense of belonging that Dreamer felt towards ECW did the trick, and he agreed to stay on.
Only, it later came to light that Heyman lied to him and that perhaps the reason he misled Dreamer had to do with the fact that he was secretly in bed with the WWE. Loath to lose their star to its rival promotion, the WWE reportedly had Heyman prevent his move to the WCW.
Although Dreamer and Heyman sorted out this mess in due time, it was still quite a cunning farce that the promoter pulled to get his way.
#3 Hulk Hogan – Bubba Love Sponge – Heather Cole
You’ve probably heard of this love triangle that got ugly when Gawker released an adult tape of Hulk Hogan sleeping with his best friend’s wife, Heather Cole. In the trial that ensued when Hogan sued Gawker for violating his privacy, more details were unearthed that have us convinced that it was a grizzly affair all round.
One one side, make of it what you will that Hulk Hogan slept with Bubba the Love Sponge Clem’s wife. In every civilised culture, that’s just a no-no. But according to Heather Cole’s testimony, it was her husband who asked her to sleep with him.
Wait...what?
Furthermore, she mentioned that he secretly filmed them for his private collection without her knowledge and that he used to regularly ask her to sleep with other men. Now that’s just ugly.
Whether you believe that or not, however, there is no question that somewhere in this ungainly affair, there has been a massive breach of trust. Whether it was from Hogan’s end or Bubba’s, it was the kind of sordid affair that did no favours to anyone involved in it.
#4 Matt Hardy – Lita – Edge
This notoriously well-publicized love triangle set the WWE on fire, what with the whole Matt Hardy rant and the live sex celebration between Edge and Lita. In reality, though, it was a painful experience for all the people involved.
Lita and Matt were together, but when she broke her neck and was put on the shelf for a long period of time, Matt had to extensively travel and keep his career ticking over. When Lita got back on her feet, it was Matt’s turn to get injured and stay home to recuperate.
In the middle of all this, Edge and Lita started becoming close as they used to travel together. According to Matt, even Edge’s then-wife had her doubts as to the nature of their relationship but when confronted, both of them denied culpability.
This, of course, wasn’t true at all and it would turn out that Lita and Edge would find comfort in each other’s arms, behind Matt Hardy’s back. Years on, they’ve all moved on but the whole ungainly episode goes down as a black mark in WWE history.
#5 Triple H – Chyna – Stephanie McMahon
This wasn’t as much a love triangle as it was an outright, brutal backstabbing. Triple H and Chyna were an item when on-screen storylines saw him cross paths with the boss’ daughter, Stephanie McMahon.
They immediately hit it off, but what is extremely off-putting in this whole charade is that everyone who knew about the relationship went to great lengths to make sure that Chyna wasn’t made aware of it – including Vince McMahon.
According to Chyna, Triple H kept denying that there was anything to his ‘rumoured’ relationship with Stephanie for well over a year until she chanced upon a letter that was addressed to him, confirming her worst fears.
When she confronted Vince, much to her dismay, she realised that he had known about it all along. Chyna was duly let go of by the company after this.
This whole incident kickstarted a downward spiral in Chyna’s life that saw her foray into the adult industry and eventually, lose her life to prescription pill overdose in 2016. A pioneer in women’s wrestling, it’s a pity how Chyna’s run with the WWE withered away into nothingness for no fault of hers.
It would, instead, go down in the laundry list of instances when Triple H brushed aside other people so that he could further his own career.
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