5 on-screen WWE rivals who were real-life best friends
One of the best things about WWE is its on-screen storytelling. The effort put into building alliances and rivalries is what brings entertainment and value to the show and product.
However, these rivalries aren't always real. There have been times when on-screen rivals don't have any bad blood in real life.
There have also been times when real-life best friends were involved in fierce rivalries. Here, we have five on-screen WWE rivals who were real-life best friends.
#5. Sasha Banks and Bayley
Sasha Banks and Bayley have had some of the most personal rivalries in recent memory. During the pandemic era, they were the Women's Tag Team Champions and ruled the landscape of the women's division as Bayley held the SmackDown Women's Title and Banks held the RAW Women's Title.
Bayley later turned on her best friend, but their real-life friendship wasn't affected. They still treat each other as best friends. In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's own Rick Ucchino, The Role Model expressed her happiness as Banks headlined WrestleMania 37 alongside Bianca Belair.
"It was huge, obviously, to see Sasha in that light and to get that spotlight," Bayley said fighting back tears. "And to me, it seems like only fitting that I was also not wrestling on the card because, otherwise I would have been running around being crazy. We both would have been super busy. But I felt like leading up to it, I was just able to kind of soak in the whole moment. Soak in the whole night. Soak in, you know, the fans and it was just unbelievable." said Bayley.
It's nice to see that The Boss n' Hug Connection still exists outside the squared circle.
#4. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have been best friends as well as bitter rivals on-screen. That's what makes their relationship special. The stars have been rivals in NXT and on the main roster as well, having performed in incredible matches together. However, they are best friends in real life.
While making an appearance on the In This Corner podcast, The Prizefighter described his relationship with Sami Zayn.
“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 others 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,” Owens said.
The amazing matches these stars have produced together are a result of their real-life chemistry, and they will continue to perform in more such matches in the future.
#3. Trish Stratus and Lita
Trish Stratus and Lita's long-term rivalry will go down in history as one of the greatest feuds of all time. The two are considered pioneers of the women's revolution in WWE, and were inspirations for most of the current stars including Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss.
In an interview with Oral Sessions, Lita talked about her long-time relationship with Stratus and how they made history together.
"The connection, if you can imagine, there was really no women who were doing their thing. But then there are two women who are both in training, and they’ve both been signed at the same time, and we’re the same age... And we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to be doing this.’ ... the storylines were, ‘We’ve got these new girls, new characters.’ So, the storylines were about us. " said Trish Stratus.
Without a doubt, Trish Stratus and Lita will go down as two of the greatest of all time.
#2. Seth Rollins and Cesaro were best friends in WWE
Seth Rollins and Cesaro were involved in one of the most heated feuds around WrestleMania 37. However, they have been best friends in real life.
Both stars share an incredible passion for coffee and CrossFit. They also work out together. When it comes to thinking about Seth Rollins' best friends, fans usually come up with names like Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose (known in AEW as Jon Moxley).
However, The Visionary named the Swiss Cyborg as his best friend in an interview with WWE India.
"I think the natural instinct would be to say Roman (Reigns) or Dean (Ambrose). But my best friend in WWE is probably Cesaro. If you follow the crossfit videos, you can see us constantly working out together. We have been friends since long before WWE. So he might be the guy," Rollins said.
Hopefully, Rollins and Cesaro will manage to maintain their friendship now that the latter has departed the company.
#1. John Cena and Randy Orton
After #RAW went off the air, @JohnCena came out for a nice big hug with @RandyOrton and @SuperKingofBros! So happy to see Cena and Orton reunited again! Photo credits to the owners. https://t.co/1pvX0wnLWl
John Cena and Randy Orton are among the fiercest rivals in WWE. Both are two of the greatest to ever step into a squared circle.
They have competed in countless matches against each other. However, they have been close friends in real life. They have been friends since their time at Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was the developmental territory of WWE around the time these legends debuted for the company.
While making an appearance on WWE's After The Bell podcast, Randy Orton went out of character to complement The Leader of The Cenation.
"And John Cena. God, I hate saying it, but I learned a lot from that m***********. I really did. Talk about slowing down and breathing and listening to the people. He was a master. He was a f****** ninja at listening to the crowd," Orton said.
The last time fans saw Orton and Cena in the same ring was in 2021 when the current Hollywood star attempted to resolve the clashes between RK-Bro. Fans were delighted to see two of the fiercest rivals hug it out in the ring after years.