5 WWE Superstars who hated working together
WWE is like any other profession, you either get along and work well with others, or you hate your coworker's guts for one reason or another. The rivalries on screen may have seemed tame for these WWE Superstars and legends compared to their behind-the-scenes animosity in real life.
These situations can also be seen in recent times, as there have been instances where stars like Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle once refused to work together in any capacity. The same could be said for The Original Bro and Goldberg, too, considering their differences in the recent past.
With that said, let's check out the five WWE Superstars who seemingly hated working together.
#5. Chris Jericho and Chyna
Chris Jericho entered a storyline with Chyna in early 2000 as a "co-holder" of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, a feud that also involved Kurt Angle.
The program had Chyna and Jericho wrestling as both tag partners and opponents over the next several months. Jericho absolutely hated the angle and viewed the Hall of Famer as an underwhelming in-ring performer.
Meanwhile, the former D-Generation X member claimed that Jericho worked "too stiff" in the ring in a lame attempt to garner more heat. Ironically, Y2J claimed that his rival worked too stiff in the ring as well.
Appearing on a recent episode of the True Geordie podcast, The Wizard said the following about Chyna:
"She was really stiff too, which means she worked very strong. I’m not talking bad of her, I’m just telling the truth. So when we worked together, it was a solid fight in a lot of ways. I remember one time, she got a little bit of a black eye from me, and you would’ve thought I cut her arm off with a chainsaw like, I got in so much trouble. I didn’t do it on purpose," said Jericho.
When the storyline was over, Jericho apparently celebrated as if he had just won the WWE Championship for the first time and moved on to another program with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.
#4. Batista and Booker T
Back in 2005, Batista was in the middle of receiving a monster push by WWE as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Triple H at WWE WrestleMania XXI. The Animal was said to have had a massive ego and easily rubbed some people behind the scenes the wrong way, with one of those people being Booker T.
During a commercial shoot for WWE SummerSlam (2005), Booker got into a heated physical brawl with Batista. The Hollywood star hated working with Booker, and this seemingly led to friction between the two wrestlers.
Despite their apparent hostility, WWE forced them to continue working together, and the two would have average matchups at best. Booker spoke about the rivalry between him and Batista on his The Hall of Fame podcast, stating:
“I never talk about the incident between Dave [Batista] and I or anything like that. We were not friends or anything like that, and him and I, we had to work together. He wasn’t a person that I particularly wanted to work with, but I’m a professional, just like [Bryan] Danielson, I’m a professional, I’m going to get the work done, and hopefully, that makes some really good TV."
He added:
"I do know after the incident [with Batista], I think we were able to work in the ring a whole lot better, actually. I think things got a lot smoother. Maybe before there wasn’t a respect deal going into our matches, but after I’m sure there was a lot of respect going into that ring." (H/T Sportskeeda)
Batista's limited experience in the business at the time, combined with Booker T's veteran experience, allegedly caused them to have different philosophies and views on the industry.
#3. Goldberg and Bret 'Hitman' Hart
12/19/1999
FACT CHECK: Bret Hart DID put up his hand in time at #Starrcade!
Thanks to the WCW cameraman for exonerating @Goldberg after all these years
#BretHart #BretTheHitmanHart #TheHitman #HartDynasty #BillGoldberg #Goldberg #Invasion #FearTheSpear #WWE #WWELegends https://t.co/GTDkBBeP62
Goldberg and Bret Hart feuded in WCW back in late 1999 over the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The two men had a match at Starrcade 1999, which ended with The Icon kicking Hart in the head.
The spot caused The Hitman to suffer a concussion and have everlasting health effects, leading to a stroke in 2002. The Hall of Famer was seemingly forced to retire from in-ring competition after the unfortunate incident.
Despite Goldberg's multiple apologies, Hart has maintained his resentment towards his rival years later. During an interview on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions, Hart stated:
“Golberg, to me, was one of the most unprofessional wrestlers there was in the business. For Bill Goldberg to be in the Hall of Fame; he hurt everybody he worked with. You might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with. I remember Curt Hennig being in pain all the time from the matches they had.”
Hart added:
“When I worked with Bill, I always think the last words I said to Bill before we went out for that match, and he ended my career. I said, ‘Bill, whatever you do out there, don’t hurt me. Do whatever you want. Just don’t go nuts!'”
As of this writing, the two men have yet to resolve their differences.
#2 - Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch
Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch were at one point the best friends and broke the mold for the WWE women's division after headlining WrestleMania 35 alongside Ronda Rousey.
Their respect and friendship came to a bitter end on an episode of SmackDown last year that allegedly had Flair going off-script to make Becky Lynch look weak. The Queen and Lynch were in the middle of a title exchange segment when the second-generation star took it upon herself to drop the championship at her rival's feet.
While she claimed it was a pure accident, Lynch took it offensively. The ladies had a heated argument backstage after the show went off the air, and the two have remained hostile ever since.
During an interview with the Sports Illustrated Media podcast, The Man stated the following about her equation with the SmackDown star.
"We don't talk anymore. We don't talk. So all I'll say is the locker room needs a hero sometimes. And sometimes somebody's gotta be a hero. I'm all right being that hero."
However, Charlotte Flair noted that she and Lynch are trying to secure the top spot in WWE women's division, resulting in the differences in their friendship.
#1. WWE's Mega Powers Explode: Macho Man Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania V took place in Atlantic City, NJ today in 1989. The main event was Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship billed "The Mega Powers Explode". #80s #80swrestling #wwf #wwe #1980s #wrestlemania https://t.co/mwRMnlGcmV
The Savage-Hogan rivalry has gone back and forth for many years. The two men were best friends and often hung out together before coming to hate each other.
Randy Savage reportedly didn't like working with Hulk Hogan at all, even going so far as to blame his real-life divorce from Miss Elizabeth on Hulk and Linda Hogan. However, the two men would work on/off together in WWE and WCW, respectively.
Hogan seemingly kept Savage beneath him, and this was something that always bugged Savage to the bitter end. The late star would even go on to write a rap song: "Be A Man, Hulk!" as a diss track directed toward The Hulkster.
Hogan reportedly claimed that he and Savage had patched things up shortly before Savage's death in 2010. Hogan told WWE.com about the Mega Powers talking things out in the past:
"But if I really, really, really had to go with consistency, friendship and always being there for me, Randy would be the favorite guy. That's why it was so tough when we had that blow-up when he got divorced. He didn't want to have anything to do with me for eight years. I just thank God that we got back together before he passed away."
Whether these words spoken by Hogan to WWE are true is anyone's guess. Unfortunately, we may never really know if Hogan and Savage were genuinely able to patch things up before the latter's passing.
Also, Check Out: Ten WWE Superstars who once hated each other.