Times when WWE wrestlers clashed in reality

Wrestlers put in a lot of effort to captivate the audience, which includes taking significant risks. They risked their lives to gain the respect of both management and wrestling fans. Wrestlers compete against one another to make a name for themselves in their pursuit for success. Even though these feuds are totally fabricated, they occasionally occur between two wrestlers and do not always end well.

Wrestlers do not fear putting their body at risk on a daily basis, so why would they dread getting into a real-life battle with another wrestler? We’ve all heard stories of backstage brawls in wrestling, but how many of them are true? And did you know what happened to them? Most likely not. 

Today we’ll talk about ten wrestlers who got into a real-life battle:

• Kofi Kingston vs Vince McMahon

Kofi Kingston was never a favourite of Vince McMahon. Long before he became WWE Champion, he had an altercation with Vince on a plane. This one wasn’t as nasty as the previous ones, but given WWE’s Chairman is involved, we’ll take a look at it.

Vinnie Mac reportedly joked with Kingston, saying, “Perhaps one day you’ll get over it.” Kingston made a nasty statement, but he did nothing about it straight away. When the plane touched down, Chris Jericho confronted The New Day wrestler about it, telling him that this is his final chance to stand up for himself; else, Vince will never respect him.

Kingston confronted Vince after listening to the experienced wrestler, and their brawl began. Kingston was taken down with a double leg takedown, and their battle stopped there. The WWE CEO admired Kingston for standing up for himself, and it’s likely one of the reasons he still admires him today.

• The Nasty Boys vs Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock, a UFC legend, is not the type of person you want to pick a fight with. He’s an MMA fighter that can quickly destroy someone in a couple of seconds. Shamrock, on the other hand, was a wrestler long before he became an MMA fighter. He used to work for South Atlantic Pro, an independent wrestling promotion that also employed The Nasty Boys.

Shamrock, Brian Knobbs, and Jerry Sags of The Nasty Boys were in a bar in October 1990 when this incident occurred. Knobbs and Sags were both inebriated when they grabbed a woman’s breasts. Ken didn’t react the first time they performed this. But when they did it again, Ken approached them, but the bouncer threw Knobbs and Sags out of the bar before anything could happen.

Later, Ken knocked on their hotel room door and, according to gossip, began beating Knobbs because of a feud with him. However, he was hit from behind by a phone and then severely assaulted.

• Batista vs Booker T

In terms of ratings, SmackDown was consistently outperforming Raw in 2006. The Blue Brand was creating material that met the needs of its fans. Batista was one of the show’s top stars at the time, and he liked to brag about himself in front of other performers. He attributed SmackDown’s success to himself, but Booker T wasn’t having it. He confronted Batista about this, and their debate lasted about 5 minutes.

The two then engaged into a fistfight, which left Booker T with a black eye while Batista was bleeding from his face and had numerous cuts.

• Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle was a WWE main event superstar in 2001 when he got into a brawl with a teenage Brock Lesnar. Their fight occurred in South Dakota (though some think it occurred prior to a Raw taping in South Carolina). Angle had heard Lesnar declare that he could easily beat him in a battle, so he challenged him.

Their match took place after Lesnar had concluded a practice session with The Big Show. Gerald Brisco and Jim Ross were eyewitnesses to the bout, and according to Brisco, Angle won.

• Tracy Smothers and Tom Prichard

Tracy Smothers and Tom Prichard have a long history of collaboration. In the 1990s, both earned their reputations in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. They both began working for Vince McMahon’s WWE soon after, but when they were on their way to an event, they began fighting.

Prichard claimed that Smothers was a dangerous in-ring worker who purposely damaged his opponents. Smothers questioned him about it, and their altercation on the road began. Fortunately, the cops came on time and prevented a tragedy from occurring. The authorities believed the duo’s ruse that they were only practising for their forthcoming wrestling battle. But they began fighting again, and this time they were warned.

• Curt Hennig and Brock Lesnar

Everyone is familiar with the horrific Plane Ride from Hell in 2002. WWE wrestlers were travelling back to the United States from Great Britain after completing a European tour. Curt Hennig ribbed Brock Lesnar on the flight to determine who was the better fighter. When the two locked horns, they slammed into the emergency door, and if it had been opened, tragedy would have ensued.

Fortunately, the two were separated by other superstars on the plane. WWE later dismissed Henning, but Lesnar kept his employment.

• Goldberg vs Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho not only observed a real-life conflict backstage, but he also got involved in one. Since their WCW days, Goldberg and Jericho had never been on good terms, and the former Universal Champion had refused to work with him because Jericho was beneath him. WCW once scheduled Y2J to lose to Goldberg in a squash match, but this time he refused.

When Goldberg first joined WWE in 2003, he had a run-in with Jericho and was accused of slandering the latter on the internet. Jericho refused to believe the claims, but Goldberg was having none of it and proceeded to choke him. Y2J lost his calm and used the front face lock move, followed by body scissors, to easily win the match. Both superstars never buried the hatchet with each other, although nothing physical has happened between the two after this incident.

• The Great Khali and The Big Show

During the late 2000s, The Great Khali was one of Vince McMahon’s efforts to develop WWE’s business in India. WWE planned a tag team battle between Chris Jericho and The Big Show vs The Great Khali and The Undertaker at one point. This match took place at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, as part of a live event.

During this match, Khali performed one of Big Show’s moves, the Overhead Chop, which led the WWE veteran to lose his calm. He confronted Khali backstage, and the two began arguing. Show suddenly landed a punch to Khali’s jaw and was greeted with one in response. Both wrestlers tripped on a chair and collapsed, with Khali landing on top of Show. Show, on the other hand, denied losing the brawl and claimed that it only happened because Khali landed on top of him. But, according to Jericho, this was not the case.

• Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty

Shawn Michaels was a member of The Rockers, a tag team with Marty Jannetty before becoming a prominent individual star in WWE. Both superstars were young enough to get things started, but they didn’t get along.

While we don’t know what caused them to fight, it’s thought Roddy Piper said something to them. Both would have been arrested for their crimes if it hadn’t been for Randy Savage’s intervention. Michaels quit WWE shortly after this incident, but the two quickly reconciled and The Heartbreak Kid rejoined the organisation.

He went on to become a prominent tag team and singles superstar in WWE, although Jannetty didn’t accomplish much in his wrestling career. We wonder how far he would have gotten if things had gone differently.

• Awesome Kong and Rebe Sky

In case you’re wondering who Rebe Sky is, she’s the wife of WWE wrestler Matt Hardy. When Awesome Kong and Sky were both working for TNA, they got into a fight.

Sky was changing in the locker area, and Kong was also dressed in her ring costume. She took that as a slight, believing Sky shouldn’t be changing while she was around. This resulted in her kicking Sky out of the locker area, and when Sky returned to retrieve her belongings, Kong grabbed her by the throat. It was a mistake on Kong’s part because Sky’s kid, Maxel, was present and witnessed everything.

TNA later fired Kong from the company, thus we may presume that this feud isn’t over. Kong presently works with AEW (All-Elite Wrestling) and is a key member of their women’s division.