Many of the greatest storylines in the history of wrestling have involved some sort of truth related to the wrestlers involved. The illustrious Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan feud in WWE is a great example of art imitating life. Pro wrestling as a whole, has never passed up the opportunity to make money off real-life conflict.

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Although many storylines are often created around real-life drama, others actually lead to real-life drama. In some cases, wrestlers overstep boundaries during promos or a bad experience in the ring just taints a relationship altogether. This list will examine 10 times a wrestling storyline led to real-life issues.

10 CM Punk And Adam Page

Adam Page And CM Punk

CM Punk's return to wrestling at AEW was met with universal acclaim from fans. Everyone knew he was going to be AEW Champion one day, and he finally entered the title scene when he feuded with "Hangman" Adam Page. The feud seemed normal, even after Punk defeated Page to win the AEW Championship. No one knew that there was a strained relationship between the two stars after Adam Page cut a promo where he said he was protecting AEW from CM Punk and made reference to some of the wrestlers backstage.

Apparently, there was a ton of locker room drama including a rumor that CM Punk almost got Colt Cabana, a stablemate of Adam Page, fired from the company. The whole thing spiraled out of control and at the media scrum after All Out 2022 Punk unleashed his disdain for Adam Page (and others at the company) to the public. His words led to a backstage brawl between him, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson. The fight might've also led to his end at AEW.

9 Bret Hart And Shawn Michaels

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Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels saved the WWE after big names like Hulk Hogan departed in the early 90s. The two were great foes because they had fantastic chemistry as opponents. Unfortunately, during one of their feuds, Shawn Michaels cut a promo where he insinuated that Bret Hart had a romantic relationship with WWE wrestler Sunny.

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Hart was furious with Michaels. It was even a contributing factor to Bret Hart's refusal to lose the WWE Title to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1997. The two had heat for a long time after the incident but did reconcile.

8 The Outsider's Arrival At WCW

the-outsiders-threatening-eric-bischoff

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were introduced to WCW audiences in one of the most creative storylines in the history of wrestling. In what eventually led to the formation of the nWo, Hall and Nash portrayed an invasion angle that some believed was a WWE takeover of WCW.

Although the storyline led to massive ratings for WCW, it also led to a lawsuit from the WWE. In 1996 the WWE sued WCW implying that Kevin Nash and Scott Hall appeared on television too similar to their WWE personas, Razor Ramon and Diesel. This led to slight changes to both characters to help them avoid arbitration.

7 CM Punk And Jeff Hardy

CM Punk and Jeff Hardy faceoff Cropped

CM Punk and Jeff Hardy were great rivals in the WWE. Most fans know that CM Punk does not drink alcohol or do drugs and that Jeff Hardy is known to live a rock star lifestyle. They were great polar opposites that fans loved, and they put on a great story in the ring.

Unfortunately, the feud with Punk ended up taking a huge toll on Jeff Hardy. He even criticized Punk in a viral video calling him a "nerd" years after their feud. He also claimed that he made Punk into a superstar. The two teased a feud at AEW, but a rehash of this old story seems unlikely due to the circumstances at the company surrounding both stars.

6 Muhammad Hassan

Muhammad Hassan Cropped

Sometimes a wrestling storyline goes so far that it creates drama from its own network. A storyline featuring Muhammad Hassan, whose gimmick was that he was a fictional terrorist, was removed from the air after a storyline where a pseudo-terrorist group jumped the Undertaker under his direction.

The promo occurred three days before a terrorist bombing in London that made the segment feel way too heavy. The segment received such scrutiny from the media and network (UPN) that the character of Muhammad Hassan was never seen again on WWE television after the event with Undertaker.

5 Jon Moxley And Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose Wrestlemania 32

During his time in the WWE, Jon Moxley (as Dean Ambrose) clashed with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. The match was nothing special and Lesnar's actions leading up to the bout caused a huge rift between Moxley and Lesnar.

According to Moxley, Lesnar put in the bare minimum of work for the match. He also claims that Lesnar was clearly uninterested in the match and was just phoning it in because he had to. Moxley has stated his disappointment with both the WWE and Lesnar since he was practically invisible despite the match taking place at WrestleMania.

4 Batista And Bubba Ray

Batista and Bubba Ray Dudley Side By Side

Evolution was one of the top stables of the entire Ruthless Aggression Era. Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista, created a heel faction that dominated WWE television. During a storyline where the Dudleys feuded with Evolution, Batista claimed that Bubba Ray caused intentional injuries to both him and Randy Orton.

He took Bubba's actions as a slight and insinuated that Dudley was just jealous that he and Orton were in the main event scene next to Triple H and Ric Flair. The two had heat for years after the incident.

3 Hulk Hogan And WCW

Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett

Hulk Hogan had a tumultuous relationship with WCW. On one hand, he helped revive the company when he turned heel as Hollywood Hogan. On the other, his creative control clause allowed him to torment and hinder other superstars. In one of the later storylines of Hogan's WCW career, he and Jeff Jarrett were slated to compete for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

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Instead of putting on a match, Jeff Jarrett laid down in the ring to allow Hogan to pin him without a fight. After the incident, Vince Russo criticized Hogan which led to a lawsuit from Hogan and an end to his relationship with WCW.

2 Bret Hart And Goldberg

Bret Hart Vs Goldberg

Goldberg and Brett Hart were two of the biggest names at WCW in the lead-up to their match at Starrcade 1999. Although their storyline went relatively smoothly, a botched kick during their match ended Bret Hart's wrestling career.

In the years since the botched kick that occurred during their storyline, Bret Hart has continued to criticize Goldberg. He even recently called for him to be removed from the WWE Hall of Fame.

1 CM Punk And Ryback

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CM Punk and Ryback entered into a feud in 2014. Although many fans didn't know it at the time, their feud led to huge heat between Punk and Ryback.

During an infamous podcast session between Colt Cabana and CM Punk not only insinuated that Ryback intentionally broke his ribs but also accused him of using steroids. The storyline between CM Punk and Ryback was also one of many factors that led to CM Punk's departure from the WWE.