WWE may have its share of animosity between wrestlers inside the squared circle, but it's pretty obvious by now to fans that these wrestlers get along (mostly) with each other really well in the back. The company, however, still wants to keep the things which happen backstage a secret to the audience. But that has proven to be difficult as the rise of social media has resulted in leaked backstage pictures which the company wouldn't have wanted the fans to see.
There's a lot of emotional stuff which goes on in the back after an important match or leading up to it, as Vince McMahon has been the man orchestrating everything that goes on in the past few decades. But sometimes even the least emotional "bad guys" tend to get a bit emotional in the back which could surprise many. Emotions are obviously running wild backstage in a WWE event where something big happens or is about to take place, and certain surprising pictures have changed the fans' perception of how these wrestlers are outside the kayfabe world.
There are certain poignant pictures which could terribly affect the perception of kayfabe among the fans, as we take a look at these 15 Emotional Backstage Pictures We Weren't Meant To See.
15 15. Stephanie McMahon Congratulating John Cena
John Cena has never really been in favor of any "authority" in the WWE so it wasn't really surprising when he came up as the opposition to "The Authority" a few years back. He had a heated rivalry with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and co and also ousted them for a while. But that obviously doesn't apply to his real life, where he's got a lot of respect for the McMahon's. This picture shows Stephanie McMahon congratulating John Cena after him winning the WWE Championship against The Rock at WrestleMania 29. Emotions are obviously running high after such a gigantic event as this picture could be a sour one for Cena fans who love to hate Stephanie and whatever he's done to disrespect her in WWE, with this picture ruining the kayfabe rivalry shared between the two over the years.
14 14. Brock Lesnar After Breaking The Undertaker's Streak
Brock Lesnar shocked everyone when he broke The Undertaker's legendary streak at WrestleMania XXX and did something nobody ever expected to take place. Since then, he has been boasting about his victory and the amazing achievement for the past few years and while he might seem mighty proud of it, he's not that glad of it in real life. This emotional backstage picture shows the Beast in the back after his historic win, but he doesn't really seem to be that happy. He actually seems a bit gutted and so does Paul Heyman beside him, which proves how much he respected The Undertaker. But this leaked picture isn't one which the fans were meant to see as it destroys all of WWE's plan of having Lesnar boast about breaking the streak and exposes the truth, which is that he himself was sad at the legendary streak ending.
13 13. Vince McMahon With CM Punk
Vince McMahon's heated relationship with CM Punk is no secret in the wrestling industry nowadays, as one of Vince's most potential talents turned into his enemy when he walked out on WWE and then went onto thrash him. Punk has been especially bitter towards McMahon and has vowed to never return to the WWE, opting for a career in MMA instead. But the two did respect each other very much when Punk was in WWE, as this picture shows. This emotional picture shows Vince explaining something to the Straight Edge Superstar backstage and is something the WWE wouldn't want the fans to see. This picture gives a pragmatic look into their relationship when in working in WWE and is something they wouldn't want to fans to see because of how WWE tries to protect whatever goes on in the back.
12 12. Hulk Hogan Reconciling With The Ultimate Warrior
Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior were the two biggest stars in wrestling during their time in WWE as the two didn't only fight it out inside the ring, but also had problems outside of it. Hogan and Warrior couldn't stand each other and often stated about their problems in interviews, as their rivalry was quite "personal". Fans were pretty shocked to know that Hogan and Warrior would be in the same arena at WrestleMania XXX, before which Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This emotional picture of the two apparently reconciling is something which was for their eyes only, as they definitely wouldn't have wanted for fans to see it. The two wouldn't have wanted the fans to know about their controversial personal relationship, with this picture proving that things were quite heated between the two legends.
11 11. The Undertaker, Triple H And Shawn Michaels Reunite
The Undertaker, Triple H and Shawn Michaels were the icons of the 90s and Ruthless Aggression era later on as they put on some amazing content for the wrestling fans to fall in love with them. All three were involved in classic matches stretching from WrestleMania XXV to WrestleMania XXVII and while they seemingly tried to tear each other apart in the ring, they had nothing but respect for each other in real life. This touching picture shows the three reuniting in what seems to be before WrestleMania XXX, as these three friends look so happy. But from a kayfabe point of view, this picture is something the fans shouldn't see as all three are breaking characters in this picture and WWE wouldn't want the fans to see the Deadman happily mingling with D-Generation X as this picture shows them breaking kayfabe like none other.
10 10. Alexa Bliss Gets Her Main Roster Call
Alexa Bliss has been dominating the "Women's Division" in WWE ever since getting promoted into the main roster as she has won the Smackdown Women's Championship and the RAW Women's Championship in the span of a year of being called up to the main roster. Bliss got drafted to Smackdown Live! in the WWE Draft last year and while she was this similar cocky heel in NXT as well, she couldn't help herself from breaking down after realizing she's headed to the main roster. This poignant picture shows Bliss holding back her tears of joy as she's delighted at being drafted to Smackdown Live and while this feels good, it shouldn't be seen by fans. Bliss and WWE wouldn't want the fans to see this emotional picture where Bliss is breaking down and showing signs of a baby-face while she is a terrific heel in reality.
9 9. Vince McMahon And Eddie Guerrero Sharing A Laugh
Vince McMahon normally doesn't mingle that much with the wrestlers backstage during a WWE show as he's more concentrated on running the show and making sure that everything goes smoothly. But even at times he's moved enough to get emotional with the wrestlers after a particularly impressive performance or them winning the title as he can be seen congratulating Eddie Guerrero after his WWE Championship win years ago. This emotional picture shows the two sharing quite the happy moment as Guerrero is congratulated by the delighted Vince after winning the championship, but this is something he wouldn't want the fans to see. It shows Vince mingling with a superstar he wasn't really associated with on WWE TV and Vince is breaking kayfabe in this picture, so ideally he'd want this picture to be a secret as it wasn't ever meant to be seen by fans.
8 8. The Undertaker With Shane McMahon
The Undertaker may have seemed as a dangerous, horrifying individual in the WWE as "The Deadman" who terrorized everyone with his presence, but in real life, he's actually a very cool person who gets on really well with his colleagues. After having a hellacious match with Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32, The Phenom went onto have a talk with Shane backstage. This picture shows the two of them having a chat after the match is over, with both the drained out wrestlers having an emotional conversation after that stunning match. But WWE wouldn't want the fans to see this because of how personal the match got towards the end of its buildup and it could greatly effect kayfabe for these two "rivals" talking to each other like good mates after the end of a brutal match.
7 7. Finn Balor After SummerSlam 2016
Finn Balor made quite the impression after debuting on the main roster where he earned the opportunity to fight for the Universal Championship in his first ever main event PPV in SummerSlam. Balor went onto defeat Seth Rollins in a hard-hitting bout to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion, but it would come at a cost. Balor dislocated his shoulder very badly and that forced him to relinquish the championship later on. This emotional picture of a distressed Balor being treated by WWE doctors is extremely sad, but the WWE probably wouldn't have wanted the fans to see this side of Balor. This picture shows "Demon Balor" in a vulnerable state which he hasn't been shown as yet, which is why the WWE would be glad had the fans not seen this distressing image of the inaugural Universal Champion.
6 6. The Undertaker's Family After WrestleMania 31
The Undertaker was a mystical character in the WWE for over two decades as he wasn't really associated with anyone else and was somebody who did his business alone. But in real life, Taker loves to spend time with his family as he married ex-WWE colleague Michelle McCool a few years ago and they've been living happily ever since. McCool supports Taker whenever he wrestled and also was in attendance at WrestleMania 31, when he defeated Bray Wyatt. This emotional picture shows Taker's family being greeted by WWE stars Wyatt, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in what seems like a happy atmosphere. But it wasn't meant for fans to see as Taker and Wyatt are both broody, mystical characters and this is breaking kayfabe beyond recognition, something the WWE definitely wouldn't want to happen with WWE's most recognizable stars.
5 5. Jerry Lawler Being Taken To A Hospital
Jerry "The King" Lawler has always been an entertaining man on the commentary table for WWE as he asserted himself as one of the best commentators when he did it with Jim Ross back in the day. But "The King" scared everyone when he collapsed to the floor on a live episode of RAW and it was announced that he had suffered a heart attack on air. He was later treated by the medical staff and taken to the hospital and this distressing picture of Lawler being taken to an ambulance is absolutely heart-breaking. The WWE wouldn't want this picture of Lawler being seen by the fans as they have tried to keep that terrifying incident as quiet as possible ever since and wouldn't want the fans to be remembered when their commentator almost passed away on a live show of Raw.
4 4. Vince Hugging Shane After WrestleMania 32
Sometimes even the strongest of individuals cannot get a hold of their emotions backstage in the WWE and when you realize that the cold Vince McMahon got emotional after watching his son Shane put on a courageous performance at WrestleMania 32, you know that something impressed him. Shane put up an astounding performance against The Undertaker in what was a brutal Hell in a Cell Match and did good enough to bring his own father to tears. This picture shows the McMahon's sharing a very intimate moment as Vince is reduced to tears after watching his son perform at the grandest stage of them all. Despite it being sweet, Vince wouldn't want the fans to see this as he wants to keep himself as the "tough villain" in WWE and definitely doesn't want people to sympathize with him after this emotional moment.
3 3. Daniel Bryan Breaking Down After Retiring
Daniel Bryan's retirement from in-ring competition in the WWE has to be one of the saddest things which have happened in the WWE over the years as fans were absolutely gutted to realize that Bryan wouldn't ever compete in a WWE ring again. After suffering too many career-threatening injuries, Bryan would himself decide to retire from in-ring competition and was later made the general manager of Smackdown Live! But this heart-breaking picture of Bryan breaking down after his retirement shows how emotional pro wrestling can get at times. This picture is also something which we weren't meant to see, as WWE probably regrets their fans ever getting to see this because it shows a top star like Bryan in such a vulnerable position. Despite being retired, WWE wouldn't want fans to see Bryan in such a weak state and wouldn't want them seeing this disturbing picture.
2 2. Braun Strowman As A Rosebud
Braun Strowman has been quite rightly labeled as the "Monster Among Men" as he has been on a rampage ever since going his own way after the WWE Draft. Strowman is one of the most destructive wrestlers to grace the WWE in recent years, so it's still quite surprising to realize that Strowman started off his WWE career as a "Rosebud". Strowman used to carry and escort Adam Rose to the ring while dancing to his tune. This picture shows off an emotional bunch of "rosebuds" posing backstage, as the towering Strowman looks absolutely hilarious here. Along with other WWE stars like Becky Lynch, this picture shouldn't be seen by fans as it destroys how one perceives Strowman right now, as this hilarious side of him destroys how we all see him as the "destroyer of men" in WWE.
1 1. Kevin Owens Hugging Sami Zayn After Universal Championship Win
Kevin Owens winning the Universal Championship was quite the shocking title win in the WWE because of how Triple H betrayed Seth Rollins and literally handed Owens the championship that night. While everyone was shocked and delighted at the turn of events, Owens himself maintained his heel persona throughout the course. That was until the curtains were close, when he completely broke character backstage. He even hugged his real-life best friend Sami Zayn backstage as this poignant picture goes on to show. While this moment may be touching and awesome, WWE definitely wouldn't want the fans to see this because of how badly it breaks kayfabe. This picture wasn't meant for the fans and was a personal thing, so WWE would prefer that fans don't see this emotional side of Owens, who is hugging his on-screen enemy and off-screen best-friend.