The wrestling industry has quite the reach around the world nowadays because of how many promotions have popped up in the likes of America, Europe, and Japan as well, as the performers are pretty closely linked to each other throughout the industry.

While wrestlers who aren't in the same promotion don't really interact that much because of how far away they are from each other, they do keep in touch and hold strong bonds. With so many wrestlers interacting on the wrestling scene, fans may not know about some wrestling friendships, as there are some pretty random ones out there. These wrestlers became great friends when they were mostly training together to become big stars in the industry, and created a bond which has lasted to this day.

These wrestling friendships may not be obvious considering how the general public hasn't really seen these pairs of wrestlers interact with each other, but these unique friendships do exist, as we take a look at 15 Random Pairs of Wrestlers Who You Won't Believe Are Friends Today.

16 15. Randy Orton and Santino Marella

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Randy Orton has been in the WWE for more than a decade now as The Viper has made quite a lot of friends and enemies during his time in the company. While one would expect that Orton would only mingle with the "big stars" because of his stature, that definitely isn't true as Randy was really good friends with Santino Marella. He even posted a picture on his Twitter account which showed him hanging out backstage with Santino and some other wrestlers, and has revealed the friendship in interviews as well. Apparently, Santino helped him out many years ago when Orton got in trouble with the law, and the two started hanging out together after that. Marella may not be in the WWE anymore and has retired from wrestling, but we can be sure that the two of them still keep in touch.

15 14. Funaki and Shawn Michaels

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Shawn Michaels had quite a lot of friends in the WWE because of his position in the company during the Attitude Era and beyond that, but one of the most unexpected friendships was that with none other than Funaki. Yes, Michaels was good friends with Funaki back when the Japanese superstar made his arrival in the company and their bond grew when Funaki helped Michaels become a born-again Christian, leaving behind his drug addiction. While he may look like a goofy guy on TV, Funaki actually helped Michaels through a rough patch which is why they had such a strong friendship. The two are still good friends as they work in the WWE and must interact in the Performance Center. Michaels will definitely keep Funaki in his memory for how much he helped him during his difficult times.

14 13. Brock Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin

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Brock Lesnar has been the single most dominating competitor in the WWE ever since his debut back in the Ruthless Aggression Era. "The Beast Incarnate" doesn't really have many friends in the company because of he prefers to keep to himself. The Universal Champion has only made a handful of friends in his years in the company but before he even entered the WWE, Lesnar was great friends with a certain Shelton Benjamin. They became best friends when the both of them were training in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and both helped each other reach the next level. Lesnar apparently even demanded Shelton to be called up to the main roster later on and while the two probably don't interact that much these days in WWE, they are still good friends because of how great their bond was back in the day.

13 12. Chris Jericho and Raven

Chris Jericho has made his career out of playing the evil heel character so well that many fans probably used to think that he has no friends in real life. Jericho displayed his "friendship" with Kevin Owens recently, but that didn't end so well for the Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla. Jericho is actually a rather friendly guy in real life and had made some good friends during his days in WCW. One such person was Raven, who is still good friends with Jericho despite not really interacting with him in years. Raven was part of Jericho's podcast recently where he opened up about many things and you could feel how strong their friendship is while listening to it. Jericho and Raven's friendship may be random, but the two have still maintained it decades after first meeting each other.

 

12 11. Rusev and Luke Harper

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Rusev has been quite the devastating competitor in the WWE ever since his debut a few years back and even though he hasn't been at his most dominating form as of late, he still looks to be a mainstay heel in WWE for many years. Rusev made some temporary friends in the WWE over the years and while he's this arrogant heel on-screen, he's actually a super cool dude off it. Rusev has made many friends because of how nice he is in real life and that was evident when many wrestlers attended his wedding with Lana. But the most random and surprising friendship is with Luke Harper, whom he hasn't really crossed paths with in WWE. But like Rusev, Harper is also a really likeable guy in real life and the two share a close bond to this day.

11 10. Finn Balor and Bayley

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Finn Balor may not be in the position he would've liked to be in the WWE right now, but things are definitely improving for the inaugural Universal Champion. Finn is not only a fan-favorite in the WWE but he's also a really nice guy in real life, which means that he has made many friends during his time in Japan as well as WWE. But the most random friendship which people didn't expect was that of Balor and Bayley, as the two created quite a unique bond in NXT. They often mimicked each other's entrances in live shows and had a lot of fun which sparked rumors of them being a couple. While that isn't true considering Bayley is engaged, they are very good friends who have that lovable vibe to them.

10 9. Cesaro and Kassius Ohno

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Cesaro is part of WWE's most hard-hitting tag teams along with Sheamus, but he's been in the tag team wrestling business before he even stepped foot in the WWE. Cesaro was a big name in the Independent wrestling scene as he formed the "Kings of Wrestling" with his tag team partner, who was none other than Chris Hero aka Kassius Ohno. Cesaro and Ohno won quite a lot of titles as they traveled together around the world to become even more successful, and became great friends in the process. Now with both in the same company again, one can say that they're interacting more often nowadays and are definitely still very good friends after knowing what they went through on the Indy scene.

9 8. Batista and Titus O'Neil

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Batista not only went to the top of the WWE and stayed there for years as a main-eventer, but he aimed higher when he left the company and decided to take up acting as his profession. He went onto excel in Hollywood as well and is a mainstay in movies right now and it doesn't seem like he's about to return to the WWE anytime soon. While Batista had definitely made many friends during his time in WWE, the oddest and random friendship was that of his and Titus O'Neil. He is very good friends with Titus as the two often do a lot of charity together and Batista was the first to have Titus' back after he was suspended by WWE last year. This pair may not be known by everyone, but among his WWE friends, Batista shares quite a close bond with O'Neil.

8 7. Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura

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Daniel Bryan has been doing quite the impressive work as the general manager of Smackdown Live ever since announcing his retirement from wrestling and taking a non-wrestling role in the WWE. Bryan seems exciting about the new talents which come to his brand from NXT but seemed especially excited when Shinsuke Nakamura made his WWE debut. That is because the two of them are actually very good friends in real life which stretches right from their days together in Japan. Bryan and Nakamura used to live together in Japan and definitely created a special bond back then. They may not have much relation in WWE, but the two are definitely great friends in real life even though it may seem like a rather random pair.

7 6. Xavier Woods and Kevin Omega

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Xavier Woods has definitely been one of the most entertaining parts of WWE as part of the New Day in the past few years and because of how fun and lovable they are, the three have become friends with many wrestlers over the years. While Woods being friends with fellow WWE wrestlers is quite believable, something which is rather surprising is his friendship with Bullet Club member Kenny Omega. Woods and Omega have been friends for years now as they often interact on twitter and even meet up in gaming tournaments as both are avid gamers. The two are good friends who also display their competitive side whenever they meet in tournaments and even though this pair is pretty random, they have a lot of fun whenever they meet up.

6 5. Bobby Roode and Eric Young

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Bobby Roode has been on quite the "glorious" run in the WWE so far as he exceeded expectations on WWE NXT and looks set to make Smackdown Live even better with his amazing character. The former NXT Champion doesn't really have many friends in the company as of yet, but he did have some in TNA and one of his good friends in Eric Young is in the same company as him right now. Roode and Young have been great friends ever since their TNA days and even though they seem like a very random pair, they are actually pretty close. Both of them left TNA together to look for other prospects and landed up in WWE and we can't wait till the both of them meet face to face in a WWE ring which would be epic.

 

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4 4. Konnan and Rey Mysterio

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Konnan has been quite the controversial figure in wrestling over the years as he burnt all bridges with the WWE many years ago and has been part of a lot of controversy in the wrestling industry since then. Despite being a mean individual in real life, Konnan is actually very good friends with Rey Mysterio whom he helped to get a spot in WCW. Mysterio and Konnan have been great friends ever since and when the latter left WWE, the two would interact more often in the Independent circuit. He's now not only a great friend of Mysterio but also his agent on the road, fixing up shows and dates for him. Despite looking like an odd pair, Mysterio has a lot of respect for Konnan and vice versa which is why they've remained friends for so long.

3 3. Apollo Crews and Ricochet

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Apollo Crews may not be as popular as he'd want to be in the WWE, but he's definitely picking up his momentum as part of the "Titus Brand" and doing some good stuff with Titus O'Neil. Crews was quite the amazing wrestler in the Independent circuit before he came to WWE, as he put on some amazing matches against some of the world's best. Crews is a very likable guy in real life, but one random friend of his is that of his and Ricochets. Ricochet may be known to wrestling fans as the high-flying, stunning Independent wrestler who is actually a very close buddy of Crews. The two have even been living together since last year and while their friendship may not be known by many, they're almost as close as family nowadays.

2 2. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre

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Sheamus has maintained his arrogant, mean character really well over the years as he's been a top heel in the WWE for the past few years and definitely hasn't made that many friends in the process either. The Celtic Warrior has some friends in the back, but the most surprising friendship is his strongest friendship which is that off his and Drew McIntyre. Sheamus and McIntyre have been best friends for many years now, ever since they were trying to make it in WWE. Sheamus was even the best man at McIntyre's wedding which goes onto show just how close they are in real life. The pairing of someone like Sheamus and McIntyre may seem very random to some people, but the two have maintained their friendship extremely strongly over the years and almost are like brothers at this point.

1 1. AJ Lee and Big E

AJ Lee and Big E teamed up together on screen with Dolph Ziggler during his most impressive run, helping him win the World title. The two actually ended up becoming good friends off-screen as well, as AJ wrote in her autobiography about how good of a dude Big E really is. One can assume their nerdy ways and similar sense of humour contributed to their friendship.

The two were recently spotted hanging out together during AJ's book signing tour. The friendship has carried on even after AJ’s retirement, and there's no reason these two won't be able to keep up their awesome, yet unexpected companionship.