The locker room in WWE will see unlikely friendships form and volatile relationships between enemies come to fruition. Many of the friendships are well known since performers spend more time on social media and being interviewed on podcasts. Pictures of time with their friends or discussing the people they love spending time with will allow you to realize which wrestlers enjoy each other. However, a few friendships manage to slip the under the radar and remain lesser known. There are also the instances of the wrestlers who can’t stand each other. Some wrestlers do a better job keeping it out of the public spotlight than other.
We'll take a look at both sides in the current WWE locker room. The friends and enemies to keep their stories less known will be viewed here with the history of their interactions. Many veteran wrestlers have stated that friendship means nothing in wrestling as it is all about putting yourself in the best position to make money. That may be true, but it still has to be nice to be friends with your peers. This list will show you eight combinations of WWE stars you didn’t know were friends behind the scenes along with seven lesser known enemies.
15 15. Friends: Corey Graves and Renee Young
One pair of close friends in WWE that many fans don’t know about is Corey Graves and Renee Young. Graves was forced to retire from the ring at a young age due to concussion issues and ended up joining the NXT broadcasting team. Renee helped introduce him to the new career and the two became buddies through the years working together from NXT to Raw to SmackDown.
WWE placed Young, Graves and Lita together on a Table for 3 show as the three had a lot of stories to share about their time together. Broadcasters seem to be in a different world than the wrestlers since they don’t work on live events. Renee and Corey spent their time together enough to become tight. Young even insulted Piers Morgan on Twitter when he tried to go after Graves for making a joke about him on Raw.
14 14. Enemies: Baron Corbin and Finn Balor
WWE wants to have Finn Balor and Baron Corbin both become major stars for the future of the company. The idea of a face Balor going against the larger Corbin has to be a dream match of Vince McMahon for a top level program at some point in the future. There appears to be tension between the two considering they randomly insulted each other on social media a couple of months ago.
Corbin took a shot at Balor insulting his size out of the blue. Balor responded with an insult towards Corbin having to wrestle in a t-shirt to hide his physique. It was considered to be a shock since both men are on different brands with no rational explanation to benefit from going after each other. Corbin and Balor seem to have some hostility after spending time together in NXT for a few years.
13 13. Friends: Mark Henry and Neville
An unlikely friendship and mentorship role to form in WWE has seen Mark Henry become an unofficial big brother to Neville. Henry has gone out of his way to put over Neville on various podcasts regarding the smaller wrestler’s heart. According to Henry, Neville is one of the wrestlers he would want on his team in a real fight and influenced Neville’s heel character.
Neville reportedly broke down in tears thanking Henry for all his help at WrestleMania 33 when Neville opened the pre-show with a win. Recent frustrations have seen Neville request his release as he sits home waiting out WWE. Henry has stated that Neville and other young talents should stand up to management when disrespected. You have to wonder if Mark encouraged Neville to make his voice heard if he wanted to leave.
12 12. Enemies: Nia Jax and Maryse
A recent episode of Total Divas showed some hostility between Nia Jax and Maryse. It is hard to decipher what is real on the show, but there have been some rumblings of Jax having heat with the other women in the locker room. This incident featured Maryse getting offended at Nia asking Maryse if she knew what a gauntlet match or if she ever was in one.
Maryse took the comment as being condescending as Jax disrespected her former in-ring career. Another comment saw Maryse claim that Nia insulted her for being a manager rather than a wrestler in the past. Maryse did have a decent career in the ring and Jax is very new. The comments from Nia seemed to make Maryse her enemy going forward.
11 11. Friends: Bayley and Seth Rollins
Both Bayley and Seth Rollins have been positioned as two of the greatest stars to come out of NXT. Rollins represents the current era of male wrestlers and Bayley does the same for the women’s roster. Each talented performer spent their entire childhood dreaming about getting to this point. Various social media posts on each of their pages have shown the two hanging out backstage at shows.
Bayley started doing Crossfit training as her workout method in different cities on their tour after Rollins introduced her and a few other wrestlers to it. Sasha Banks is Bayley’s best friend and another close friend of Rollins. Bayley and Sasha had a long running joke regarding who Rollins likes more. It is hard to say for sure, but the Crossfit bond has to give Bayley the edge over Sasha as Seth’s BFF.
10 10. Enemies: Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar
Dean Ambrose expected to have one of the biggest matches of his career when working against the legendary Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. It was going to be in front of the biggest crowd in wrestling history against arguably the top star in the industry. Ambrose was disappointed as Lesnar completely shut down every idea he had for the hardcore match.
WWE built up a big story with hardcore icons like Mick Foley and Terry Funk handing over their weapons to Ambrose. Fans expected a great match but it was a boring bout with no memorable moments. Ambrose trashed Lesnar on a podcast interview with Steve Austin by actually using the word lazy to describe Brock. It is well known that Lesnar will only go the extra mile in matches with wrestlers he likes, and Ambrose wasn’t one of them.
9 9. Friends: Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa
A longtime friendship that has now become a team of sorts in WWE focuses on Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa. Crews used to go on tours in Japan for the Dragon Gate promotion. Tozawa was one of the biggest stars in Dragon Gate at the time leading to them becoming friends. WWE signing Tozawa allowed him to reunite with one of his best friends.
Crews even helped Tozawa in terms of a living situation. Independent wrestling star Ricochet, his girlfriend Tessa Blanchard and Crews lived together in a Florida apartment for quite some time. Crews moved out giving his room to Tozawa to help get him situated in a new country with a familiar face. Both guys being part of the Titus Brand could see them become a tag team which seems like their ideal scenario.
8 8. Enemies: Matt Hardy and WWE Seamstress Julie Youngberg
One of the most peculiar WWE backstage beefs features Matt Hardy feuding with a lesser known employee. Julie Youngberg is a seamstress that works for WWE helping design and make the gear for wrestlers. The ex of Youngberg is former wrestler Shannon Moore who happens to be a close friend of Hardy. Julie actually posted a comment on social media saying she wished Matt was dead.
Matt remained silent, but his wife Reby Sky responded absolutely trashing Youngberg for her rude comments about her husband. The two engaged in trash talk that got extremely personal. Hardy clearly won’t be getting his gear seamed by her at any point in his WWE time. It is unknown if Julie was punished for making such a strong comment about a WWE talent publicly. Regardless, things have to be awkward between the two backstage.
7 7. Friends: Braun Strowman and Dana Brooke
The friendship between Braun Strowman and Dana Brooke is a bit surprising considering no one would expect these two random people to be close. However, the world of wrestling brings people from all backgrounds together. Strowman and Brooke each have the common bond of competing at the Arnold Classic. Dana participated in fitness competitions and Braun was in the strongman contests. WWE found them both due to scouting there.
Many pictures on Brooke’s social media pages show them together hanging out before or after shows. Dana has the nickname “Country Strong” making it likely she is one of the strongest women on the roster. Since she is doing nothing these days, maybe she could convince WWE to put her with her friend Braun as the strongest couple in WWE history.
6 6. Enemies: Booker T and Jason Jordan
Booker T was supposed to be a temporary replacement for David Otunga earlier this year on the Raw broadcasting team. The work of Booker impressed WWE enough to give him the role full time sending Otunga to the sidelines. Booker will go wild on commentary and Jason Jordan has become one of his main targets.
Every time Jordan is in the ring, Booker will rip apart the wrestler all match. There is no storyline reason for the hostility Booker shows towards Jordan. For whatever reason, Booker loves making Jordan his target to attack every week. Jordan has never responded to Booker confirming it even more that this is not a work. Booker clearly hates Jordan as a wrestler and uses his position on the commentary team to trash him in entertaining fashion.
5 5. Friends: Kevin Owens and Big Cass
The close friends of Kevin Owens are usually commonly known due to WWE productions and podcast interviews informing us. Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Neville have been revealed as Owens’ closest friends in WWE. However, one person seems to always get snubbed from the list. Big Cass and Owens have been very close going all the way back to their NXT days.
Owens chose to ride with Cass when the two were together on the Raw brand until the former was sent to SmackDown in the Superstar Shakeup. There have been rumors about Cass being hated by the rest of the Raw locker room this year. Owens leaving may have been the final friend of his to no longer be by his side. Regardless, the both have been very vocal about considering the other as a friend.
4 4. Enemies: The Miz and Enzo Amore
Enzo Amore has many enemies in the WWE locker room. The stories about Roman Reigns kicking him off a tour bus and the other wrestlers banning him from the locker room are well known. However, one promo from The Miz on Raw completely annihilated Enzo to show how hated he was. Some fans compared Enzo being blacklisted from the locker room to Miz’s situation many years ago.
Miz broke down all the differences and showed just how much of a joke Enzo was. The fact that Enzo was turning heel and didn’t get respect from another heel told the story. Miz used his real emotions to make a fool of Amore in front of the wrestling world. There was obvious hostility between the two when Miz used reality to destroy Enzo.
3 3. Friends: Shawn Michaels and Johnny Gargano
Shawn Michaels joining NXT has seen him become friends with many of the new core of talent. Roderick Strong is reportedly close to Michaels, but another wrestler has started to show signs of being under the legend’s leadership. Johnny Gargano has started posting social media videos with Michaels as the two talk about helping guide him through his losing streak on NXT television.
Michaels and Gargano are expected to have a contest soon to see who has the better abs. As silly as it is, Michaels participating in any content with a current wrestler is a huge help. Gargano has been considered one of the best talents in NXT. Michaels helping him out in front of and behind the camera is a great sign for Gargano. The lifelong wrestler is now friends with his childhood hero.
2 2. Enemies: Sasha Banks and Lana
A random backstage rivalry in WWE has Sasha Banks and Lana despising each other. This has never played out on television and it mostly goes down through shady methods. Lana has “liked” many negative tweets about Banks through the years insulting her for her wrestling, personality and looks. Fans of Banks started calling out Lana making Lana claim she has nothing but respect for Sasha.
The fact that Banks is a close friend of Summer Rae adds more drama to the mix. Lana and Summer hated each other for a couple of years since working together. This seems to have made enemies of the two in the cold world of WWE women’s wrestling drama. Banks has returned the favor to Lana by taking shots at her on social media. Lana likely is happy she doesn’t have to wrestle on the Raw brand with Sasha as things could get ugly.
1 1. Friends: Finn Balor and Big Show
One of the more surprising friendships in WWE is Finn Balor and Big Show being buddies. The Raw live event tours this year have seen them getting to know each other. Balor had high praise for Big Show in various interviews this summer. The veteran presence of Big Show in the locker room is apparently important as Finn claims he helps out the new guys in need of advice or direction.
Big Show shared similar sentiments about Balor referring to him as a special performer that he would love to work with. It is highly unlikely that he will ever see the two in a real program since Big Show is close to retiring. Balor at least got to form a friendship and learn from Big Show before he retires from WWE.