It’s time once again for everyone to come aboard the Attitude Train! What more can be said about this glorious time in the business? Where creative juices and (un)friendly competition was flowing each and every single week. Memorable characters, matches, and storylines populated the shows and, in some ways, more than they ever had in the past. In order to overtake WCW, and in a lot of ways preserve the wrestling industry (there’s no way Turner would have ever utilized WWE assets the way WWE used WCW’s), they had to up their game and in a big way.
That meant having a united locker room of a brotherhood and a sisterhood. But even families get into it and have rivalries and crazy stories, that only they could have related to. Here’s 10 WWE Attitude Era Backstage Stories That Blow Our Minds.
10 Taker Was Protecting WrestleMania XIV
As far as being an absolute skutch, Good ol’ HBK was at his absolute worst in early 1998. It’s almost forgivable - the guy did whack his back in a near career ending injury at the Royal Rumble and still carried on. The plan was always for Shawn to drop the title to Stone Cold at WrestleMania XIV. However, the prima donna was being a prima donna and was supposedly threatening to not do the honors. The Deadman was ready to fix all of that - he was waiting in Gorilla during the match to ensure it all went down swimmingly, and the Austin Era could begin.
9 X-Pac Has To Use The Facilities
There are fun, good natured ribs, mean ribs, and then just being a complete jerkstore. X-Pac fit this bill on more than one occasion.
Usually, it’s because he didn’t know where a bathroom was. Several times over the years, number two has been found in several people’s bags, most notably Sable’s. Even worse, on one occasion, right in Mark Henry’s sandwich.
8 JBL In The Shower
There has been a long standing rumor that JBL is a bully. According to Edge, he would put that to test. Apparently, one of Bradshaw’s favorite tricks would be to head into the showers and would begin soaping up his brethren. On one such night, he tried the trick with Edge, but the Rated-R Superstar turns the tables on JBL and acted even friendlier than he would.
7 His Nickname Is The Lethal Weapon
Not everyone appreciated JBL or ribs in general for that matter. While the boys were at an airport, an inebriated Bradshaw started messing with Blackman. No, he didn’t have a death wish; but messing with a certified martial arts master was probably not the best of ideas. After trying to get a rise out of Blackman, the Lethal Weapon thumped him several times literally before JBL knew he was in a fight.
6 Bret And Shawn Real Heat
It’s been established over the years that the rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels was very real. It got real physical too after the “Sunny Days” comment. If you’re going to mess with a man’s family, like Shawn did when he implied on live TV that Bret and Sunny were hooking up, then you need to be ready to throw down.
Shawn wasn’t, Bret tackled him and landed some punches before it was broken up. Bret managed to yank a chunk of HBK’s hair out too. Hair that according to legend has been part of Jerry Lawler’s Private collection ever since.
5 Foley’s Pre-Match Routine
Mick Foley bled buckets on all of the continents that a wrestler could bleed on. He worked for all three of the major US promotions of the nineties, as well as TNA in the early aughts. He worked in Japan and wrestled in the FMW King Of The Death Match Tournament. The Hall Of Famer has been in some of the most gruesome matches of all time. How did he get ready for most of his wars? One might think that Foley would pop on his headphones and listen to some of the heaviest death metal ever. But to actually get in the destructive headspace he needed to get into, was actually “Winter,” a soft, whimsical song from Foley’s eventual friend in RAINN, Tori Amos.
4 DX Egged On The Great One And The Hitman
While the WWE was on the cusp of an entire movement in 1997, some of the guys in the locker room were still acting like little children. When the Rock was still finding his way, he was the Intercontinental champion. Hunter and Shawn both were possibly feeling a little antsy around the up and coming Great One and actually tried to stir the pot between he and the Hitman. In their one contest on Raw, the Degenerates tried to convince Bret that it would be best for business for him to go over and take the IC title. Bret saw right through DX trying to push the pair into a feud.
3 Goldust Wanted Implants
Before some sponsors jumped in and started voicing their concerns, Goldust was one of the mid-nineties biggest heels. Due to the controversial nature of ‘Dust and the popularity of other stars, Goldie found his star waning. The guy was grasping at straws at how to get back over and out the spotlight back on him. His grand suggestion was to actually get implants. He had tried to convince Vince that it would go over like gangbusters. Luckily as crazy as the Chairman is, he’s not that nuts.
2 Triple H And Montreal
The events before, during, and after November 9, 1997 will probably never stop being examined by fans. The Montreal Screwjob has become the wrestling equivalent of the Kennedy Assassination and all of those conspiracy theories.
One of the latter ones as of late has been that Triple H was the guy who suggested the Screwjob in the first place. According to Shawn, in his book it was the Cerebral Assassin doing what he does best, years before anyone referred to him as such.
1 The Diva, The Heartbreaker, And The Kliq
If you’ve ever heard the stories, the rumor and innuendo about the ballad of Sunny and Shawn, according to Sunny’s book - its all true and whole heap more. Despite her being with Chris Candido, that didn’t stop the two of them from carrying on wherever they went; generally, with X-Pac guarding the door. She would also routinely make trips across the border to pick up booze and drugs for the boys.