As fans, we all know just how unique and compelling the wrestling world is. Throw in the internet chatter, mixed with the history of the business and fans can be lost for days just reading up about one of their favorite stars, let alone the entire industry. Furthermore, when you add the multitude of worked stories and rumors that have been established over the years and you might just need a second head to process all of the information.
The famous Curtain Call started pulling back the veneer of the business and the layers of the onion continue to be peeled back on all kinds of DVDs, podcasts, and shoot videos. There’s websites like this one, but most of these are so outlandish that if they were true, charges should be brought up on thousands of different wrestlers for hundreds of different crimes.
Then there are the rumors, stories and urban legends that have been passed around over the years like a never ending game of telephone, constantly growing and changing over time. Take the first superstar on this list for example, as one rumor had been that he was living as a vagrant on the streets of Queens, New York; which was a New York fan’s story and considering The Dingo Warrior was billed from the borough, he thought it had credence.
Most of the stories on the below list, true or not, will forever be debated by fans, because the subject matter is nowhere near PG enough or truthful enough to be included on a DVD.
20 20. Two Ultimate Warriors
One of the earlier stories on this list, fans were convinced that there were two Ultimate Warriors. It’s easy to understand how this one came about. The Warrior was a giant muscle bound freak with giant teased out hair. He left the WWE after Summerslam ’91 and was then not seen until he raced to the ring to save Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VIII, this time with a slightly smaller physique and a new bowl/grunge cut. Similar to The Beatles’ Paul is Dead rumor, The Warrior is Dead rumor has taken on a life of its own, with many believing that the second Warrior was Kerry Von Erich.
19 19. HBK and Vince
Rumors like this one are clearly false, but, at the same time, they are far too juicy to ignore. Without any proof to support his claim, Road Warrior Haw, who at that time was not on great terms with the WWE, had claimed that Vince McMahon didn't just love Shawn Michaels work in the ring, but that he loved him backstage too. While not completely backing up Hawk’s claim, Bret Hart has stated that while McMahon seldom socialized with the superstars, but that he always made time for HBK. To add credence to this feud, Vince was caught visibly weeping during HBK’s Hall of Fame induction.
18 18. Bret Was in on the Screwjob
In a bit of fantasy booking, fans have taken what is wrestling’s equivalent to the Kennedy Assassination and created a grandiose conspiracy that Bret Hart was in on the Montreal Screwjob. The idea was that Vince knowingly sent Bret down south to become a big superstar there, while Austin got propelled to the spotlight. Bret has always admitted to having a feeling something might happen, but that was due to growing up in the business and knowing how promotors think. Considering both Vince and Bret have always stated that WCW wouldn’t know what to do with a Bret Hart, this one is most likely just fanboy fabrication.
17 17. Vince Sent Hall and Nash to WCW
This is another piece of fanboy booking, but this one had some merit at first, simply because of the way Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were brought into WCW. The rumor, very much like the angle that played out on WCW TV, was that Hall and Nash were sent down south by Vince to destroy WCW. When WWE sued WCW for the way the two characters were being used, that should've squashed this rumor. Why would Vince send the two Kliq members to WCW just to sue them about it a few months later?
16 16. “Sunny Days”
The in ring battles between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart have nothing on their bitter backstage feud. Both men jockeyed for position and would cut scathing promos on each other, insulting each other’s manhood, age, injuries, and sexuality. During one particular promo, HBK insinuated that Bret has been having some “Sunny Days,” meaning he was sleeping around with Sunny. This unscripted line caused quite a stir with Hart’s then-wife, Julie and this rumor, to this day, is unconfirmed. In Bret’s Wrestling with Shadows documentary, he explained that Sunny was just a friend and considering the hard times Sunny has fallen on, that she still hasn’t spilled the beans probably means there’s not a lot of beans to spill.
15 15. Naked Mideon? How About Naked Taskmaster
When Mark Cantabury went down with an injury, his partner Dennis Knight dropped the Southern Justice gimmick and eventually became Naked Mideon, a wrestler who streaked through arenas. But that was a character; in reality the rumor is that the real nudist happens to be one of the most underrated, highly cerebral characters, Kevin Sullivan. The Taskmaster, who made it big in the southern territories using Satanist / cult gimmicks (think Bray Wyatt) supposedly liked to spend his free time at nudist colonies. Maybe that’s where he got some of his crazier booking ideas.
14 14. Sycho Sh*ts, Squeegees, and Squirrels
Walking punchline Sycho Sid has not one, but three rumor about him. The first is that he crapped his pants at WrestleMania 13, but if you had you face The Undertaker, you might do the same. Considering most wrestlers have copped to going in the ring during matches (involuntary or not), this one is believable. The second Sid story falls in between the true/false column. He lost a bar fight with Brian Pillman and sought vengeance with a squeegee. In the unbelievable territory is the third rumors, which was that Sid used to carry around a pet squirrel with him. Wrestlers dared him to put the squirrel down his pants, which he did. Sid survived for about 30 seconds before heading to the doctor for rabies shots.
13 13. HLA with Moolah and Mae
There's no doubt that The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young were both legends in the sport. Later in their careers, they both made a return to the WWE and were two of the more entertaining Divas during the Attitude Era. But were they more than friends? Thanks to the wording of an article in 2014 about Mae’s failing health, people have begun to assume differently. The article referred to Moolah as Mae’s longtime companion, which led people to read into things. The writer probably was referring to the fact that the laddies happened to have lived together.
12 12. The Loose Cannon vs. the Gangsta
Considering how much of a loose cannon New Jack is and how much Brian Pillman was acting like a Loose Cannon, this one seems entirely feasible. When Pillman was in ECW, he had cut a promo referencing the rap group, N.W.A. New Jack either misheard or was misinformed but he believed Pillman used the N–word. Despite recently being crippled in the automobile accident that forever altered his career, Pillman would not back down from the ensuing backstage argument. Jack threatened to leave, but he didn’t have to as Pillman would sign with the WWE shortly after this incident.
11 11. Elizabeth, Locked Away in Macho Man’s Castle
Randy Savage famously told Hulk Hogan “you got lust in your heart for Elizabeth.” The rumor was that Savage was that paranoid backstage and thought all of the boys had lust in their hearts for his wife. Allegedly, he put her in a separate locker room so that no one could look at her. Seeing as how she was the only girl in the locker room at the time, that doesn’t sound so terrible. However, another rumor is that when he was on the road without her, he would lock her up with a supply of TV dinners. The Hall of Famer is no longer with us to refute these claims, but the Randy Savage DVD has the debate there, as his brother Lanny refuted the claim, while Jimmy Hart alluded to its truth.
10 10. Lita's Past
Lita, after seeing Rey Mysterio perform, knew she had to go to Mexico and learn how to be a pro. She dumped her boyfriend and headed for Mexico to be trained. There is a seedy section of the IWC that believes since she had no money, she decided to offer up her body in exchange for lessons. Maybe people give this one credence to her past as stripper or her very public affair with Edge. While she portrayed a vixen on television, it’s up to you to decide if you believe that Lita was desperate to learn how to wrestle that she prostituted herself in order to do so.
9 9. Trish and Lil’ – More HLA Action
They’re both beloved by fans and the locker room nowadays, but at first, both Trish Stratus and Lilian Garcia were not welcomed by their peers, due to their non–wrestling backgrounds. When two people aren’t liked that much by the rest of their coworkers, they might flock towards one another, which is what these two ladies did. Even as they both earned more respect, they still traveled together and Lillian even branded Trish, her female soulmate. Their friendship led to holding hands and possibly even more than that. Allegedly, this infuriated Vince to the point of almost firing Lillian, as he didn’t want his #1 sex symbol being seen as a lesbian.
8 8. Von Erichs and Cats
Even though their family story is filled with tragedy, there are still a lot of crazy stories involving the Von Erich family, though it's impossible to tell if any of them are true. Allegedly, Kerry (the Texas Tornado) and Kevin (the barefoot brother) were playing with a saw blade in the back of the famous Dallas Sportatorium. Kerry decided to lob the blade at a cat, killing the poor feline; apparently they were both on coke at the time. Because one cat wasn’t enough, while on tour in Japan, other stories claim that Kerry put one in the iron claw, which killed that one as well.
7 7. The Snake and Missy Hyatt
Considering Jake the Snake Roberts and Missy Hyatt in the eighties were both certifiably insane, this one might be true, even if it’s absurd. Firstly, these two were actually dating. Now, apparently, one of Jake’s more peculiar interests was watching guys hit on the bubbly bombshell at bars. When he had enough, Jake would waltz in and stare at the guy until they were sufficiently creeped out and then they’d leave. Could you imagine trying to bag the vivacious Hyatt, while that lanky scary guy was giving you the evil eye?
6 6. Hazing or Vindicating?
It is no secret that Bradshaw is considered a terror backstage and will partake in hazing. In some interviews, JBL will justify his actions because in the old days you needed to know who’d run from a fight and who’d go down in a foxhole with you (how that thought process justifies hazing is questionable, but that's a conversation for another time). However, in the late nineties, the hazing might have been karmic for an unnamed wrestler, who may or may not have date–raped a girl or just wasn’t well liked in the WWE locker room. Bradshaw took it upon himself to deliver old school locker room justice–he rubbed baby oil all over him and threatened to rape him until he cried while the boys looked on and laughed.
5 5. The Original November Screwjob
While not as prolific as Montreal, another screwjob took place 12 years earlier inside the hallowed halls of MSG. Supposedly, it all started because then Women’s champion, Wendi Richter, actually wanted to read her contract before signing it. There was a clause in the contract that would have had Richter signing away her merchandise rights. Richter was scheduled to wrestle Spider Lady on November 25th, 1985. The Spider Lady immediately pinned Richter for a three. Richter would unmask the Spider Lady, revealing the Fabulous Moolah (who never performed as Spider Lady before), who claimed no knowledge of a screwjob taking place and didn’t think the referee would fast count her.
4 4. Rey–Rey and Rachel
Long before her marriage to Brad Pitt, it was Jennifer Aniston's hair that was all over the news. During the time of "the Rachel," the legendary luchador, Rey Mysterio had begun making his name in America. So naturally, these two just had to be an item, right? At least that's what the paragon of truth known as The Enquirer put out there for the world to read. Due to Rey's marriage, the couple probably wanted to keep their torrid love affair hush-hush or perhaps it just didn't happen.
3 3. Outta Nowhere
If you remember Rochelle Loewen, you get a cookie. She was around long enough for a certain Viper to strike with a number two right in her bag. She did set the record straight in an interview, saying that it was tanning lotion and baby oil. But Loewen also said she wouldn’t put it past Orton either and that he hated her since her first day, since she didn’t know who Orton was. Loewen added that Orton has issues with beautiful women, and it really bothered him that she traveled with his best friend, Mark Jindrak. She pretty much spent a good portion of the interview smearing Orton’s name. He might play an IED prone nutbag on TV, but is Randy Orton truly this disrespectful in real life?
2 2. Hogan’s Black Eye
Hulkamania returned at WrestleMania IX to team up with Brutus Beefcake against Money, Inc. But when he showed up with a very fresh shiner, rumors began to spread about what happened. First, the storyline reason was that Money, Inc. had hired someone to smash Hulk around at the gym. Second is the WWE’s official story that it happened while Hulk was out jet skiing. Then there’s the rumor that the Mega Powers exploded again and Savage had decked Hogan for the affair he was having with Miss Elizabeth. To this day, no one knows what really went down. But if you believe the Macho story, it makes his commentary during the match sound like a man who knows more than everyone else.
1 1. The Macho Madness and The Billion Dollar Princess
We’ve approached the granddaddy of them all, folks. The wildest, craziest, most batcrap crazy rumor in wrestling history, Randy Savage made the beast with two backs with a young Stephanie McMahon. Considering Vince McMahon allowed just about every single star who ever did him wrong back into the WWE but not Randy fuels this rumor. Wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer believes it to be true because it’s the only thing that makes sense as to why Macho never came back and was seemingly blackballed. Randy finally made it into the Hall of Fame posthumously, but this rumor will be debated forever.