The backstage world of WWE will see a lot of relationships form for better or worse. Many friendships are born with bonds uniting two people to become close. We see quite a few friendships that most are aware of like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn or Sasha Banks and Bayley. WWE will add the reality aspect of a close friendship if it means that they could benefit from it for the overall story. However, there are many lesser known friendships on the roster between various wrestlers. Most fans would be surprised to find out about some of these pairs of buddies.

On the other side, there are quite a few pairs of enemies in the locker room that clearly dislike each other. These wrestlers have had some form of tension develop whether working together, interacting backstage or just throwing shade at each other on social media. We will look at both sides of the relationships when it comes to friends and enemies. Time will if these friendships ever end or if the enemies ever make peace down the road. Find out who your favorite wrestlers love and who they hate backstage. These are eight WWE pairs that currently have beef backstage and seven that are quietly good friends.

15 Beef: Baron Corbin and Finn Balor

The team commodity in NXT is an interesting aspect for a group of wrestlers working for WWE. It used to be a chaotic environment with all the wrestlers trying to stab each other in the back to get ahead for many decades in such a political climate. However, NXT intentionally tried to create a team atmosphere. The wrestlers trained together at the Performance Center, attended meetings together and traveled on a bus during tours rather than everyone splitting into groups like the main roster.

This all started around 2015 when NXT was making big leaps forward as a touring brand. One standout at the time was an exception to the rule when it came to being a team player. Baron Corbin’s character is a lone wolf and it was true in real life. The reputation of Corbin was rather negative as someone that failed to get along with his peers.

Recent history has seen one instance of beef with another former NXT star.

Corbin randomly insulted Finn Balor last year on Twitter making fun of his smaller size.

It was shocking as the two didn’t have a storyline, weren’t even on the same show and Finn never mentioned anything about Corbin. Balor did respond by making fun of Corbin for wrestling with a t-shirt. The odd exchange had the tone of personal issues between the two rather than fun banter. They made be forced to work together soon as Corbin joined the Raw brand in the Superstar Shakeup.

14 Friends: Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman

One of the more memorable WWE moments of 2017 featured Braun Strowman attacking a stretchered Roman Reigns and then flipping an ambulance with him inside of it. Only in WWE will you see someone doing such a heinous act to another person leading to them both becoming friends. Reigns and Strowman not only had multiple matches on PPV, but they often worked on the live events every single week throughout that time frame.

The two rivals would become close friends after trusting each other in such dangerous matches. Reigns and Strowman are considered to be the two biggest pet projects of Vince McMahon as he badly wants them to be the faces of the future for WWE. That is such a rare thing for two wrestles to share that it likely just brought them closer knowing the pressure of their matches.

Reigns and Strowman were caught hanging out together last year during one of the annual European tours. The two big guys were sightseeing like any other tourists while enjoying the company of each other. Strowman had high praise for Roman in interviews saying he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world who taught him how to perform at a main event level. Reigns returned the favor by saying Braun is going to be a major star for the company.

13 Beef: Carmella and Nikki Bella

The latest story to hit the rumor mill in WWE features a potential love triangle. John Cena and Nikki Bella surprised us all when announcing they were breaking up just weeks before their planned marriage. Most fans believed Cena and Nikki finally got past their problems when Cena proposed to her at WrestleMania 33 last year. However, the two have split up and Nikki has reportedly been very hurt over it.

This rumor that we mentioned is about Cena seemingly moving on faster than anyone would have expected.

Reports are circulating that Cena has already moved on to have a new romance with a fellow WWE superstar. SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella is the new squeeze of Cena if rumors are true.

Carmella also recently broke up with her ex-boyfriend Big Cass earlier this year.

The timing of this is all interesting. Cena and Nikki have been split for about a month, but he has not appeared on any shows with Carmella to find new feelings for her. If they are dating, speculation is Cena was with Ms. Money in the Bank while still dating Nikki. There will be a lot of tension between Nikki and Carmella if Nikki returns to WWE any time soon and Carmella is truly dating Cena.

12 Friends: Sasha Banks and Kalisto

We will look at Sasha Banks’ history of having beef with others later in the list, but she also does have some close friends on the roster. Banks came up in the Performance Center in the early stages of NXT’s growth. This led to her developing bonds with quite a few wrestlers in the system at the time. Her jump to the main roster also featured new friendships forming like with Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews.

Aside from Bayley, Banks’ best friend on the main roster appears to be Kalisto.

The luchador lives in Florida much like Sasha. Both wrestlers have a huge fandom of the art of lucha libre with two of their all-time favorites and inspirations being Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Banks has revealed in interviews that she often hangs out with Kalisto on one of their off days before going back on the road.

Both social media pages have seen many pictures Banks and her husband having dinner with Kalisto and his wife. You know wrestlers are good friends when they can go on consistent double dates. Sasha is very vocal for her support of Kalisto on Twitter as he attempts to rebuild his career as one of the top stars on 205 Live.

11 Beef: Kevin Owens and Peter Rosenberg

A rare instance of potential beef between a wrestler and a broadcaster saw Kevin Owens and Peter Rosenberg have a memorable interaction. Rosenberg became a fixture on the WWE PPV kick-off shows despite not having a strong background in the field. The die-hard fan does have a lot of passion for WWE, but he has made quite a few controversial comments online regarding JBL’s bullying antics and independent wrestlers signing with WWE.

Rosenberg recently took aim at the new NXT tag team of Hanson and Rowe formerly known as War Machine. His comments essentially disrespected their prior careers as fixtures in Ring of Honor and New Japan.

When Owens revealed he doesn’t have much time to watch other promotions, Rosenberg tried using that as a defense for his lack of knowledge. Owens called him out saying someone employed to talk about wrestling should be informed about those wrestlers.

Their beef got to the next level when Owens refused to answer any questions from Rosenberg on the Royal Rumble kick-off show. Rosenberg seemed legitimately embarrassed and taken back at the action of KO. The recent Backlash kick-off show saw Rosenberg reveal he was rooting for Braun Strowman and Lashley to destroy Owens and Sami Zayn. Considering he usually rides the fence on these shows, Rosenberg rooting against a wrestler seemed out of the ordinary as he likely is still offended at Owens calling him out.

10 Friends: Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa

Two of the most underrated wrestlers in WWE right now are actually among the closest friends in the company. Akira Tozawa is currently a part of 205 Live as the Cruiserweight brand looks to find success with their own show. A great career in Japan landed him a role in WWE when Triple H wanted to expand on the Cruiserweight division.

Apollo Crews is one of the best overall athletes in WWE that can do just about anything in the ring. A great independent wrestling career landed him a spot in NXT. Triple H was impressed enough with Crews to get him called up to the main roster in less than a year. Both Crews and Tozawa have struggled in their respective roles.

It is not very well known in WWE circles, but Crews and Tozawa are best friends in real life. The two grew close when Crews did international tours with Tozawa’s home promotion in Japan named Dragon Gate. Crews gave Tozawa his old room in an apartment with fellow wrestler Ricochet, so he could easily get acclimated into his new home state of Florida. Tozawa joining Titus Worldwide for a few months was due to Crews being his friend and pitching for it to happen. It’s a shame we never got to see the duo become a full-time tag team as Raw badly needs some better duos.

9 Beef: Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss

A harsh instance of two wrestlers clearly disliking each other is the pair of Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss. Both ladies have been among the most successful ladies on the roster since they each were called up from NXT. Their issues started back down in NXT when Banks was established as the top heel on the show and Bliss was new on the scene as a face character attempting to challenge her.

Banks’ stiff shots in the match saw Bliss have a bloody nose and deal with a facial injury. There was apparent tension between the two sides over it. It was a different story when they faced off on the main roster. Alexa instantly became a huge star as the top heel on SmackDown in the brand split before moving over to Raw.

Bliss was viewed as the bigger star as she won most of the matches over Banks in their feud. Their promos saw things get very personal. Sasha called out Alexa for being a hypocrite and a phony when discussing her love for wrestling. Bliss responded by calling Banks jealous for making such bitter comments about her. We will likely see them continue to have matches as two of the top Raw stars.

8 Friends: Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal

The faction of 3 Man Band provided some fun as a lower card act a few years ago. WWE lost faith in Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater after once viewing each man to have a great deal of potential. Things have changed drastically through the years. Slater is still a comedic act, but Mahal and McIntyre have gone through various chapters for the better.

Both men were fired and spent a few years outside of WWE. The brand split saw WWE bring back Mahal for a lower card act before Vince McMahon was impressed with his work ethic. It led to him becoming the WWE Champion last year and remaining an upper level heel today on Raw as the new opponent for Roman Reigns. McIntyre impressed on the independent circuit before getting a deal back in NXT. WWE recently called him up to Raw for a tag team act with Dolph Ziggler.

The time in 3 Man Band saw McIntyre and Mahal become close friends.

They kept in touch during their time away and achieved success when returning. McIntyre made sure to attend the show where Mahal won the WWE Championship to witness his friend accomplish a dream. Both guys ended up holding the WWE Championship and NXT Championship in the same time frame last year for a great redemption story. They even got in a workout together most recently as evidenced by Jinder's IG account.

7 Beef: Rusev and Sami Zayn

Rusev and Sami Zayn are two of the most talented mid-carders in WWE struggling to move up the card. The frustration of being a WWE superstar in limbo can make things tough. Rusev has become outspoken when it comes to his feelings on everything and everyone. Part of the season ‘Rusev Day’ has become such a hit is due to how little he cares and how comfortable he is having fun with it.

Before he took his carefree attitude to television, Rusev delivered some interesting quotes about a few other wrestlers. The annual WWE 2K video game sees every wrestler wanting to have a great rating to represent their skills. Rusev was upset about his rating being in the low 80s. One of the wrestlers to have a better rating than Rusev was Zayn.

Rusev took shots at Zayn for having a higher rating by making fun of his physique.

The shade continued last year when Rusev claimed that Zayn shaved his body hair to fool others into thinking he has abs. Rusev clearly has no love for Zayn. There is a reputation for Sami that he has a big mouth and rubs other wrestlers the wrong way when working together for pitching too many ideas. Rusev is one WWE wrestler to have some heat with him.

6 Friends: Matt Hardy and Kevin Owens

The return of the Hardy Boyz to WWE last year saw them reunite with a lot of old faces. Many of the friends from the old days like Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon and Goldust were all still around in different roles. However, things have changed throughout the years for both Matt and Jeff Hardy. Matt especially worked in various promotions adding more chapters to his career.

Most remember his Impact Wrestling run as the Broken character that delivered huge success. However, there was also a time in Ring of Honor when Matt played a heel character rubbing his success in the faces of the wrestlers and fans. Hardy worked against many top independent stars that are now part of WWE. The most memorable feud for Matt saw him working against Kevin Owens. They had quite a few matches together.

Hardy and Owens developed a friendship behind the scenes. Owens had Hardy as a guest on his Kevin Steen Show talk show special. Matt went out of his way to put over KO and the Young Bucks as the future of wrestling on his YouTube channel. The two clearly had a bond that came from working together. We may see them square off again now that Owens is teaming with Sami Zayn and Matt is teaming with Bray Wyatt on the Raw roster.

5 Beef: Booker T and Bobby Lashley

The return of Bobby Lashley to WWE was considered a big signing for the company. Lashley was once considered the top prospect in WWE to become a huge star going forward in the 2000s. Things didn’t work out in the long run as Lashley failed to live up to the potential the company expected to come from him. However, he started to improve in recent years during his most recent run in Impact Wrestling.

Lashley has been relatively disappointing in his first month back. Instead of seeing the exciting heel wrestler he was in Impact, he is the bland face doing nothing but smiling like his old days in WWE.

One vocal person to call out Lashley for his lackluster work so far is Booker T. The WWE broadcaster gives his opinions on his weekly radio show and blasted Lashley for needing a lot of work before he could compete with someone like Brock Lesnar.

Booker even referenced their matches together over a decade ago when Lashley first joined the company. WWE trusted Booker to make him look good and Booker believes he did just that. Booker took credit for helping Lashley look good while trashing him for his current work. There were reports of the two clashing when working together, and that may very well still be alive today.

4 Friends: AJ Styles and Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle’s return to WWE has been the perfect redemption for him to end his career in the way he always wanted to. WWE released Angle when his drug abuse started to see him make poor decisions. Angle reached a low point and took enough drugs that would have killed most people. TNA signed him as the biggest free agent acquisition at the time months after WWE fired him.

Angle believes his best matches took place in TNA when he matured as a wrestler. Many wrestlers like Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Abyss had great matches with Angle in TNA. However, AJ Styles was clearly his best overall opponent. The two had quite a few classic matches and demonstrated great chemistry in the squared circle.

Styles and Angle became close friends during their time in Impact. Their shared passions for family, religion and the squared circle bonded them together.

WWE Network recently uploaded an episode of Table for 3 with Styles, Angle and Shane McMahon discussing each of their friendships. Angle’s family even sat with the Styles’ at the recent Hall of Fame ceremony. Both guys are now enjoying their current place in life working together for WWE in major roles.

3 Beef: John Cena and Dolph Ziggler

Two wrestlers that have been rumored to have issues for many years now are John Cena and Dolph Ziggler. Both men have been fixtures on the roster for over the past decade. They have clearly been in different roles with Cena being a top star since 2005 and Ziggler only having short spurts in the main event picture before always falling back down to the mid-card.

Ziggler has been unhappy with how he’s been used in WWE for quite some time now. He has lashed out against a few wrestlers in various interviews over the years. Cena is one wrestler Ziggler clearly believes he is better than and holds resentment for not getting more opportunities in his own career. Another source of heat between the two likely is due to a common interest.

Nikki Bella dated Ziggler long before she started seeing Cena. Despite breaking up, Ziggler and Nikki remained good friends. Between interviews and the Total Divas show, it was obvious that Ziggler felt Cena wasn’t the best of boyfriends for Nikki. The rumored scandal of Cena with Carmella would add another reason for heat between Ziggler and Cena. This is a case of two wrestlers that will never be friends.

2 Friends: Alexa Bliss and Bayley

As mentioned earlier, Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks are enemies in the WWE backstage world. Another obvious fact is that Banks and Bayley are extremely close friends in real life. Most would assume that makes Bliss and Bayley enemies based on their respective relationships with Banks. However, that is not the truth as Alexa and Bayley grew to be good friends for many years now.

Bayley was viewed as one of the most beloved people at the Performance Center during her time at NXT. The other women trying to take steps forward in their wrestling careers would often get help from Bayley when training.

Bliss has stated Bayley was one of the biggest helps in NXT for her progressing as an in-ring performer.

Bayley was one of the first people to embrace Alexa when the latter was called up in the draft following the brand split. The genuine pride of Bayley showed how happy she was for Alexa even though she wasn’t even called up yet. Bliss and Bayley still appear to be good friends today as members of the Raw roster. Most wouldn’t have expected Alexa to become a bigger star than Bayley but that doesn’t appear to be a strain on their bond.

1 Beef: Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose

Brock Lesnar is one of the most polarizing members of the WWE roster by both fans and his peers. The star power of Lesnar allowed him to receive one of the greatest contracts in WWE history. Brock receives perks unlike any other wrestler. It would be one thing if he just enjoyed a lighter schedule for more money, but Lesnar has been difficult for most wrestlers to deal with.

Dean Ambrose is one wrestler to feel the wrath of Brock’s attitude. The body of work from Ambrose made him among the most respected wrestlers on the roster by his peers and management. That meant absolutely nothing to Lesnar heading into their attraction match at WrestleMania 32. Brock shut down many of Ambrose’s ideas and had no interest in doing too much which led to a disappointing match.

Ambrose blasted Lesnar in interviews for being lazy and not caring about the product. It was obvious that Ambrose represented many of the full-time stars in this situation. However, Brock clearly doesn’t care for Dean either. Lesnar reportedly became more selective in his choosing of opponents following the experience with Ambrose. The main reason Goldberg defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series was due to Brock wanting a WrestleMania rematch with him rather than working with a full-time wrestler after the experience with Ambrose.