The 90s presented some of the most amazing wrestling memories for fans. Between WWE and WCW competing in the Monday Night Wars and the large number of massive superstars in the industry at the time, fans still talk about the stories from the 90s today. The business was more controversial than it is right now as the wrestlers were more ruthless in trying to stab each other in the back. Two major promotions and a third relevant one like ECW also allowed wrestlers to jump ship between promotions more frequently. It led to shocking rumors and reports coming out in the open back then and in the years following since wrestlers tell everything in podcasts today.

We will look at both positive and negative rumors in terms of our reaction to them. Many of the reports were terrible things that fans are hoping were not true. These rumors could make us look at things differently. On the flip side, there are quite a few reports that would be considered a cool thing looking back at them. These are the ones that we hope turn out to be true for various reasons. Find out why each way with eight wrestling rumors from the 90s we hope are NOT true along with another eight that we do hope were accurate.

16 Hopefully false: Bret Hart & Sunny

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Bret Hart was one of the purest white meat babyfaces in WWE during the 90s. The rise from a tag team wrestler to a great mid-card performer to the WWE Champion was a cool story to watch unfold. Hart truly worked his way to the top and didn’t receive a break thanks to his look like many WWE stars before him. Vince McMahon loved that he could trust Hart to represent the company well.

The one scandal of Bret’s WWE run came thanks to his personal rivalry with Shawn Michaels. Both guys were very similar in terms of their in-ring work giving them a chance in the main event picture. However, they struggled to get along following their on-screen rivalry leading to backstage issues. Hart and Michaels hated each other, and we saw it when they exchanged personal insults on the microphone. Michaels accused Bret of having a relationship with fellow WWE star Tammy “Sunny” Sytch during a promo.

It led to them having a backstage fight as Hart believed HBK crossed the line.

Both Bret and Sunny each shut down the rumors of ever having a fling. We hope this rumor was fake as Hart was portrayed as a good guy on and off television.

15 Please be true: Sting and Bret Hart were considered as third member of the New World Order

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Another interesting rumor involving Bret Hart factored into the beginning of the New World Order. WCW found magic when signing Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to plant the seeds for a hostile takeover. Both former WWE stars implied they were there to start a war between WWE and WCW since fans still believed they were part of WWE. The biggest mystery in wrestling was who would be the mystery third man to join them in the nWo.

Hulk Hogan was obviously revealed as the third man and it was the perfect choice. Fans couldn’t believe Hogan was a villain after over a decade as the most beloved person in the wrestling industry. The success of the nWo allowed WCW to surpass WWE and truly start the Monday Night Wars which benefited everyone. However, Hogan and Eric Bischoff each admitted he was unsure about the heel turn and there were other potential options.

Hart was reportedly contacted as a free agent to make the jump to WCW as the mystery man.

It would have further added to the dynamic of all WWE stars invading WCW. The other rumor was that Sting would have turned heel after being a face in WCW for his entire run. Hogan was the best choice, but both Sting and Bret would have been good alternatives. If true, it shows that WCW had great vision for the origins of the nWo either way.

14 Hopefully false: Eric Bischoff only signed Ultimate Warrior for Hulk Hogan to get win back

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WCW ultimately went out of business due to wasting too much money. Eric Bischoff continued to use Ted Turner’s checkbook to offer ridiculous contracts in securing free agents. Many of them worked out great like adding Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to get people talking. Even the smaller signings of Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho introduced new international stars.

Unfortunately, many of Bischoff’s moves sunk the company when the momentum ended. WCW started bleeding money in 1999 leading to a change in management. The company would never recover, and the continuous loss of money led to Vince McMahon purchasing the brand and library at a steal.

One poor signing that stands out features Ultimate Warrior joining WCW for a handful of appearances at seven figures.

The massive pay for Warrior was not warranted as his big pay off against Hulk Hogan resulted in one of the worst matches of all-time. There have been rumors that Bischoff only signed Warrior for Hogan’s ego. The speculation is that Hogan wanted to get his win back after Warrior defeated him in WWE. Considering Warrior did nothing after losing to Hogan, it could be true. We are hoping it’s false as it’s such a trivial reason to contribute to the death of a once booming company.

13 Please be true: Brian Pillman tricked Eric Bischoff into releasing him

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A more amusing tale about Eric Bischoff featured someone else getting the better of him. Brian Pillman was considered among the best in-ring performers in North America in the mid-90s. WCW signed him after his NFL career, and he truly invested into the industry by improving at his craft. Pillman had classic matches against legendary Japanese star Jushin Thunder Liger during the mid-90s.

The popularity of Pillman started to hit another level when he began portraying an unpredictable character. A mix of shoot promos and unpredictable actions startling the other people on the show made fans buy into it. Pillman left WCW in controversial fashion when stopping mid-match against Kevin Sullivan and walking out to lose a loser leaves town match.

Rumors are that Pillman and Eric Bischoff worked a deal that he would leave the company, work in ECW to sell the angle and return to WCW. However, Pillman legitimately got Bischoff to release him from his WCW contract to make it look real. Instead of returning to WCW, Pillman signed the first ever guaranteed contract in WWE history. Bischoff was known for firing wrestlers with zero remorse like Steve Austin and Sean Waltman. A wrestler like Pillman getting one up on him and making more money for it would be a cool and entertaining story.

12 Hopefully false: Randy Savage locked Elizabeth inside home when he was on the road

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One of the most alarming rumors is a negative one about the “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Many fans of all eras would have Savage on their Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. Savage had the personality, in-ring skills, believability and a unique flair for the pageantry of the business. The reputation of Savage was generally positive until one story made its way out about him.

It was rumored that Savage was overprotective of his then wife Miss Elizabeth to dangerous lengths. Hulk Hogan and his ex-wife Linda Hogan each claimed that Savage would lock Elizabeth in his home before he went on tours to prevent her from leaving the house without him. The relationship was described as volatile considering Savage didn’t like Elizabeth even speaking to other men, which caused his rift with Hogan according to the story.

Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo and a couple of other wrestlers refuted the story claiming Hogan was lying to make himself look good. We can only hope the story was false as anyone going to such lengths likely needed help. Savage and Elizabeth had the dream relationship on television, but their living situation may have been a nightmare if this rumor was indeed true.

11 Please be true: The Undertaker and Sable on-air relationship plans

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A potential scripted relationship that could have been a lot of fun was rumored to be close to happening. The Undertaker was one of the most mysterious characters in the wrestling history. However, the dawn of the Attitude Era meant he had to change things up or get left behind with the other outdated characters from the early 90s.

One idea was pitched to have Taker fall in love with one of the ladies on the roster and bring her to the dark side with him.

Vince Russo was a huge fan of Sable and badly wanted her to become part of a main event angle. This led to the discussion of Undertaker and Sable being a romantic pair moving forward to improve the standing of both performers. There was even an article about them being together in WWE Magazine.

However, the reported plans were canceled due to Undertaker’s wife Sara not being down with it. The reason for hoping this rumor is true would be for two reasons. It shows WWE was not afraid to think outside of the box when it came to Undertaker’s character. Vince McMahon respecting Undertaker’s wishes for a personal storyline is also a good thing as it shows he respected a longtime employee’s comfort.

10 Hopefully false: Tommy Dreamer wanted risky ECW angle

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ECW was another important factor to the wrestling industry in the 90s. Paul Heyman wanted to create an alternative to the two companies on national television. There was a demographic tired of the cookie cutter wrestlers they saw on WWE and WCW programming. Heyman found a ragtag group of wrestlers to be used poorly in the bigger promotions or that were young enough to have the desire to do the most with their opportunity.

Tommy Dreamer emerged as one of the faces of ECW. While he wasn’t as naturally talented as Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm or some of the other top stars for the promotion, his heart won over the fans. Dreamer took some of the most dangerous risks and didn’t seem to have desire to ever leave ECW. It made the loyal fan base adore him for his commitment.

However, a rumor indicates Dreamer almost went too far. There’s a belief that Dreamer pitched an idea for another wrestler to use a weapon and fire at him in the ring. Dreamer wanted the rival to injure a body part that would be manageable to recover from. If true, Dreamer clearly loved ECW too much. Thankfully it never happened as it would have been among the worst moments in wrestling history.

9 Please be true: Lex Luger's arrogance cost him WWE Championship reign

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The career of Lex Luger saw him receive many opportunities his peers would have done anything to get. Luger had a great look for a professional wrestler in the 90s with a chiseled physique. WCW made him a star in the early 90s after his friendship with Sting landed him the job. Luger ended up moving to WWE with a lot of major plans for his future.

The biggest plan came from Vince McMahon when Hulk Hogan left the company in 1993. McMahon badly needed a new top star and wanted to make Luger the heir apparent to Hogan. Luger received a patriotic gimmick as he traveled on the Lex Express bus attempting to win over fans. A long feud with Yokozuna was meant to be the newer version of Hogan vs. Andre to elevate Luger to the next level. It is reported that Luger was planned to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania X in his title shot against Yokozuna.

The story goes that Luger was arrogantly bragging to people at a bar about the big win coming his way.

WWE management was rumored to change the plans for Bret Hart to win the title instead after this. Luger had the reputation of being a jerk backstage to the other wrestlers, which meant this would have been karma hitting him back.

8 Hopefully false: WCW refused to let DX in the building during invasion

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One of the most iconic moments of the Monday Night Wars featured D-Generation X invading WCW Nitro. Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and Chyna all showed up outside of a Nitro show on a tank wearing camo outfits. It was a humorous attempt to create interest with the next shot in the war between WWE and WCW. DX was the perfect group to invade and deliver this level of comedy.

WWE has discussed this segment in detail many times through the years when looking at the biggest moments from the Monday Night Wars. Triple H and Bruce Prichard each claimed that WCW shut the doors when they tried to go inside. Eric Bischoff was livid and didn’t want to give them any attempts of making this skit even more popular than it would be.

Triple H and crew broke the rule set by Vince McMahon when they tried to get inside the venue. Their hope was to show up on the Nitro telecast to deliver more interest for WWE. If it happened, this could have been must-see television. WCW being the ones to prevent it just seems foolish in retrospect as their show would have benefited ratings wise that night with WWE fans tuning in.

7 Please be true: Vince Russo was WWE plant sent to destroy WCW

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Vince Russo is a name remembered for all the wrong reasons in wrestling. The current life of Russo sees him making insensitive comments for attention with his podcast. Cody Rhodes even blacklisted him from the All In weekend convention for making terrible comments. Russo however saw his worst moments come when he made the jump from WWE to WCW in the Monday Night Wars.

The reputation of Russo was successful during his time in WWE as the head writer on the creative team for Raw in the mid to late 90s. Russo received a fat contract offer to join WCW in 1999. The status of WCW was going downhill with the company bleeding money. Russo joined WCW as the savior considering how much credit he took for WCW’s ratings.

However, the ideas of Russo sunk the company lower than ever with some of the most ridiculous storylines you’ll ever find. A lack of common sense was used and goofy gimmicks like various items on a pole would dominate the match stipulations. Russo was so bad that a theory floated around that Vince McMahon paid Russo to go to WCW and kill them. This being true would be a good thing for Russo as no one should be that bad enough without it being on purpose.

6 Hopefully false: Ric Flair sabotaged Scott Steiner

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Ric Flair is one of the most respected wrestlers in the industry for his talented in-ring work and microphone skills. Fans and peers view him as an all-time great for all his accolades in the wrestling industry. However, there have been a few negative stories about Flair from wrestlers to see his bad side. Scott Steiner has been one of the most vocal enemies of Flair over the past two decades.

The interviews from Steiner today will still see him go out of his way to trash Flair for being a rotten person. Despite being a bit of a loose cannon, Steiner seems to have a point. The beef started in the early 90s when the two worked together in a singles feud. It was supposed to be the start of a huge singles push for Scott breaking away from the tag team with his brother.

The match was a disappointment with Steiner’s push ending right there.

Steiner believed Flair sabotaged him in fear of losing his spot to a promising young talent. Other wrestlers like Lance Storm with no bias claimed they agree with Steiner after watching it back. For fans of the industry, we would love to believe this rumor is false as Flair sabotaging anyone’s career should negatively impact his legacy.

5 Please be true: Jerry Lawler actually loved ECW

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An underrated rivalry from the 90s featured Jerry Lawler feuding with ECW. It was a great feud as fans genuinely believed he despised everything the small promotion stood for. Despite being a member of the WWE roster as a color commentator, Lawler worked out a deal to appear at ECW events to wrestle. Considering WWE rarely used Lawler as an in-ring talent and McMahon wanted a working relationship with ECW, Lawler was able to oppose many of their top stars.

Rob Van Dam and Sabu joined Lawler as the top heels in ECW feuding with many of the company’s most popular names like Tommy Dreamer, Taz and The Sandman. Lawler worked a few matches against ECW talent in what was considered major shows for the promotion. The intensity and arrogance of Lawler came off as genuine to make fans buy into it.

A couple of former ECW stars claimed that Lawler was actually friendly backstage and happy to wrestle there.

The rumor that Lawler secretly liked ECW is one he worked hard to protect if true. Lawler even ripped ECW in documentaries about the promotion under WWE’s production. The rebirth of ECW in 2006 saw him lose to Tazz getting more mileage of the 90s angle. It would be cool to believe this rumor as it would show Lawler as having an open mind in wrestling and being a great performer to make us believe he hated ECW.

4 Hopefully false: The Montreal Screwjob was a work

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The Montreal Screwjob remains among the most controversial incidents in wrestling history. Bret Hart was lied to about the finish of his final match in WWE against Shawn Michaels. Despite doing WWE the favor of letting them end his 20 year contract in the first year, Vince McMahon still decided to stab Hart in the back by not alerting him of the finish that would go down with the referee ringing the bell to give Michaels the victory.

This is at least what we believe as there are other theories out there that the Montreal Screwjob was a huge plan by all involved. The rumor is that McMahon, Hart and Michaels all secretly worked together to pull this off. Hart would go to WCW with a load of momentum, Michaels would be the top heel in the company and McMahon could use it to become an evil authority figure character.

Aside from WCW using Hart poorly, it did lead to a lot of success for all involved. Hart made millions in WCW and WWE benefited greatly from McMahon becoming a hated character. Fans would like to believe the rumor was false and the Montreal Screwjob was real given the anger expressed by Bret. Anyone going that overboard for a work would be unhealthy.

3 Please be true: Randy Savage gave Hulk Hogan a black eye before WM IX

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This may be a petty rumor to root for, but Hulk Hogan has been a jerk to many people in the wrestling industry. The star power of Hogan allowed him to be above his peers with a lot of special perks. One of the perks saw him have influence over the careers of other wrestlers in WWE and WCW. Many wrestlers spoke out about Hogan being a horrible person to deal with and even hurting their careers.

Randy Savage was someone that had a love/hate relationship with Hogan in both promotions. There were times when they were best friends that pitched to work together in tag teams on screen in addition to spending time together on off days. Other instances featured them being enemies and reaching near fights in the locker room.

A rumor started that Savage lost his cool and punched Hogan in the face ahead of WrestleMania IX. This was the night Hogan sported a black eye that he claimed came from a jet ski accident. Violence usually shouldn’t be condoned, but one of the wrestlers stepping up to give Hogan a form of revenge for his terrible actions would be a fun story to believe. This rumor is one many fans and wrestlers want to believe.

2 Hopefully false: Eric Bischoff bragged to WCW locker room about ruining Ric Flair's life

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Eric Bischoff is arguably the most controversial figure from the Monday Night Wars. Many of his questionable tactics led to WCW becoming a powerhouse and overtaking WWE. It would be difficult to envision a scenario with it happening under any of the other people that were in control of WCW at other times. However, the ego and poor judgment of Bischoff are also what sank the company to the point of no return.

One of the more heinous acts from Bischoff was that he allegedly was trying to ruin Ric Flair’s life.

Despite being the face of WCW for many years, Flair was treated with minimal respect by the boss. They butt heads on numerous occasions and Bischoff tried to fire Flair for attending his son’s amateur wrestling tournament instead of showing up to Nitro.

Konnan, Raven and a few other wrestlers from the time revealed that Bischoff used to have meetings in front of the boys bragging about how he was going to make Flair a poor man. It made the locker room turn against him according to these stories. Bischoff has denied the rumors of having such egregious actions, but multiple stories from others would say otherwise. We’d like to believe this didn’t happen as there’s no defending Bischoff for sinking that low.

1 Please be true: The Undertaker demanded Shawn Michaels lose to Steve Austin

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The Undertaker has a legendary reputation not only for his work on-screen but for his status in the locker room. During the controversial time periods of the Attitude Era and the Ruthless Aggression Era, Undertaker was the person that often stepped in to give warnings to wrestlers potentially in trouble. Whenever things got out of control, Undertaker made sure to make his voice heard due to his tenure and status in the company.

There is one iconic rumor about him making sure another wrestler respected the locker room. Shawn Michaels was a huge diva backstage at the time. Almost everyone hated him outside of his friends in the Kliq. Michaels “lost his smile” and had a ridiculous fake retirement to avoid losing a rematch to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. The rumor goes that he was going to do the same thing again.

Michaels reportedly was going to refuse to drop the WWE Championship to Steve Austin in the main event of WrestleMania XIV.

The Undertaker apparently cornered him in the locker room and threatened him into doing the right thing. Michaels respected Taker and feared a beating if he pulled this act again. Austin beat Michaels as planned and went on to become the biggest star in WWE history. This story only adds to the legacy of The Undertaker and that’s why we hope it’s true.