5 WWE Storylines That Had Real-Life Implications

5 WWE Storylines That Had Real-Life Implications

 

I get it.

 

Wrestling isn't real (nether is Star Wars but let's move on).

 

Wrestling is built on storylines that are often centred around the babyface (good guy) vs heel (bad guy) idea, in order to provide the audience with the best form of 'sports entertainment' possible. However, sometimes a feud between two Wrestlers can become real due to the Wrestlers' personal feelings to each other or events outside the ring. In this list, I will be outlining five WWE storylines that had real-life implications during their duration.

 

 

5. CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy (2009)

In 2009, CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy was the best feud in WWE, with spectacular matches on PPV late in the year. This is how WWE would like you to remember the feud as the feud between the two was very real indeed. Aside from the World Heavyweight Championship, the feud was focused around the contrast between Punk's straight-edge lifestyle and Hardy's living-in-the-moment lifestyle. Punk at one pint told Hardy that he knows a thing or two about narcotises, just that Hardy doesn't know that he has to go to a Doctor to get them. A week after leaving WWE to apparently leave to heal up, Hardy was arrested for attempting to ship illegal drugs.

 

But definitely just remember the PPV's, as WWE want you to.  

4.Matt Hardy vs Edge (2005)

When you talk about blurring the lines between fiction and reality, look no further than the Matt Hardy vs Edge feud. During Hardy's injury from WWE in late 2004 to early 2005, girlfriend Lita started to spend more time with Hardy's real-life friend Edge. Hardy sounded off on the two online and was subsequently fired. However, fan demand saw Hardy resigned to WWE, attack Edge in a work invasion of RAW and go on to have a reasonable feud with his former best-friend. This is still one of my favourite feuds, not just because it was one of the first I was invented in.   

3. End of an Era (2012)

When the Undertaker returned and challenged Triple H to a match at Wrestlemania 28 for a rematch of their bout at Wrestlemania 27, Triple H rejected as he had he would have to finish the Deadman. Taker then said that Triple H couldn't do what his best-friend Shawn Michaels couldn't do because Shawn was always better than Hunter (much is massively true). Tripe H accepted and with HBK as the guest referee, it was an emotional rollercoaster. What makes it even better fans was that the three men had amazing respect for one and other and this showed as the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak continued to 20-0. The final shot of the three at the top of the ramp is an iconic picture and has got to be one of the WWE's favourite ever photos.

2. Summer of Punk (2011)

This storyline takes place in the late part of 2011 when CM Punk pushed himself into the main event scene as he cut a viciously honest promo in Vegas, won the WWE Championship at the second annual Money In The Bank (in his hometown of Chicago) and left the WWE (for eight days). The rest of the storyline was absolute rubbish, with Punk losing on three consecutive pay-per-views, but what makes this storyline so memorable is the real nature of Punk's promos, discussing Kevin Nash's return as WWE continuing the status quo, the fact that Cena was always favoured as the good guy and how he was subbed for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson for the Wrestlemania 28 main event. For me, there isn't a more honest portrayal of a Wrestler's frustration and as Punk said himself, it was six years of pent-up anger in the making.   

1. The Montreal Screw-Job (1997)
It's the most famous Survivor Series moment all-time, where Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon and various others screwed Bret Hart out of the WWE championship before he left for arch-rivals WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Bret had stressed that he wasn't going to drop the belt in Canada but unfortunately for Bret, he forgot that Vince McMahon rules all in WWE and will therefore crash anyone's momentum if he has to. Add into the mix that Bret hated Shawn Michaels for his backstage political antics, which I can't blame him for to be honest, and you have the number one Wrestling storyline that had the realist implications and shocking aftermath.