Neil Sedaka wasn’t lying when he sang “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” His song perfectly captures that crappy time we all go through in life. There’s hundreds of different ways it can happen. You can get a text, phone call, Twitter DM, or the Millennials favorite: ghosting! I myself prefer the face to face method with some sort of alcoholic beverage in hand.
Ripping off that love Band-Aid is complicated, especially when it’s between muscular dudes wearing nothing but briefs. Breakups in pro wrestling are extremely violent, and also emotional for fans having to witness favorites turn on one another.
For months we’ve been harping about how much we love the tandem of BFFs Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. As amazing as their comedic pairing has been, we knew it also came with an expiration date. Appropriately enough that day was February 13, 2017, the day before Valentine’s Day. During their “Festival of Friendship” on Raw, Chris Jericho gifted Kevin Owens several presents, and Owens in turn kicked the crap out of Jericho. Nothing says “it’s over” like getting tossed into a TV screen.
This new feud will likely be settled at WrestleMania 33 this year. But while the wound is still fresh, we take a look at the 7 worst break-ups in WWE history. Hop to the next page to mourn relationships lost.
Shawn Michaels Turns Into The Sexy Boy
Even as a kid, I knew the nasty split I had just witnessed was a WTF just happened moment. The greatest single segment in the history of “The Barber Shop” (hosted by Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake) was the breakup of The Rockers. If you listen closely to the video, you’ll hear kids crying and women shrieking at the sight of Marty Jannetty’s body hanging through the busted window. Moments earlier Marty was sent crashing through the glass window by his former tag team partner, Shawn Michaels.
The team was on the rocks for weeks leading up to their appearance on “The Barber Shop.” What was supposed to a reconciliation moment turned into Shawn’s transformation into “The Heartbreak Kid,” using what would be known as his trademark “Sweet Chin Music” (a super-kick to the face) to end the longtime partnership. HBK went on to become a legend, while poor Marty never recovered from the split, which happens in some breakups!
Seth Rollins Turns on His Brothers-In-Arms
Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta spelled out The Shield and was the first thing fans heard every time they made their way to the ring. June 2, 2014 was the last time those words rang through an arena as Seth Rollins turned his back on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns by attacking both with a steel chair. In wrestling, using a steel chair to end things is the equivalent of a getting a breakup text in our daily lives. It happens.
Rollins “sold his soul” as they put it, by joining forces with Triple H and becoming The Authority’s chosen one, resulting in championships and the top spot on the roster. Everyone knew all three guys in The Shield were going to be top singles wrestlers, but having the faction dissolve in that fashion was painful for fans. The group still had some time left in their run, and we never got the dream WrestleMania match between them and The Wyatt Family.
Thumbs Down Randy
In WWE, Triple H and breakups/betrayals go hand in hand. The man can’t be trusted yet he’s constantly buddying up to other wrestlers, forming teams like DX and in this case, Evolution. A carbon copy of The Four Horsemen, Evolution was a heel stable that consisted of Triple H, Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton. The team was meant to represent the past, present and future of wrestling but Hunter always had to be the top dog in order for the group to work. That all changed in 2004, when at SummerSlam, Randy Orton became the Heavyweight Champion.
Triple H couldn’t let the youngest member of the group outshine him, so the next night on RAW, he promptly attacked and destroyed his protégé. The classic moment had Batista hoisting Randy on his shoulders after a victorious title defense, with HHH turning a thumbs up to a thumbs down.
The Mega Powers Explode
This is the type of love triangle drama that’s perfectly suited for daytime trash TV like Jerry Springer or Maury!
We just talked about this legendary split. When people bring up wrestling and breakups, at the top of the list is this meltdown between Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Miss Elizabeth was the woman stuck in the middle between these two jacked up egomaniacs. “Those eyes right there!” is what Randy yelled at Hulk, accusing him of wanting Miss Elizabeth. He then naturally attacked Hogan and threw around Elizabeth, showing everyone the meaning behind the “Madness.” Thankfully, there was enough baby oil to coat these goliaths down for their match at WrestleMania 5.
No Hart to Hart Here
Dating back to Cain and Abel, brothers fighting brothers has been a staple in humanity. It doesn’t matter what sets off the argument, as we all know that the resulting feud can be downright nasty and painful for both sides. The Hart family is no different as we saw first-hand how jealously and resentment can manifest itself into a great wrestling rivalry.
Big brother Bret “The Hitman” Hart was the popular one, winning championships while little brother Owen Hart, got lost in his shadow. That bitterness from Owen lead to him turning on his brother, as both spent pretty much 1993 and 1994 battling each other all over the world and in various pay-per-views. The brothers were voted “Feud of the Year” in 1994 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. I wonder if their mother stuck that on the refrigerator door?
Strike Force No More
Man, we’re really going way back with this pick from the 1980s. You have to be a true wrestling nerd to even remember this tag team. The team was good but the name was even better, sounding like an ‘80s action movie.
Here’s the cliff notes: back in 1987 Tito Santana and Rick Martel - two clean cut babyfaces - teamed up to form Strike Force. The team was all about high fives and good wrestling, as they competed against the likes of The Brain Busters and Demolition. In 1987, the duo beat The Hart Foundation for the Tag Team Championships, until later dropping the belts to Demolition at WrestleMania IV.
Martel ended up turning his back and leaving Tito, to become “The Model” Rick Martel, an arrogant great heel that had a great singles career.
Good Friends, Better Enemies
They don’t call him “The Heartbreak Kid” for nothing. Not only did Shawn have a bad split with Marty Jannetty but he had a several separations with fellow Kliq member Kevin Nash aka Diesel.
Before DX or the NWO, Michaels and Diesel were part of the foundation by which the Attitude Era would spring from. Big Daddy Cool started out as the bodyguard to Shawn, saving HBK’s ass when his mouth would get him into trouble. The “Two Dudes with Attitudes” won titles and fame in the mid-90s. When Nash’s time came and he leapfrogged Shawn to win the World Championship, that didn’t sit well with HBK. They proceed to fight over the title throughout 1995, including headlining WrestleMania 11.
The buddies would makeup and breakup several more times over the years, very much like those toxic relationships we all just can’t seem to shake.
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