10 WWE Battles With Fascinating Backstories
Sometimes truth is far stranger (or more interesting) than fiction...
Standing proudly with the WWF Heavyweight Title in his grasp, Yokozuna had defeated the 'Immortal' Hulk Hogan at the first ever King Of The Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Also on that show, Bret Hart won the titular tournament itself, overshadowing Yoko's achievements in the process. Things could have been very different.
According to Hart, Hogan was uninterested in working a Summer programme against him for the belt. Feeling the Canadian was too small, Hulk played Vince McMahon, changing the mind of the boss, who felt that the days of 'Hulkamania' were over. As a smaller athlete, Hart had come into his own, but he suddenly found himself in the main event wasteland.
That gripping backstory directly led to Yokozuna vs. Hogan at the King Of The Ring, and it's not an isolated case in WWF/WWE history.
Backstage disagreements, very real (and genuinely frightening) health problems, politics hidden from the fans and even betrayals of love and trust have contributed to making the matches listed here truly fascinating.
Let's examine 10 different matches with backstories often more dramatic than any on screen storylines wrestling writers could come up with...
10. Batista Vs. King Booker (SummerSlam 2006)
On the surface, a battle for the World Heavyweight Title between Booker T and Batista in 2006 would be considered nothing more than a match featuring two of SmackDown's biggest ever stars. Although things had cooled a little by the time SummerSlam came around, the match came about with some tension behind the scenes.
In May of the same year, Batista and Booker attended a WWE photo shoot. The aim of the session was to hype up the impending SummerSlam clash. Things didn't go well, as Batista disrespected his peer by completely ignoring him, something that irked the veteran Booker.
As a locker room leader, he was keenly aware of the importance of respect in the industry, and felt slighted by Batista's arrogance. A short, bloody brawl broke out, with Booker reportedly gaining the upper hand over 'The Animal'.
By the time SummerSlam rolled around, things were more amicable between the pair, but it's nonetheless true that promotion for the title bout had involved a much more violent fight than fans who ordered the pay-per-view would witness.