8 Wrestlers You Didn't Know HATE Each Other For Real
For when the works become shoots between the workers and the shooters
Bret Hart doesn't care for Bill Goldberg.
A rivalry borne out of some extremely serious circumstances has - like so many other things that were once meaningful - become a meme at this point, but had social media not had such fun with Hart's historic distaste for 'Da Man', the issue probably would have remained earnest. To recap; 'The Hitman' values safe work over just about everything else, and an errant boot and failing to correctly work the ring-post figure four leg lock resulted in the concussions that ended his career. No laughing matter, regardless of how much the anger is trotted out for fun, often by Bret himself presumably to make some light of a dark situation.
The ill feeling - even if somewhat ironic - has held firm though, resulting in a long-lasting dislike that will probably outlive the pair of them. A shame in some respects, understandable in others, but at very least a sour taste that isn't without merit beyond a simple miscommunication.
It being pro wrestling, some are much sillier than that. That hatred can exist over long periods between folk that have otherwise placed ultimate trust in one another is a shame, but is a disappointing (and sometimes, darkly amusing_) reality of the industry. It's worth noting too that many of the below beefs have been squashed, or at very least ended with a hug or a handshake down the road such is the transient life of the professional wrestler.
Many, but not all...
8. The Undertaker & Hulk Hogan
In the wake of Terry Bollea's passing, conversation moved to the all-too-familiar tone of how easy it was to separate the art from the artist and all that trite language, when really it was rooted in deciding how much the man's racism counted against Hulk Hogan's on-screen legacy.
Had Bollea's bigoted views not been made public, his death might have included instead a bit more discussion on his outrageous falsehoods - one of which was whispered directly to The Undertaker at the climax of the latter's biggest moment. It created a rift that was never truly healed, and extended to a match a decade later that did nothing to bring the disparate figures closer together.
From the mouth of 'The Deadman' himself, Hogan said "You got me there, brother" almost immediately after 'Taker had delivered one of the safest looking Tombstones in history to win the WWE Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series. It being wrestling, the work allegedly made it backstage, with Hogan loudly gesturing for people to call his family and let him know he was okay.
A farcical lie and set of circumstances, then, and one that repeated itself somewhat when the pair of them made an absolute mess of their Judgment Day 2002 rematch. From build to contest, the whole thing was a business-exposing sham with failing bodies that highlighted the decade's rigours, and badly constructed bells and whistles to boot.
As recently as 2025, 'The Deadman' was asked if he felt bad for Hogan getting booed out of the building during the Raw Is Netflix special at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, He deadpanned a "No", and can be found using Hogan's 1991 words against him in gags at 'The Hulkster's expense.