10 Backstage WWE Feuds That Changed Everything

There are no shortage of articles and pieces dedicated to the bad blood between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels (cheap plug: we even published a book about it). Suffice to say that both talented stars broke out at the same time, but Michaels's bad behavior during the mid 1990s ingratiated him to nobody but his friends - and least of all Hart.

Things were their worst in 1997. Michaels, citing a knee injury, vacated the WWE Championship rather than drop the belt to Hart at WrestleMania, and soon afterwards, the two got into a fistfight backstage at Raw - brought on by Michaels alluding to Hart having an extramarital affair on camera. Hart got the better of the exchange and Michaels was suspended.

When he came back, the tension was still there. Hart, however, was leaving for WCW, though he had promised Vince McMahon he'd drop the WWE Championship beforehand - just not to Michaels in Canada. Hart had a creative control clause in his contract so he was justified in making such demands. Vince agreed, saying Hart would still defend the title against HBK at Survivor Series in Montreal, and then he could leave the company as champion.

It was all a double cross, as referee Earl Hebner called for the bell when Michaels had Hart in the Sharpshooter, wrongly saying Hart had tapped out. Backstage, Michaels feigned innocence in front of a furious Hart, telling him he would not accept the championship. That, too, was a lie.

WWE morale was at an all-time low as employees realized that even the most loyal among them couldn't trust their boss. Meanwhile, WCW stood to acquire a man who could lay claim to being the legitimate WWE Champion. There were many twists and turns in the ensuing wrestling war, but things had been changed forever.