10 Most Shocking Wrestling Betrayals

6. The Hardy Boyz Split (Again)

kevin owens chris jericho
WWE

At Royal Rumble 2009, with little in the way of foreshadowing, Matt Hardy turned on brother Jeff towards the climax of his WWE Championship loss at the expense of Edge. It was classic bait and switch stuff; Matt feigned to help Jeff before cracking him over the head with a steel chair.

More so than many of the entries on this list, it was truly shocking - in part because the angle was an eleventh hour replacement for the originally scheduled finish. The returning Christian was first slated to interfere on his brother's behalf before Vince McMahon caught wind of the fact that the internet had caught wind of the rumour. Christian instead returned to the ECW brand, with nowhere near as much fanfare. McMahon proceeded to change course for the sake of it

That, or he simply remembered how much he forgot the very sight of Christian's face.

Moreover, the hatred between Matt and Edge was still very real. They had done business together, in the worked shoot aftermath of Edge's affair with Lita, but relations were never the same. Even if indirectly, this wrinkle helped compensate for how sudden the development was. Matt must have hated Jeff, if he was willing to help his nemesis defeat him.

It just about worked.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!