10 Secret Times Wrestling TV Mirrored Real Life

5. Bret Vs Shawn

Corey Graves Carmella Big Cass
WWE.com

A needless contrast when you really just can enjoy the best of both (though, IYKYK), fans of either or both Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels can at least agree on two things - none of their peers could match them between the ropes, and neither drew the money their work deserved in the 1990s.

Luckily, sort of, competitive jealousy and personal pride were worth far more to both men at the time and by the time 'The Hitman' returned from his 1996 sabbatical, the very real rift was becoming too obvious to obscure.

Equal parts canny and carny, Vince McMahon thought the best way for them to get it all out of their system was to do it on air and lay the groundwork for a mammoth main event the company would have to get to sooner or later. Countless episodes of Raw from late-1996 through to mid-1997 were filled with furious back-and-forth's between the two. Often, the staged pro wrestling violence wasn't half as ugly as the near-the-knuckle verbiage that triggered the aggro.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett