10 Times WWE Wrestlers Went Into Business For Themselves

Because it's all about the Game and how you play it.

Curtis Axel Triple H
WWE.com

The professional wrestling industry is a business notable for its cutthroat attitude and its dog-eat-day ways.

When looking at any top star of any WWE era, chances are they've had to step over other talents in order to a) make it to the top, and b) stay at the top - and, of course, some have been more selfish, egomaniacal and downright childish than others in their quest to be the company's biggest name.

In this industry, it's so often been the case that the term "going into business for themselves" is hugely applicable, with many wrestlers doing their utmost to succeed in getting their own desired outcome of a situation.

Going into business for ones self is something that can be done in several different ways, mind.

There's the more physical way of ensuring you get what you want, turning a worked match into somewhat of a shoot by imposing your will and getting what you want. Then there's the political approach of getting into the ear of Vincent Kennedy McMahon and swaying the WWE Chairman's mind. There's also simply refusing to allow someone else to have the spotlight, as you do your best to hog the limelight as much as possible, brother.

Here, then, are ten such examples of times the WWE landscape saw a talent outright do their damndest to simply do what's best for themselves, regardless of the greater, bigger picture.

10. René Duprée Pays Hardcore Holly's Speeding Fine The Hard Way

Curtis Axel Triple H
WWE

Hardcore Holly is known as one of the toughest wrestlers of his generation, with the former Thurman 'Sparky' Plugg more than happy to speak his mind and throw his fists when he deemed a situation needed it.

There are countless stories of Holly getting extremely physical over the years, and Bob's phenomenal The Hardcore Truth autobiography details countless bar fights, brawls and uber-stiff wrestling matches or training sessions.

For René Duprée, he found himself on the wrong end of a pissed off Hardcore Holly during a 2004 house show in Syracuse, New York.

There, Duprée was teaming with Kenzo Suzuki against Holly and Charlie Haas. Unfortunately for René, he was legitimately punched, kicked, choked, thrown around and then clattered in the head with a steel chair by the miffed Hardcore - to the point that the French-Canadian exited the match and ran to the back!

Why had Hardcore Holly gone into business for himself here by brutalising René Duprée? Why, that was because Duprée had borrowed Bob's rental car, picked up a speeding ticket, didn't tell Holly, then outright denied he had anything to do with it.

So, when the chance arose, Bob Holly took his opportunity to unleash his own brand of justice on René Duprée. And if reports are to be believe, Holly was find as much as $10,000 for an assault that left Duprée with a bruised and battered face.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.