10 Toxic Real-Life Wrestling Relationships
6. Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels
An acidic relationship that almost saw WWE eat itself under the pressure of their tension, the complete personal and professional breakdown between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart robbed both men of a harmonious working relationship, and the wider wrestling audience of a match befitting their incredible talents.
Though their Survivor Series '97 match has merit and their divisive WrestleMania XII Iron Man match is a spectacular athletic pursuit, they were never on the same page long enough to enter into a programme with one another that would actually spin off into a blow-off match.
Vince McMahon cannily channelled their deep-rooted hatred for one another via months of corrosive microphone wars from late-1996 through to mid-1997, but the intended matches never materialised due to their injuries and sustained detestation.
The promos only served to raise the stakes, with both men repeatedly flying too close to the sun before Shawn burned up completely with his 'Sunny Days' remark.
Their famous reconciliation on the 4 January 2010 edition of Monday Night Raw remains one of the more profound segments for fans of a certain age, with decades of disdain washed away thanks to time healing most wounds, but it remains regretful that such hatred even existed in the first place.