10 Wrestling "Shoots" That Were Total Works

One of the most interesting storylines of 2005 had a very real genesis. Shortly after WrestleMania 21, Matt Hardy took all of the photos of his longtime girlfriend, Lita, off his personal website. When fans asked why, he simply replied, "Ask Edge."

Soon, it was revealed that Lita had an affair with Edge, who had been Hardy's close friend. Fans everywhere were clued in on what had happened, and WWE let the hatred of Edge add to his emergence as a top-level heel. As for Hardy, though, the office didn't look favorably upon his sharing of dirty laundry, and he was fired.

Fans couldn't believe how Hardy had been treated, and they began chanting for him at shows. The former World Tag Team Champion started competing on the indies, but WWE realized that there was money to be made in bringing him back. Hardy re-signed with the company, leading to a feud with Edge and Lita.

While there was obviously no question that the hurt feelings on Hardy's part were very much real, and that the promos the men cut on each other tapped into some actual history, the fact that both Edge and Hardy stood to make more money than they had in their careers up to that point was enough to make them play nice with each other.