10 WWE Storylines That Were Based On Real Life

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita Love Triangle

Edge, Matt Hardy
WWE.com

What happened between Matt Hardy, Lita and Edge in 2005 is the prototypical example of a storyline born out of actual, real-life pain.

Matt's discovery that his girlfriend Lita and good buddy Edge had been running around behind his back sent him off the deep end that summer. After ranting about the situation online and causing WWE numerous headaches, Hardy was released from contract in April. The bad guys had won, sort of.

Swelling fan support and WWE's own desire to turn distress into dollars brought Matt back by July, and he kicked off a one-man rampage against Edge's love-rat tyranny. The audience responded in kind by treating the story as real, and that was true even when WWE disappointed everybody with a short brawl at SummerSlam.

The rivalry roared on into Unforgiven (where Hardy finally won) before Matt was traded to SmackDown and the pair moved on from their issues. They've since managed to patch things up behind the scenes, and both are in a much better place personally.

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What other WWE storylines do you know of that were based on real-life situations? Let us know down in the comments section below!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.