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Published accounts describe backstage conflicts involving former WWE performers, but they do not establish a definitive set of 12 “rare” incidents. The stories below draw on WWE.com’s retrospective and a Pro Wrestling Stories feature about Wrestlers’ Court; each is attributed to the source or participant who recounted it. Some are physical fights, some are disciplinary episodes, and one is a personal conflict that later became part of an on-screen rivalry.
Physical confrontations reported by WWE.com
WWE.com’s retrospective, “11 backstage beefs that rocked the ring”, draws on memoirs, interviews and other published accounts. Its stories should be read as attributed recollections, not as findings from an independent investigation.
Chris Jericho and Bill Goldberg
WWE.com recounts a 2003 confrontation in which Chris Jericho challenged Bill Goldberg over reported criticism of Jericho’s performance. The retrospective says Jericho chronicled the scene in his autobiography, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps. The account therefore rests on Jericho’s later telling as summarized by WWE.com; it is not independently established by the article.
Big Show and The Great Khali
On a June 26, 2015 episode of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, Big Show recalled an argument that became a fight after Khali’s 2006 WWE debut. WWE.com relays Big Show’s description of it as “the worst fight on the planet.” The humorous details—such as the pair navigating locker-room clutter while Big Show was barefoot and in his underwear—are part of the participants’ retelling, not separately verified circumstances.
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Booker T and Batista
WWE.com says Booker T and Batista fought at a SummerSlam commercial shoot in May 2006, citing a contemporaneous WWE.com report that quoted WWE’s then-director of TV promotions. In his 2007 autobiography, Batista Unleashed, Batista later acknowledged that he should have shown Booker respect by greeting him. WWE.com also quotes Booker: “Respect isn’t a right. It’s a privilege.”
Vader and Paul Orndorff
WWE.com reports that news of a scuffle between Vader and Paul Orndorff surfaced in late August 1995, while emphasizing that accounts differ on what triggered it. One commonly repeated explanation is that Orndorff was angry about Vader arriving late to a television taping at Atlanta’s Center Stage. The retrospective says accounts agree Vader struck first and Orndorff retaliated, but it notes disagreement over the number of blows. The motive and exact sequence remain uncertain in the published versions it summarizes.
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Dynamite Kid and Jacques Rougeau
WWE.com describes two behind-the-scenes run-ins involving Dynamite Kid and Jacques Rougeau and says accounts conflict about how the dispute began. In its version, Rougeau found his clothing tampered with and suspected the British Bulldogs; Dynamite denied involvement and struck him after being accused. Rougeau later recalled hitting Dynamite with a roll of quarters, while Dynamite’s autobiography reportedly described brass knuckles. The weapons are disputed: WWE.com quotes Dynamite writing, “I heard the crunch as four teeth went there and that,” and Rougeau recalling, “Any other guy would’ve been knocked out.” Those quotations are relayed through the retrospective, and neither establishes which object was used.
A personal conflict that crossed into the show
Edge and Matt Hardy
WWE.com links the conflict between Edge and Matt Hardy to Hardy’s injury, Lita traveling with Edge, and the development of Lita and Edge’s relationship. The dispute became public and later fed into their on-screen rivalry. The retrospective presents this as a personal conflict with a storyline afterlife, not as a backstage fistfight.
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Wrestlers’ Court: punishment and locker-room discipline
Pro Wrestling Stories’ March 3, 2023 feature, “WWE’s Wrestlers’ Court: Shocking Tales from Behind the Curtain”, describes Wrestlers’ Court as a backstage system in which talent confronted peers over grievances, with punishments often involving drinks or food. The feature draws on interviews and earlier published recollections; Wrestlers’ Court was not an official judicial process.
The Miz and the chicken near Chris Benoit’s bag
In a podcast interview reproduced by Pro Wrestling Stories, The Miz recalled that eating chicken in a cramped locker room led to a dispute after crumbs got on Chris Benoit’s bag. Miz said he was excluded first from live-event locker rooms and later from all locker rooms for a period he remembered as about six months. That duration and the account of the incident are Miz’s recollection as reproduced by the feature.
Muhammad Hassan and the camel clutch
Muhammad Hassan told Pro Wrestling Stories that Kurt Angle encouraged him to ask Eddie Guerrero about using the camel clutch. Hassan recalled that Guerrero handled the conversation calmly and respectfully, but that other wrestlers later treated the matter as disrespect and imposed a Wrestlers’ Court punishment: a $2,000 bar tab. Hassan rejected the version in which Guerrero exploded at him, saying, “I would never disrespect Eddie Guerrero.” This is Hassan’s account in an interview reproduced by the feature, not an independently confirmed ruling or bill.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read these backstage stories
The accounts differ in what they can establish. A contemporaneous report, a memoir written later, and a podcast recollection are not interchangeable forms of evidence. Even WWE.com flags conflicting details in some stories; the Wrestlers’ Court feature likewise presents participants’ memories rather than official records. Treat the incidents as reported history, preserve disputed details as disputed, and keep real-life disagreements separate from the scripted rivalries that may have followed them.
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