The history of urban legends and conspiracy theories in wrestling feature some stories that may be more compelling than the product that takes place on television. Gossip and rumors have always been a huge part of the wrestling industry for many reasons. The petty backstage drama is stronger in wrestling than most other forms of sports and/or entertainment. Fans have gravitated towards this with the popularity of dirt sheets, insider web sites, shoot interviews and podcasts all becoming fixtures in the industry at different times.
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We will explore some of the oddest topics to get discussed throughout the years. They range from backstage ideas that have never been confirmed or denied to stories that were proven correct to those that were just silly. Wrestlers have unique lives even backstage at shows and the theories in question helped prove that. These are ten of the strangest urban legends in wrestling history.
10 Sid's pet squirrel
A downright peculiar urban legend features a unique pet of choice from Sycho Sid. The career of Sid with runs in both WWE and WCW would see multiple strange stories about his life outside of the ring. One of them came in WWE when the urban legend goes that Sid had a pet squirrel.
Stories claim that Sid would travel everywhere with his squirrel bringing it backstage to all the wrestling events on the schedule. The legend grows stranger as people believe Sid would put the squirrel down his pants as a joke for the other wrestlers until the squirrel took a bite that forced him to head to the hospital.
9 Christy Hemme's mysterious firing
There is a scandalous urban legend about the reasoning behind Christy Hemme’s mysterious firing from WWE. The company was putting a lot of time and money into Hemme after she won the Diva Search Contest with overwhelming fan support.
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Hemme was not a great wrestler, but she had the fan base behind her along with a world of potential. WWE mysteriously sent her down to developmental before releasing her altogether. The urban legend claims that Triple H had an affair with Hemme that led to her firing from WWE once Stephanie found out. Christy has denied this rumor for many years now.
8 Wrestlers' Court made wrestlers cry
The idea behind Wrestlers’ Court was meant to provide fun for the talent that traveled around the world with minimal time at home. It featured wrestlers that had backstage issues for doing something wrong on trial with Undertaker serving as the judge to decide their fate.
These Wrestlers’ Court escapades usually ended with the wrestler in question buying beer for their peers as requested by Undertaker. One story at least claims that things went ugly when Melina was in Wrestlers’ Court for having a bad attitude. Melina reportedly broke down in tears feeling bullied by the large group of wrestlers chastising her.
7 Shawn Michaels had a fight with Tommy Lee
The celebrity couple of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee were quite famous in the 90s. WWE scored a huge get by having Anderson appear at both the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 11 events in 1995. Anderson was scheduled to escort Michaels to the ring for his WWE Championship match against Diesel.
The urban legend claims that Lee got into a fight backstage with Michaels at the show when the latter kept hitting on Anderson. Michaels’ attitude at the time could make the story believable, but there has not been any confirmation or denial of the story.
6 Abyss turned down WrestleMania match with Undertaker
WWE recently signed former Impact Wrestling star Abyss to become a producer backstage for them. Abyss was rumored to be on their radar in the past with a wild urban legend about him turning down a great offer.
Tommy Dreamer claims he tried to help Abyss get a roster spot in WWE in 2007. The plan would have seen Abyss enter a feud with The Undertaker in time for WrestleMania 23. Abyss revealed he was loyal to Impact and refused to sign the WWE contract.
It’s hard to believe Abyss said no to the biggest opportunity of his career, but he and Dreamer claim the urban legend is true.
5 Hulk Hogan's mysterious black eye
The first nine WrestleMania events were almost all dominated by Hulk Hogan in the main event. WrestleMania 9 featured Hogan in the mid-card with Bret Hart vs Yokozuna in the show closing match. Hogan however came to the ring to challenge and defeat Yokozuna to become WWE Champion.
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The controversial night featured Hogan sporting a visible black eye. Hogan claimed that it happened after a jet ski accident days earlier. The urban legend is that Randy Savage punched him during one of their low moments in their love/hate relationship.
4 Rey Mysterio and Jennifer Aniston romance rumors
Jennifer Aniston was arguably the most famous person in the world in the late 90s. The success of Friends along with her movie roles made Aniston a household name in North America. That just gave WCW good press when the strange rumor broke that she was dating Rey Mysterio.
Tabloid magazines like National Enquirer ran with the story linking the actress and WCW star romantically. Mysterio would reveal years later that they never even met, but he did find some amusement in the rumor of him dating one of the most famous people in the world.
3 WWE doctor issued lawsuit to ruin CM Punk's friendship with Colt Cabana
The lawsuit of WWE doctor Chris Amann featured him suing CM Punk and Colt Cabana for their roles in Punk’s insulting comments about him on Cabana’s podcast. Neither man would have to pay any money to Amann since the lawsuit was not a strong one, but it did cost them a lot of money getting represented.
Punk and Cabana’s friendship ended throughout the process with each man suing the other after Punk went back on his word to cover Cabana’s lawyer costs. There is a theory that Amann and WWE specifically filed the suit to try to hurt Punk’s personal life which seems like a success after his longest friendship in wrestling ended.
2 The Rock refusing to work with Shawn Michaels
One of the best dream matches that wrestling fans missed out on could have seen The Rock face Shawn Michaels. Rock typically delivered classics against other big names like Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin when given the chance.
Michaels was considered one of the greatest performers in wrestling history and could have had a classic with Rock. The urban legend claims that Rock shut down multiple pitches from WWE for the match due to resentment from Michaels and Triple H trying to sabotage him earlier in his career.
1 Randy Savage blackballed from WWE due to Stephanie romance
The most explosive urban legend in wrestling history focused on the reasoning behind Vince McMahon’s disdain of Randy Savage. Following a legendary WWE run, Savage left the company for WCW in 1994 and would never return to the company once before his passing.
Former WWE writers claimed that McMahon told the staff he was open to working with any former talent except for Savage as the one exception. The urban legend is that Savage entered a romance with an underage Stephanie McMahon that caused Vince’s anger. WWE never did any projects with Savage until after he passed away.
