In wrestling, people often mentor and help the younger generation on their way up, teaching them the tricks of the trade in order to help make them bigger stars in the future. This is something that has worked well behind the scenes, but every now and then, these relationships get brought into the forefront and become major storylines.
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Having a teacher vs. student dynamic can be a ton of fun, making the most out of the dynamic between the wrestlers and there are some great stories that can be told from this. Throughout history, there have been some amazing rivalries because of these relationships, which have gone down in history.
10 Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman
This was a recent example of a mentor vs. student storyline, with Bray Wyatt/The Fiend looking to play mind games with his former Wyatt Family member, Braun Strowman. The matches between them weren't particularly interesting, but the story work was excellent.
The promos and segments between them were really interesting and well-executed. Bray is a master at story work and the two men did a brilliant job piecing together their past to make this a compelling storyline.
9 Triple H vs. William Regal
A lot of people didn't know that William Regal had mentored Triple H early on in his career. But their fun feud in 2004 allowed everyone to see their relationship as Regal tried to stop The Game from bullying Eugene.
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It wasn't the biggest feud of either man's careers, but it was certainly fun to see them wrestle and it did a lot of good things for Regal, helping to make him feel more relevant.
8 The Miz vs. Alex Riley
This storyline is a great example of just how good Alex Riley was in WWE until backstage issues led to him falling down the card. He had worked alongside The Miz for a long period, doing everything that was asked of him, until he eventually flipped out.
Alex attacked his mentor and became a red hot babyface who was over with the fans. While this rivalry might not be one everyone thinks of due to how Riley was treated, at the time, it was very popular.
7 The Rock vs Faarooq
Nowadays, The Rock might be a huge megastar, but when he first arrived, he needed the leadership of Faarooq to help get him there. Faarooq was the Nation Of Domination leader and he was the man who helped The Rock get to the next level.
However, the young wrestler then turned on him and went against his mentor. He kicked Faarooq out of the group he created and The Rock became the leader, going on to feud with his former mentor in the aftermath.
6 Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel
Diesel started out as the perfect muscle for Shawn Michaels, working on the outside to help the Heartbreak Kid win his matches. It added to Michaels' cocky persona, but when Diesel enjoyed success of his own, their friendship was thrown aside.
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Shawn Michaels did everything he could to become WWE Champion again, even if it meant taking the title from the man he mentored. Their WrestleMania bout is one of Diesel's best in WWE and led to a really fun storyline between them.
5 Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
Triple H has been in quite a few mentor vs student type storylines, and his WrestleMania 33 feud with Seth Rollins was certainly a great one. The Game worked the angle that he created Seth, from NXT to The Authority, growing him into a top WWE Superstar.
Of course, this was the opportunity for Rollins to prove that wasn't the case as he attempted to overcome his mentor. Seth did just that, defeating The Game and blazing his own trail in the process.
4 RVD vs. Sabu
RVD and Sabu had some incredible matches throughout their career, particularly during their time in ECW, bringing the absolute best out of each other. Sabu was the mentor of RVD and has been throughout his career, with the two men having similar in-ring styles.
They take risks, have excellent strikes, and are happy to bring in high flying wrestling as well, which made their matches exciting every time. Two men who have huge respect for each other pushing one another to their limits is always an exciting prospect, and that's what they delivered.
3 The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan
Of course, in reality, The Miz is not a mentor of Daniel Bryan's as he has wrestled longer and is far more polished in the ring. However, because of their NXT relationship, on-screen The Miz has been pushed as Bryan's mentor.
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The two never saw eye to eye and throughout their careers, they've feuded plenty of times. Initially, for the United States Championship, the two also had an amazing moment on Talking Smack and continued to feud when Bryan returned from retirement, creating some amazing moments in the process.
2 Mick Foley vs. Terry Funk
Mick Foley and Terry Funk had an outstanding rivalry throughout their careers, competing at countless different points in time. Their matches were always incredibly physical and often violent, but that's the way both men worked.
Funk was a big mentor to Foley, which is something that they were both very open about, so that always played an impact on their work. They had great matches and always brought the best out of each other.
1 Triple H vs. Batista
Triple H and Batista had an amazing rivalry when the Animal decided to leave Evolution. The Game had groomed Batista to be a top star and that ended up backfiring as Batista went on to become the World Champion at his expense.
The story between them was superb, with Triple H pushing that he was smarter and more experienced, yet Batista felt he knew everything about Hunter. In the ring, their matches were violent and aggressive and that really put over the breaking of their bond.
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