Superstars Who Made WWE A Hostile Work Environment

The WWE locker room is filled with huge personalities and people from completely different walks of life and backgrounds. While they’re all there for the common goal of making WWE the best product possible, there is also a level of competition between the talents who want to reach the top spots, which are limited within themselves.

Wrestlers need to work well together backstage, considering how much time they spend together in arenas and on the road. However, certain people have created a hostile environment at times and made WWE a difficult place to be for a wide range of reasons.

UPDATE: 2025/03/04 17:30 EST BY JOEY HAVERFORD

Most wrestlers join WWE with a great attitude hoping to fit into the landscape and get along well with others. Unfortunately, unexpected drama can surface in an industry so competitive with everyone competing over the same tough spots. A reputation can get hit negatively if one becomes known for harming the locker room morale.

Big names can get away with this since WWE prioritizes star power over anything else, but a random mid-carder causing issues likely may suffer more for it. The talents in question did some things that rubbed others the wrong way and created a hostile work environment for others.

CM Punk

Doing Things His Way Wasn’t Always Productive

• Fighting For His Beliefs Made Him Polarizing Figure
• Clashing With Other Talents Caused Drama Backstage
• Considered To Be Much Better Presence Backstage Today

The return of CM Punk to WWE has seen him perfectly fitting into the new environment. However, a lot of past baggage had to be dealt with for Punk to get a spot on the roster again. Multiple names have stated that Punk is a changed man from his previous days in the company.

Punk was standoffish to talents he didn’t get along with and other performers felt he was never happy there. Many fans sided with Punk since they agreed with his criticism of the WWE product, but other wrestlers bringing up old beef showed how many enemies he had.

Hardcore Holly

Had Reputation For Being A Backstage Bully

• Long Tenure Led To Him Becoming Locker Room Leader
• Younger Wrestlers Felt Holly Became A Bully To Others
• Had Vicious Moment Attacking Rene Dupree In Ring

WWE had Hardcore Holly on the roster for four different eras for about fifteen consecutive years. Holly started off as Spark Plug and evolved into Hardcore Holly to represent his toughness during the most violent matches.

Many other wrestlers hated Holly since he appointed himself a locker room leader and loved to make things harder for the newcomers. Rene Dupree was beaten in the ring by Holly for getting parking tickets on his rental car, and plenty other former stars have spoken out against his attitude as well.

Brock Lesnar

Didn’t Care About Others While Flexing Power

• Used His Name Value To Have More Influence
• Other Wrestlers Got Buried From Brock’s Influence
• Multiple Feuds Were Shut Down By Lesnar In WWE

The legendary career of Brock Lesnar featured him having a big return stint lasting over a decade as a massive name. Lesnar returned after becoming more famous in UFC and utilizing his star power for many perks from part-time dates to more say in his creative.

Names like Jon Moxley and Kofi Kingston got buried by Brock not wanting to have more competitive matches. Stories emerged of Lesnar shutting down matches and changing plans at the expense of others since he wanted to call his own shots.

The Kat

She Had To Be Fired Due To Her Behavior

• Vince McMahon considered her difficult backstage
• She regularly questioned decisions

The Kat might not have been one of the biggest names in professional wrestling, but she was always featured on the show during her run. She knew how to entertain people and that led to her always having a spot, but she wasn’t always happy with what WWE wanted her to do.

The Kat often complained and questioned the creative decisions that were made by WWE. Her behavior became so disruptive that she was fired.

Alberto Del Rio

He Was Involved In Several Backstage Scrapes

• His relationship with Paige brought a lot of controversy
• He had several backstage fights

Alberto Del Rio was a talented wrestler, and someone who was pushed heavily because of that. However, he was consistently problematic backstage and that caused him problems as his career developed. The former World Heavyweight Champion was involved in several fights during his time with the company.

Whether it was fighting Sin Cara, slapping a member of the production team, or the backstage issues with the League Of Nations, Del Rio was constantly causing issues which made him problematic to have backstage.

Shawn Michaels

He Was An Issue During The First Half Of His Career

• He was heavily involved in the Montreal Screwjob
• Michaels regularly caused issues for other talents

Shawn Michaels might be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but that doesn’t mean he never caused problems. The Heartbreak Kid had two very different halves of his career, with the first seeing him be a problem backstage. Michaels was notorious for having an attitude and being a party animal, which led to him getting involved in several fights.

He had huge backstage issues with Bret Hart, and that caused consistent problems and boiled down to the Montreal Screwjob. He often bullied other talents with his backstage jokes, and that led him gaining a negative reputation until he found religion and changed later in life.

Jeff Hardy

His Behavior Brought Regular Negative Attention

• Hardy has dealt with addiction issues throughout his career
• This has also impacted TNA and AEW

Jeff Hardy’s real-life troubles have often caused major issues for him throughout his career as his struggles with sobriety have derailed many of his biggest pushes. Hardy has always been beloved by fans as they have consistently forgiven him and given him second chances, but backstage he has caused a lot of issues for WWE.

Seeing him dealing with different substance abuse issues constantly put the company in a negative light as there was no shortage of controversy surrounding him, which often led to people questioning whether he could be trusted.

Randy Orton

He Struggled With His Attitude Early On

• He’s failed WWE’s wellness policy several times
• He previously had issues with Bubba Ray Dudley

Randy Orton had a terrible attitude at the start of his career and was seen as arrogant and as a party animal who didn’t care by his fellow wrestlers. It’s something the Viper has been open about in the past, happily admitting that he was a problem backstage for others to deal with.

He almost missed out on being in Evolution because of his attitude, while he didn’t turn up to a rehearsal for his WWE WrestleMania match against The Undertaker. Orton has also dealt with wellness policy violations too which have added further controversies over the years.

Melina

She Had To Be Taken To Wrestlers Court

• She was involved in some relationship issues
• Melina often annoyed her fellow WWE Superstars

Melina was a talent inside the ring, but she was also a problem backstage. Melina had a bad attitude problem, and that’s something that regularly created issues to the point where she was taken to wrestler’s court by her fellow WWE Superstars.

She had a big personality inside the ring and that was something that continued backstage. That can often rub people up the wrong way and Melina found that out the hard way at times.

Hulk Hogan

His Backstage Politics Were Problematic

• He used his influence to impact booking decisions
• Hogan has brought negativity to WWE with his behavior

Hulk Hogan might’ve been one of the biggest names in wrestling history and someone who was the face of the entire industry for a long time, but that doesn’t mean he caused no problems. The Hulkster was an issue due to his use backstage politics, often wanting to work with specific wrestlers or refusing to put people over.

He has also brought plenty of negativity towards WWE due to his real-life behavior too. Even later in life, his political comments or his racist views being made public have continued to cause the company problems.

JBL

His Bullying Behavior Is Notorious

• He was known for being physical inside the ring
• Many wrestlers have spoken out about his bullying behavior

JBL had a lengthy and successful WWE career filled with highlights from an in-ring perspective, but behind the scenes he wasn’t always easy to deal with. JBL got himself into a position of power as a locker room leader, but there have been many stories that have shown how he abused that.

Whether it was taking liberties inside the ring, such as intentionally busting Blue Meanie open, or taking ribs too far, his behavior was often difficult. Even when he got on commentary, those issues didn’t end, and that’s something that impacted his reputation among fans.

The Ultimate Warrior

He Wasn’t Well Liked Backstage

• Many have claimed that he had ego problems
• He fell out with various westlers due to his controversial comments

The Ultimate Warrior was popular with fans due to the over-the-top nature of his personality and colorful character that he had. However, he was a problem backstage and a handful for management to deal with because his fellow wrestlers didn’t like him.

Ultimate Warrior had an ego problem and that’s something that created tension that made him tough to book. Later in life he continued to bring controversy due to some of his comments, which were often bizarre.

Steve Austin

His Ego Often Made Him Tough To Handle

• He often refused to work with certain talent
• His relationship with Debra brought negative press to WWE

Steve Austin might be one of the biggest stars to ever step foot in a WWE ring, but backstage he was tough to handle. The Texas Rattlesnake was pushed because of his ability, but he often refused to work with certain wrestlers due to seeing them as being beneath him.

Austin walked out on the company because he felt his planned Brock Lesnar match had no build, showcasing how tough he could be to handle. He also had a domestic violence charge against him during his relationship with Debra which brought a lot of negativity to WWE.