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A cornerstone of episodic TV is to storm looker with unexpected turns of events , andWWEhas mastered this artwork over the decades . Perhaps , nothing is more lurid and emotional thana good , old - fashioned betrayal , where friends and comrades turn on each other for profit or due to long - standing grievances .
From the New Day ’s recent betrayal of large E to Shawn Michaels kicking Marty Jannetty , these instant have always been used to big effect by the WWE . Not only do they deliver the much - require shock time value every TV show need , but they also set up storyline and facilitate characters educate in new focal point . Here are the most memorable , cold - blooded , and unexpected perfidy in WWE story .
10Triple H Turns on Shawn Michaels
Monday Night Raw, July 22, 2002
After the WWE Draft , Triple H was one of the few individuals on the roster with the exclusive right of choosing which brand he would go to . While his ex-wife - wife ( in storyline ) Stephanie McMahon strain to sway him to SmackDown , his returning good friend Shawn Michaels prove to bring HHH to Raw . Trips apparently could n’t make pass up on a DX reunion , but the moment that D - Generation X return to a Raw ring , Triple H stiffed his buddy with a Pedigree .
The Reign of Terror may eclipse some of the most dominant statute title reigns in WWE history . Here is an overview of an era where Triple H was unstoppable .
While some may have predicted that Triple H and Shawn Michaels were bound to breakup finally , no one expected it to find on the same night . This bounder turn proved to be the first footfall into remodeling The Game as the ultimate bad guy , while also serving as the gateway for a right in - mob tax return for the Heartbreak Kid after not compete in a WWE pack in four yr .
9Judgment Day Turns on Edge
Monday Night Raw, June 6, 2022
One night after himself , AJ Styles , and Liv Morgan failed to vote out The Judgment Day at Hell in a Cell , Finn Balor decided to bring together the heel unchanging , showcasing exactly how if ya ca n’t dumbfound ‘em , join ‘em . That was floor enough , but things took a jaw - dropping crook when the young ternary opted to snipe Edge , promptlykicking Judgment Day ’s leader out of his own chemical group .
Finn Balor establishing himself as the de facto drawing card by convincing his cohort to chuck out of the actual leader all in the same night was certainlyan impactful mean value of found a heel character . Some may argue that the tour and subsequent administration of Edge may have been a little rushed , but it ultimately cultivate out for the best . Overnight , Judgment Day live on from being a Brood ripoff to one of thegreatest factions in WWE story .
8Jimmy Uso Superkicks Roman Reigns
Night of Champions 2009
A Bloodline split had been teased for calendar month at this item in the fallout of WrestleMania 39 , reaching its zenith at Night of Champions . Sami Zayn , the former Honorary Uce , had teamed with Kevin Owens to maintain their Undisputed Tag Titles against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa . displease with The Usos ' attempts to help , the Tribal Chief mercilessly bullied Jey until big chum Jimmy maltreat in .
His face play loses some points because it was soon sunk month afterward with Jimmy Uso re - joining the stable Charles William Post - SummerSlam , butthe Antoine Domino core of this one beef makes it one of the most significant routine on the lean . before long after , Jey would turn babyface himself , opening the doorway to his monumental solo campaign , and becoming the first man in years to trap Roman Reigns . Plus , listen to that crowd . They had been waiting - implore , even - to see this bend for month , and to finally watch it unfold was totally satisfying .
7Andre Joins Heenan to Challenge Hogan
Superstars, February 7, 1987
There was a time whenAndre the Giant was the most beloved grappler in the intact diligence . Upon becoming the WWE Champion , much of Andre ’s idolization transferred to Hulk Hogan . That became clear when WWE awarded Andre a tiny trophy for being " the only undefeated matman in wrestling chronicle , " while draping Hogan with a much bigger one . Call him jealous , call him truly slight , but in either causa , Andre present a new attitude when he challenged Hogan for his title at WrestleMania with nefarious Bobby " The Brain " Heenan in towage .
Andre the Giant is consider one of the most iconic professional wrestlers to ever run for the WWE . These are the moments that immortalized him .
on-key fans have sex that this is the result of Vince McMahon require Andre to wrestle one more metre so the troupe could recover from a unsatisfying WrestleMania 2 . This was the concluding push Hogan needed for superstardom , and Andre , despite being bruised and battered by illness and harm , delivered like a true professional . This may not have the same eclat and context as many of these play , butsomething this simple remain good . Andre might have a unfeigned beef against his best friend , but he ’s a heel in the disrespectful mode he goes about cover it . The moment is made all the more cruel by the relatable heartbreak in Hogan ’s eyes of having a friend give away him .
6Owens Turns on Zayn
NXT TakeOver: R Evolution
Lately , WWE has started a trope where just when fans think the show is cease as the end credits display onscreen , a shocking moment happens . This trope can be traced back to this show , where , after experience his first WWE mate to afford the show , Kevin Owens close it by celebrating his serious ally , Sami Zayn , winning the NXT Championship in the primary outcome . They walk up the ramp together as the ending credits roll , when suddenly , KO slam dance Zayn neck opening first onto the ramp .
Kevin Owens started the night make his in - ringing WWE introduction to an overwhelming babyface chemical reaction . At the ending of the night , he received even louder hoot for stabbing his full friend in the back . It ’s telling that Owens was able to flip the bunch ’s switch like a dime like that . Indie fans knew that KO always made a better bounder than human face from his ROH days , but expected a slower burn to a twist , rather than something so sharp . An incredible start to an unbelievable life history .
5Evolution Turns on Orton
Monday Night Raw, August 16, 2004
At SummerSlam 2004 , rising champion Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit to become the young World Heavyweight Champion in WWE account . import after successfully fight in their rematch the next dark on Raw , Evolution helped the Legend Killer lionise . regrettably for Orton , Triple H and co. decided to promptly down Orton ’s legend before it beganby turning the best night of his life-time into his worst .
Randy Orton is a 14 - prison term World Champion who has ramp up a bequest of his own in WWE . Here are the good matches that he has had for the company .
If anyone cognise how to follow through on a betrayal when audiences least expect it , it ’s Triple H. Like with many of these accounting entry , it would be easygoing to assume that a slow build would be in fund , perhaps with Triple H ’s jealousy construct over weeks if not months . Rather than feel rushed , it holds a position as one of the most shocking moments in cutting story and , in many way , a definitive import in Orton ’s career for his character .
4Dean Ambrose Turns on Rollins After Roman Announces His Cancer Diagnosis
Monday Night Raw, October 22, 2018
The Universal Champion opened the show not as popish Reigns , but as Joe Anoa’i announcing that a leucaemia diagnosing he kept secret had regress . As he entered an indefinite hiatus , his reunited Shield brethren challenged Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for the Tag Titles , get ahead in Roman ’s honor for a feel - good moment . The bit , however , was spoiled by a fanatical Lunatic Fringe attacking his married person to terminate the nighttime .
This period is n’t remembered as fondly since Ambrose ’s precede heel campaign leave a lot to be desired , with Jon Moxley reflecting on it negatively in hisMoxbiography . Still , though , the initial import itself packed an emotional punch . The hearing had been on a rollercoaster of emotion all night , with this end redact straightaway passion on Ambrose through the seismic disturbance , confusedness , and ira of figure him turn on a Nox like this . It ’s just too speculative WWE could n’t capitalize on that momentum with good storytelling .
3Hulk Hogan Turns on WCW to Lead the nWo
WCW Bash at the Beach 1996
After an invading Kevin Nash and Scott Hall continued to persist roughshod over WCW programming , a Six - valet de chambre Tag pit them and a enigma spouse against Lex Luger , " Macho Man " Randy Savage , and Sting on PPV . As chaos ensued , literal American Hulk Hogan bolt down the tintinnabulation , presumptively to defend WCW . Bobby Heenan , in jocularity , hypothesized on commentary thatHogan was the Outsiders ' third valet de chambre . Not even The Brain expected himself to be good .
Not every betrayal in hand-to-hand struggle is necessarily against another squad member . In this type , Hulk Hogan betrayed WCW by array with The Outsiders hellbent on remodeling it in their image . Furthermore , some will argue that Hulk Hogan grass the wrestling community of interests , specifically the children who looked up to him by eating their vitamin and tell their prayers in his laurels . That Hogan was long dead , and this moment punctuate the outset of WCW ’s memorable run at the top of the industriousness .
2Seth Rollins Turns on the Shield
Monday Night Raw, June 2, 2014
One nighttime after The Shield defeated Evolution for the second pay - per - thought in a rowing , Batista fall by the wayside the company . Going into Raw ’s independent consequence play off Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton , The Shield looked more dominant than ever and had the issue game . Except , moments before the main case , Triple H declared that there was " always a Plan B. " Just then , the chair charge take heed around the worldclanged across Roman ’s back . Dean Ambrose was attacked as he was reeling from the shock , and Seth Rollins stood over his fall comrades .
No moment in modern wrestling has hadsuch a profound ripple impression on WWE programming and the industry as a wholelike Seth ’s betrayal . It produced three future World Champions , but also many current storylines - includingthe ongoing Bloodline plot line . Having the go bump when The Shield had the highest impulse possible was surprising and allow the group to retire before miss steam .
1Shawn Puts Marty Jannetty Through the Barbershop Window
The Wrestling Challenge, January 11, 1992
After teaming together for the good part of five class , The Rockers reached a turn point when Marty Jannetty unwittingly caused losses for Shawn Michaels in a cosmic string of peer . Brutus " The Barber " Beefcake tried to get to the bottom of things on his Barber Shop talk show , where he brought both protagonist on as guests . Miraculously , it seemed like the two were capable to reconcile their differences and were quick to take steps to save their friendly relationship -until Michaels superkicked Jannety , right before tossing him through a windowpane .
The rocker ' dissolution set the prevention for tag team detachment in grappling , to the full point that turning on a tag squad partner is often referred to as getting " Jannetty’d . " moreover , the breakout star of the tag team gets comparisons to Michaels , while the one not destined for achiever is consider as a Jannetty , The concept of perfidy in hand-to-hand struggle live longsighted beforeWWE , but The Rockers ' breakup created the templet for how to do it right .
