The High 5: Top 5 Villainous Acts in Wrestling

3. Game of Championships

When you play the game of championships you win, or you job-out to whoever Vince likes. This entry is a bit of a cop-out because I was hard-pressed to pick between the 3 most brutal betrayals in WWE history. If I hadn’t, though, they would have pushed everything off the list and this would be the Top 5 Betrayals instead… why do I feel like I missed an opportunity here?

Regardless, betrayal in wrestling is at the heart of almost every good villainous act and storyline. Turning on a trusted ally is the surest way to turn a wrestler heel and garner nuclear levels of heat in the process. I mean just look at the amazing storyline that’s unfolded between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

Last year, the WWE Universe was subjected to a Festival of Friendship that basically turned into KO’s version of the Red Wedding, with Jericho as Robb Stark and the Jeri-Tron as Grey Wind.

We all knew it was coming but it didn’t soften the blow any. When Jericho opened the list of KO and read his own name we all felt our hearts drop. It was tragic. The fact that we saw it coming and it still elicited that reaction is a testament to how well the betrayal was pulled off.

Before that, there was the breaking of The Shield. Evolution had been clashing against The Shield in 2014 and getting spanked like a toddler at Wal-Mart. So, if you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.

Triple H pulled a power move and coerced Seth Rollins over to the Dark Side faster than Anakin in a room full of younglings. The way Dean Ambrose would go after him in the following weeks really sold the anger, pain, and loss we all felt. Rollins turned on his friends for a chance at glory, and every night he walked out with the title we were reminded of that heartbreak.

However, before even that, we have Benedict Arnold. No, wait, too far back. The original WWE betrayal that damaged us worse than Scar killing Mufasa took place in a barbershop. Brutus the Barber Beefcake had the Rockers, Marty Jannetty, and Shawn Michaels, on a 1992 episode of the Barbershop. It was like Piper’s Pit but sucked.

The Rockers had started as the Midnight Rockers in the NWA back in 1986. Shawn and Marty had been teaming together in multiple promotions when they finally made it to the WWF in 1988. After some dissension in and out of the ring, it looked like the two tag partners were going to make amends on with the Beefcake playing mediator.

All looked to be going well; then, this happened:

Shawn tossed Marty out like Val Venis does tissues. That still hurts to watch. However, this was the beginning of Shawn’s single run and he’d go on to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. The impact of this segment killed all us little Rockers and it arguably changed the landscape of wrestling by untethering Michaels.

• lex luger
• Marty Jannetty
• ministry of darkness
• nwo
• paul bearer
• Scott Hall
• rockers
• WCW
• Dusty Rhodes
• Test
• The 4 horsemen
• Triple H
• ecw
• Stephanie McMahon
• the shield
• dudley boyz
• barbershop
• randy savage
• great american bash
• Seth Rollins
• Hulk Hogan
• kevin nash
• ko
• paul heyman
• dean ambrose
• shawn michaels
• Ric Flair
• chris jericho
• Sting
• The Undertaker
• Vince McMahon
• NWA
• KEVIN OWENS
• wwe

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