10 REAL Backstage Wrestling Fights You Didn't Know About

CM Punk did not invent the backstage brawl...

Eddie Guerrero Hawk
WWE

You'll know all about Brawl Out, since the incident was shocking and compelling and completely changed the complexion of the modern era of professional wrestling.

Nobody who wasn't there will ever know the true version of events, and even those who were there, being wrestlers with a skewed perspective on everything, can't agree. Depending on who you believe, the scene resembled one of two Jack Nicholson movie posters: either Kenny Omega broke through the door, The Shining-style, and bashed Larry's brains in, or, much like As Good As It Gets, after saving Larry from the melee, he lifted up the dog with a beaming smile. Most reports agree that producer Ace Steel bit Omega and that Punk, whether provoked or otherwise, punched Matt Jackson.

Backstage fights didn't begin in 2022. Chris Jericho has been involved in a couple, which you'll know about, because he's fond of recalling them and noting how, in victory, he threw his scarf over his shoulder and told the loser to "stay out!" as the entire locker room stood up in rapturous applause.

Back in 1993, the most infamous and bloody real fight ever happened when Sid and Arn Anderson stabbed one another with a pair of scissors.

But what does the undercard look like beneath those main events...?

10. Eddy Guerrero Vs. Road Warrior Hawk

Eddie Guerrero Hawk
WWE

The strange aspect of this story - not Hawk being in a backstage shoot fight, because he was prolific in that regard - was in how it started.

Eddie Guerrero was a perfectionist, so much so that the tiniest mistake undetectable to everybody else was a source of great embarrassment to him. He was a great wrestler who aimed for greatness, and knew how good he was - he didn't leave WCW for the WWF in 2000 because he wasn't ambitious and didn't think he had what it took - but he was mostly humble and intensely dedicated to the craft and improving, constantly, at it. At his funeral, Mike Tenay told Eddie's mother that Eddy was the most humble person he had ever encountered "in a business of prima donnas".

In a bitter, almost comical irony, the one time that Guerrero put himself over, he was punched in the face for it.

When teaming with Art Barr, in a legendary run, Guerrero believed he was one-half of the best tag in the world. He was probably right. He said this to of all people Road Warrior Hawk, who responded by saying that Guerrero was in the best junior heavyweight tag team in the world. Guerrero disagreed with the caveat, and was suddenly sucker-punched.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, present AEW World Champion MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!