10 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From WWE's New Generation Era You Need To Know

The WWE New Generation Era isn't beloved by many fans nowadays, but it was still a very important time in wrestling that changed the business to this day. After some of the Golden Era's biggest stars left for WCW, new stars were created and WWE entered into a time that was more focused on in ring athleticism, rather than larger than life characters.

The New Generation Era also featured its fair share of behind the scenes secrets. From personal rivalries to matches getting scrapped, a lot of backstage chaos took place that fans still love to discuss today.

10 The Ultimate Warrior Was Supposed To Wrestle Bret Hart At Royal Rumble 1993

After Warrior made his return at WrestleMania 8, he spent most of 1992 floating around the main event scene, feuding with Papa Shango, Randy Savage and Ric Flair. Before Survivor Series 1992, Warrior was suspended from WWE for failing a drug test and would only come back in 1996.

According to Bret Hart, Warrior was penciled in for a match against the Hitman at Royal Rumble 1993. This would've been a weird move, as WWE were not only heading towards a youth movement but Warrior didn't seem like a good opponent for Bret Hart. Obviously this failed to materialize and instead Bret Hart wrestled Razor Ramon at Royal Rumble 1993.

9 Bret Hart And Stone Cold Steve Austin Hated The Submission Stipulation For Their Match At WrestleMania 13

Bret Hart vs Steve Austin WrestleMania 13

Bret Hart and Steve Austin had a legendary match at WrestleMania 13, but both men weren't too fond of the submission stipulation before it took place.

On Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions, Bret and Austin expressed their dislike for the submission stipulation for their WrestleMania 13 match, as Bret stated submission matches were difficult to pull off due to the inability of near falls and Austin stated that he didn't like it due to him not being a submission guy. Even with the limitations, both men still pulled off a classic for the ages.

8 Diesel Prevented Mabel From Getting Fired After SummerSlam 1995

SummerSlam 1995's main event is riddled with controversy, but the lack of the quality in the match isn't the only thing that lives in controversy. During the match, Mabel sat on Diesel's back which severely injured the WWE Champion.

After the match, Vince McMahon was furious over Mabel injuring Diesel and was about to fire him. Diesel then interfered and stopped Vince from firing Mabel. It wasn't a good ending for Mabel though, as he would injure The Undertaker in October 1995 and would leave WWE in January 1996.

7 The 1-2-3 Kid Hated The Crybaby Match At In Your House 6

In late 1995, The 1-2-3 Kid turned heel and betrayed his friend, Razor Ramon. The 1-2-3 Kid ended up costing Razor the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble 1996, which led to a crybaby match at In Your House 6, where the loser would be put in a diaper.

Sean Waltman later stated that he hated being put in the diaper after the match. He expressed his displeasure for not only being put in the diaper, but for losing the match to Razor while he was on his way out of the WWE.

6 Shawn Michaels Didn't Want To Turn Face In 1995

After unsuccessfully challenging Diesel for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 11, Shawn Michaels turned face on the next edition of Monday Night Raw, after his former bodyguard Sid hit him with two powerbombs.

Shawn Michaels expressed his displeasure against turning face, as he was the only top heel in the company and Shawn just didn't know how he would fit as a good guy. The face turn ended up working out, as Shawn won the WWE Championship a year later and realized his boyhood dream.

5 Jean Pierre Lafitte Left WWE Because Of The Kliq

Jean Pierre Lafitte had a very short run in WWE in the year of 1995, and it was due to the backstage control of The Kliq, mainly Shawn Michaels and Diesel.

According to Shane Douglas, a house show match between Lafitte and Diesel in Montreal was going to end without a clean finish. However, Shawn Michaels tried changing the finish of the match into a clean pinfall win for Diesel. Lafitte refused to lose to Diesel, which pretty much sealed the final nail in the coffin for his WWE career, as Lafitte would leave WWE after the incident.

4 Razor Ramon Hated Working With Goldust

In late 1995, Razor Ramon would enter into a rivalry with Goldust, with the Bizarre One sending uncanny letters and flirting with Razor. This was a bold rivalry at the time and fans just didn't connect with it. Razor expressed his displeasure with the program, as it wasn't a family friendly storyline and Razor felt uncomfortable being involved in it.

Goldust defeated Razor for the Intercontinental Championship at the 1996 Royal Rumble. The rivalry was set to continue up until WrestleMania 12, where Razor would face Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl. This never materialized, as Razor failed a drug test and was suspended for a month. Roddy Piper replaced Razor in the match and Razor Ramon would leave WWE in the next few months.

3 Bret Hart Refusing To Take The Jacknife Powerbomb At In Your House 6 Made Diesel Want To Leave WWE

At In Your House 6, Diesel challenged Bret Hart for the WWE Championship in a steel cage match. Bret Hart was always going to win and retain, but the finish of the match has garnered some controversy. The Undertaker popped up from under the ring to prevent Diesel from escaping the cage and dragged him under the ring.

Before The Undertaker interfered, Bret was supposed to take Diesel's jackknife powerbomb, but the Hitman refused. To his credit, Bret taking the powerbomb before The Undertaker's inteference would make him look weak, as it would seem like Bret only won because The Undertaker interfered. Diesel has credited these chain of events as one of the reasons why he decided to leave WWE in 1996.

2 Vince McMahon Wanted Bruce Hart As Bret Hart's Rival

When the idea for Bret Hart to feud with another member of the Hart family was presented in late 1993, Vince McMahon wanted Bruce Hart to be Bret's rival, and not Owen Hart. This would've been a weird move as Bruce hadn't wrestled on WWE television before.

Luckily plans were changed and Owen Hart feuded with Bret, in one of the most memorable and well executed rivalries of all time.

1 Bret Hart Expected Shawn Michaels To Crack Under The Pressure As WWE Champion

After Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 12, Bret took a hiatus from the company throughout most of 1996. This left Shawn with huge boots to fill, as he needed to carry the company into the year.

Bret expected Shawn to be unable to handle the pressure of being WWE's top guy and that's exactly what happened, as towards the end of his title reign, Shawn felt burnt out from being the top guy, and the responsibility for the poor business the WWE had in 1996 was placed on Shawn's shoulders, which created even more problems.