10 Most Controversial Wrestlers In WWE History, Ranked

WWE has the longest and most relevant history of any major wrestling promotion leading to way more historical examples of controversial figures. Vince McMahon and now Triple H try to run a tight ship, but that doesn’t mean certain talents didn’t cross the line or become polarizing figures for their backstage actions more than the in-ring side.

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Quite a few noteworthy names have seen their way into the wrong side of headlines. WWE ended up finding a good solution with some, but others left in wild fashion and have yet to return. Each instance shows just how fast things can change in the wrestling world. WWE had the following wrestlers who warrant being on a list of the most controversial wrestlers ever.

10 Steve Austin

Most wrestlers liked Steve Austin and he often felt like a nearly flawless part of the show during his rise. However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have any controversy associated to his name as the biggest star in the industry with a lot of leverage.

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Austin refused to have matches with pitched opponents Jeff Jarrett, Marc Mero and Chyna by flexing that power. The bigger controversy came after his iconic run when things were changing in 2002 and he walked out after some mind games from Vince McMahon booking Austin to lose an unadvertised match to Brock Lesnar.

9 Randy Orton

Randy Orton is universally respected and mostly appreciated for his career today, but that wasn’t always the case. WWE had a lot of issues with Orton and his behavior problems throughout the years. Orton was viewed as a problem child that couldn’t get out of his own.

Suspensions for behavior issues or violating the wellness policy had many people in WWE wondering if he would get fired despite his potential. Orton received more leeway and extra strikes than the average talent would not have got. WWE did luck out with Orton finally maturing and ending the sabotaging actions.

8 Mandy Rose

WWE witnessed Mandy Rose becoming a controversial name due to her projects outside of the ring. Rose developed her own content creation platform making a lot of money for posting sexy content with a few bordering on crossing the line in WWE’s world.

The shocking news came that WWE fired Mandy one day after her long NXT Women’s Championship reign ended. Fans debated if WWE was in the right or not to the point where Rose’s career became a hot button issue and still does in many circles.

7 Enzo Amore

Enzo Amore became a controversial name when getting called up from NXT to the main roster and rubbing many top wrestlers the wrong way. Roman Reigns kicking Enzo off an overseas tour bus showed just how much the locker room was sick of him.

The follow up saw Enzo having to dress outside of the WWE locker room when he reportedly was not welcomed there. WWE eventually fired Enzo due to allegations made against him and for him not bringing it to their attention leading to management being blindsided.

6 Brock Lesnar

WWE viewed Brock Lesnar as a top star from day one by treating him as such in developmental and with an all-time great rookie year. However, Brock got into controversy from that first run when he decided to leave and blindsided WWE with shorter notice than expected when they assumed he’d re-sign.

The second Lesnar stint over the past decade led to way more controversial moments due to his influence growing along with a part-time schedule. Brock has called his own shots and it can harm others. Moments like Dean Ambrose getting buried in a weak match or a backstage confrontation with Chris Jericho showed how Lesnar can strike controversy quite often.

5 Triple H

Most fans enjoy Triple H today for how he handles running WWE, but he was once the most controversial name in the industry. Any wrestler entering a relationship with Stephanie McMahon was going to find his way into that side of the wrestling conversation.

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Triple H’s backstage influence saw many names like Scott Steiner, Goldberg and Bret Hart calling him out for various actions. WWE not being transparent about Triple H being groomed for management while still a talent caused more controversy. Triple H does deserve credit for overcoming this as it could have negatively harmed many careers, even with the power of being the boss’ son-in-law.

4 Charlotte Flair

WWE pushing Charlotte Flair at the expense of all other women in the division during her ascension made her a polarizing character to fans. However, this ended up becoming a real part of Charlotte’s reputation with controversy following her backstage in WWE.

The falling out with Becky Lynch would be bad enough, but it led to an in-ring issue where Flair was blamed more for breaking character first. Charlotte also had the weird instance of that awkward exchange with Nia Jax when they both seemed to break character again for more drama.

3 CM Punk

Every company to employee CM Punk for more than a few dates had to endure just how controversial of a figure he was. WWE was the first massive company where Punk started to show that side of himself in a major way as his star power grew.

Issues with a plethora of names like Triple H, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, The Miz and many others showed that he was always going to be a polarizing figure. AEW learned this the hard with Punk adding another near dozen enemies. WWE will have to think long and hard before ever bringing Punk back given how he brings drama to every locker room he’s in.

2 Shawn Michaels

The stories from Shawn Michaels’ backstage issues in the 1990s are almost impossible to believe since so many things happened in such a short time. Michaels was considered the most unprofessional wrestler at the time with him using influence to harm others and being extremely selfish in the booking.

Multiple short-lived retirements or injury angles had the locker room questioning if Michaels was being honest since he did it to get out of losing multiple times. The all-time wild backstage war between Michaels and Bret Hart saw most siding with Bret since they wanted HBK gone.

1 Ultimate Warrior

The Ultimate Warrior became the most controversial person in WWE history at the time his antics played out since no one was that absurd about handling business before him. Warrior was already a strange cat that started to live his gimmick and felt he was above most of the roster to spark early controversy.

However, things escalated when Warrior demanded a payout from Vince McMahon before performing in an advertised PPV main event. Warrior received more chances returning in the 1990s and always burned the bridge more than the previous time with his backstage attitude. It is a miracle that WWE eventually inducted him into the Hall of Fame after all the chaos he caused.