It got so heated inside the car on the way to a show, that the driver had to pull over. Real emotions erupted. Tom Prichard and Tracy Smothers made their names during the 90s Smoky Mountain wrestling circuit, but they never got along. En route to their next gig, a war of words was brewing. Tom Prichard blamed Tracy Smothers for intentionally injuring his opponents instead of following the script and respecting the no-injury clause of pro wrestler credo. Tracy Smothers fumed over the accusation until they took it outside.
Exiting the vehicle, rank words and fists flew. The two nearly ended up settling the score behind bars as blue flashing lights pulled up to their impromptu fight. Tom Prichard, quick on his feet, informed the law enforcement officer the two were only practicing wrestling moves for a show. The cop responded, “You don’t do that in my town! You got thirty seconds to get your asses out of here or I’m taking you all to jail.” They left, close call. Neither wrestler wanted to miss the show due to being arrested for disturbing the peace.
Sid Vicious vs. Arn Anderson
This insult-slinging match started in the bar room and nearly ended with a CSI team cordoning off a bloody hallway with yellow tape. The brutal fight, live and unscripted, was one of the worst displays of wrestler animosity, and a humiliation to the business. In the heat of the melee, Sid Vicious grabbed a pair of scissors and Arn Anderson defended himself with a chair leg.
By the end of it, both stabbed each other with the scissors, and the blood-strewn hallway corridor walls and floor attested to their ruthlessness. Luckily a couple other wrestlers heard the commotion in the hallway and broke up the fight until ambulances could take them away. The reason for the fight? Stress of being on the road, drunkenness and disputes about who’s the best wrestler, apparently. Two bloated alpha-male egos and one small space.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash vs. The Nasty Boys
This story goes back to 1996. In the ring during that televised event, a particularly hard hit to Nasty Boy Jerry Sags with a steel folding chair, all according to script, accidentally caused a lot of pain on the receiving end. The Nasty Boys threw the script out the window and started an all-out brawl.
Pre-existing tensions about pay discrepancies between the duo teams didn’t help – Nasty Boys had to take a pay cut, their adversaries didn’t. Nasty Boy Sags unleashed on Scott Hall, knocking out a few of his teeth. And it didn’t end there. In the locker room, Kevin Nash came in swinging, not fists, but a baseball bat. The off-script incident got the Nasty Boys fired.
Eric Bischoff vs. Ric Flair
Not much is known about this impromptu scuffle, in large part due to the fact that Vince McMahon ordered the culprits to zip-it to avoid bad media buzz for the WWE. These days Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair are on good terms, but their past animosity led up to the legendary lore of their backstage fight, fueled by their silence about the events.
No one really knows, but what seemed to have happened is this: Ric Flair lost his cool after overhearing Eric Bischoff’s phone conversation of sexist content and he attacked him, punching Ric Flair mid-conversation causing his cell phone to go clattering to the ground. Ric Flair responded and the two tussled until Sgt. Slaughter pulled them apart. Tie!
The Dynamite Kid vs. Jacques Rougeau
This WWF match at Madison Square Garden pitted the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) against the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond). It was the very first SummerSlam PPV show and the Dynamite kid and Jacques Rougeau’s rivalry was ripe. The match was uneventful, playing out as scheduled – the action took place backstage. Exasperating the situation, a locker room prank rubbed Jacques the wrong way. Dynamite’s reputation as a bully and their personal animosity had Jacques assuming the locker room gag was the work of the British Bulldogs. In reality, the prank was Curt Hennig’s work. While the Fabulous Rougeaus were in the ring with the British Bulldogs, Hennig cut their clothing into thin strips.
The Rougeau Brothers were furious when they found their clothing in shreds and went after the Dynamite Kid, yelling and threatening him, but then leaving the room. Dynamite, on the other hand, turned to and leveled Jacques, smacking him right across the ear. Raymond tried to break up the brawl, so Dynamite knocked him out as well. When Jacques recovered from the seemingly unprovoked attack, he began plotting his revenge. The act was brutal. It happened a few weeks later at a TV taping. In the backroom attack, Jacques hid a roll of quarters inside his fist and swung hard at Dynamite Kid’s face. Four teeth were shattered. To patch things up, the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers agreed to pay Dynamite Kid’s dental bill.