Conspiracy theories have been around forever.
Look no further than people who believe the United States faked the Apollo 11 moon landing over 55 years ago for quick proof of that.
It does seem like recent years have seen a spike in conspiracy theories, conspiracy theorists who believe them, and the battle between fiction and reality. Each and every one of us has a friend, family member, or co-worker that is on social media and posting “DID YOU HEAR WHAT JOE BIDEN SAID?!?” or “DID YOU READ WHAT THE REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO DO?!?” all the time.
The world of professional wrestling is no stranger to conspiracy theories, either. For as long as I’ve been a fan, I’ve seen, heard, or read about those types of things. Some of them seemed believable, while others were too insane to even consider for more than a second.
This week, I want to discuss some pro wrestling conspiracy theories. Not just conspiracy theories, though. I want to discuss pro wrestling conspiracy theories that I believe are 100% true. Some are big, some are small, some are silly, but they’re all conspiracies that, somewhere along the line, I have bought completely.
Let’s rock.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage Gave Hulk Hogan That Black Eye Before WrestleMania 9: Of all the conspiracy theories in the history of wrestling, there might not be any that are more believed to be true than this one.
Hulk showed up to WrestleMania 9 with a really nasty looking black eye, looking like there was no way in hell he’d be able to see well enough to even wrestle at the show. The story he told was that he was in a jet ski accident two days before WrestleMania, and that his face slammed into the craft’s handlebar.
The other version is that Randy Savage confronted Hulk after finding out that Miss Elizabeth had run off to stay at Hulk’s house because she was friends with Hulk’s wife at the time, Linda. Savage, the most notoriously jealous and protective man in wrestling history, was enraged at Hulk’s “betrayal” and punched him in the face because of it.
One way or another, Hulk put himself in this situation. On one hand, he could’ve/should’ve been up front with Randy about what was going on, and because of that, he nearly got knocked smooth out. Then, on the other hand, let’s say that Savage never laid a hand on him. Why doesn’t anyone believe him? Because Hulk has lied more times than there are stars in the night sky.
Personally, I’m fully behind the story that Savage took a swing at Hulk. Nothing that we’ve ever seen or heard about Randy Savage would tell us that he was incapable of something like that, and nothing that we’ve seen or heard about Hulk Hogan would tell us he didn’t have it coming.
The Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge Love Triangle Was A Work: If you were around as a “smart” fan back then, do you remember how scandalous this entire thing was? Matt Hardy and Lita were dating, and really seemed to be heading to the point of marriage.
Then, just like that, their relationship was over. Not only that, but… Lita cheated on Matt with Edge while Matt was off the road with a knee injury?
Immediately, WWE fans all over the world felt so bad for Matt. That poor son of a bitch got his heart broken, and one of his closest friends was responsible for the heartbreak to boot?!?
Matt was clearly taking it hard, as he began lashing out online.
Again and again.
Then again.
And again some more.
Then again and again.
He was acting like a teen girl who just dumped by the captain of the football team. The only problem there, of course, is Matt was a 30-year-old man at the time, not a teen girl.
WWE released Matt because of his actions online after the affair was made public. He continued lashing out online, even cutting a “shoot” promo on WWE during an appearance for Ring Of Honor.
Three months after being released, Matt would return to WWE and have a feud with Edge. It went back and forth, but eventually, Edge won the feud, winning a Loser Leaves Raw match, sending Matt over to Smackdown.
I think that, at the very least, some of the aspects of the entire split were made up. The entire thing worked out way too conveniently, with Matt, Lita, and Edge all benefiting from everything for their careers. Edge and Lita used it to become two of the most over heels in the business, and that helped propel Edge to the main event scene, where he would win the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania and then win the WWE Title for the first time a few months later.
The only problem is that Matt’s career never quite took off like everyone involved assumed it would. I know A LOT of Matt Hardy fans who were completely turned off by the way he handled the Lita breakup online. As time went on, Matt started letting less and less sympathy from people, instead of getting more and more of it.
I think the most likely scenario is that Matt and Lita were already broken up, and had done so quietly and privately. At some point, they got together with Edge to come up with the entire storyline, and went to pitch it to Vince McMahon. All Vince needed to know was that he was probably going to gain a brand new main event babyface and a brand new main event heel, and he signed off on it. Matt’s release was part of the entire thing, allowing him to wrestle all over the place, before returning to the company at an agreed upon date.
Ideally, Matt and Edge would’ve went on to become megastars for WWE, using the storyline as fuel to the top. It just didn’t work out for Matt. He has had a very solid career over the last 20 years, but it certainly didn’t match what Edge has been able to do in that time frame. If Matt would’ve dialed back on the public whining and petulance, it’s interesting to think about what could’ve been for him. Matt eventually won the TNA World Title twice, but if the storyline with Lita and Edge worked out the way it was planned to, how many World Title reigns would he have?
Paul Levesque and/or Stephanie McMahon Leaked The Vince McMahon Story To The Wall Street Journal: If you’ve ever watched murder mystery shows, or even police shows like Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O, NYPD Blue, and so on, you know about motive, means, and opportunity.
When a crime is committed, and a suspect is sought, the authorities look at motive, means, and opportunity to pin the crime on someone.
Did they have a reason or motivation to commit the crime? That’s motive. Did they have the tools and the ability needed to commit the crime? That’s means. Did they have adequate chances to commit the crime? That’s opportunity.
Obviously, I’m only half serious here, as we’re not talking about a crime when it comes to who leaked the Vince McMahon story to the media that would eventually lead him to leave the wrestling business altogether. However, the motive, means, and opportunity angle (pun intended) is still there.
Who leaked the story? Why would they do it?
I don’t think there’s any way possible that Paul Levesque and/or Stephanie McMahon aren’t responsible for it.
You want motive? With Vince out of the way, look at the power that Mr. Levesque has gained. He has been able to swoop in and take WWE to incredible heights, becoming more of a fan-friendly figure in the process.
You want means? It wouldn’t take much effort to collect information and relay said information to the right outlets.
You want opportunity? Months went by, and all of that aforementioned information that was collected continued to build.
I’m of the belief that Paul Levesque does love his father-in-law, and that he does owe him everything because of the career opportunities that Vince provided him, not to mention giving the green light to begin dating his daughter in the first place.
I’m also of the belief that Paul Levesque has held a bit of a grudge against Vince because of what Vince did to NXT while Paul was running the brand. At one point, Vince seemed completely hands-off with NXT, allowing those in charge there to run things however they saw fit. Then, at some point and for some reason, it was reported that Vince began meddling. He began taking more and more NXT names for call-ups, even though he clearly had no vision for what he was going to do with them. More and more “Paul Levesque Guys and Girls” were getting pushed to the side, if not pushed out of the company altogether. Vince saw the praise and love his son-in-law was getting for the way he was running NXT, and I think it ate away at him, so he wanted to show that he was the real boss.
As far as Stephanie is concerned, I think she loves her father very much, but it’s also a different atmosphere for her. While Vince’s departure from the company hasn’t done anything for Stephanie’s power, as she doesn’t even work for the company anymore. Do you remember the timing of her departure from WWE? When Vince “retired” from WWE in 2022, Stephanie was named the company’s new chairwoman and co-CEO. Less than six months later, Vince would return to the company, and Stephanie would immediately resign.
That’s odd.
Stephanie’s “issue” with Vince is what the accusations against him do for her as a woman. It would be difficult for her to do any of her pro-woman praise and have people not look at her in disgust. If she’s the one who leaked the story, it was done to protect her own image, as well as to benefit her husband, who stood to gain the most by Vince’s departure.
Like I said, there’s no way you’re going to convince me that one, or both, of them aren’t behind the professional downfall of Vince McMahon.
Vince Russo Was Sent To WCW To Destroy It… Sort Of: A lot of people feel this one is legit, but it’s mostly something along the lines of thinking that Vince McMahon and Vince Russo were in cahoots.
I do feel that Vince McMahon had no issue with Russo going to WCW because he knew the type of damage that Russo could do for the company without anyone to rein him in. Vinnie Mac didn’t put up a fight, because he knew the type of roster he had, and the stars would more than balance out the loss of Russo (and Ed Ferrara) from the WWF creative team.
Russo, on the other hand, really thought he would be a game-changing addition for WCW. I mean… he was, just not in the positive direction.
Sure enough, the WWF roster got to flex their muscles, and sure-er enough-er, Russo’s dumb ass helped to accelerate WCW’s downward spiral from the moment he got there.
McMahon was playing 4D chess here, while Russo was playing Scrabble with nothing but Z’s and Q’s.
Shawn Michaels Wasn’t As Injured In 1998 As We’ve Been Told: This is an interesting one, because I do believe it, but as far as the ins and outs of it are concerned, I’m not 100% sure.
The story we’ve all been told is that Shawn suffered an injury during his match against The Undertaker at the 1998 Royal Rumble. He herniated two discs in his back, and “crushed” a third disc, after taking a back body drop over the top rope and clipping his back against a casket at ringside. The injury was so bad that he needed to retire two months later, after dropping the WWF Championship to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14. Obviously, he returned to the business four years later, but his initial retirement was a pretty shocking moment in the history of the sport.
The thing is, though… I don’t think he had a back injury that was bad enough to force him into an early retirement.
I’ve seen a lot of people agree with this line of thinking, and there are a few paths people go down when it comes up.
Some people feel that Shawn did get hurt at the 1998 Rumble, and his injury was enough of an excuse for him to take time off, where he would find himself going to rehab to deal with the personal issues he had in his life at the time. While he was fixing those issues, his relationship with Rebecca Curci, aka Nitro Girl Whisper, blossomed, and he also found religion. With his personal demons being dealt with, his love life growing strong, and his faith turning his life around, he didn’t need to return to the ring. Eventually, though, he felt that itch, and the rest was history.
Another theory has a similar beginning, with his Rumble injury giving him the right “excuse” to go off to rehab. While he was away at rehab, Vince McMahon made the decision to keep Shawn away, probably with the line of thinking that a return to the road would only make things difficult for Shawn again. Shawn was paid for the duration of whatever contract he had, but he was happy to stay home once he began turning his life around.
The first theory makes more sense to me. With everything going on in his life, and all of it being so positive for his mental and physical health, there was no need for Shawn to return to the company. He was fulfilled, and he found other things besides pro wrestling and drugs to take the pedestal positioning in his life. Once his life had pulled out of the nose dive it was in years before, that’s when HBK had the confidence to return to the ring.
Shawn Michaels Had Some Major Dirt On Vince McMahon: When you think about Shawn Michaels in the late-90’s, a lot of things come to mind. One of the first things, though, is just how much of a self-admitted asshole he was to damn near everyone he came in contact with. Think about all the stories that we’ve heard about Shawn’s behavior. Now think about the probable amount of stories that took place, but that we never got to hear about.
Can you think of any jobs, anywhere on the planet, where you can continuously get away with damn near everything without being the boss, being related to the boss, or being in a romantic/sexual relationship with the boss? By the way, that last part is an entirely different conspiracy theory with Vince and Shawn, but it’s one I don’t believe in.
Vince let Shawn get away with so much. SO MUCH. While it’s common sense that bigger stars would get preferential treatment, Shawn took things to such a ridiculous level, and caused so much trouble in so many ways, that you really wonder why Vince wouldn’t just let him go.
Is it as easy as Vince just being afraid that Shawn would go to WCW? It can’t be, right? Right?
No, I think Vince’s hands were tied. Somewhere along the way, Shawn was able to uncover some dirt on Vince that guaranteed him a well-paying job, no matter what he did that would’ve gotten anyone else fired. Now… based on the information we’ve heard through the years, I think we can draw our own conclusions on the type of dirt that Shawn knew about.
It makes perfect sense that Shawn would be able to have that kind of power in the company because he was able to discover some things he wasn’t supposed to discover.
“Green Shirt Guy” Is A WWE Employee: You know the guy… sitting in the front row at damn near every WWE event, and in the same seat, no less. There have been multiple people saying that they’ve seen him conversing with different WWE wrestlers before shows, after shows, during commercial breaks, etc. Wrestlers talk to fans in the front row all the time. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, having sat in the front row for an episode of Raw and Smackdown a few years back. However, the fans who say they’ve seen wrestlers talk to him say that it looks more like he’s relaying information to them, or even directing them on what to do.
The popular theory is that he works for WWE’s social media team. He’s in the front row, and he’s almost always taking pictures and filming things with his phone, so that makes sense.
WrestleMania 40 is when I really started to realize something was up. During the main event of Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes, we got the moment when The Shield’s music hits during the match. Everyone seen on-camera is looking all over the stadium, trying to anticipate where Seth Rollins (and/or Dean Ambrose, in the wildest dreams of some fans) were preparing to make their entrance. Well, almost everyone, that is. Green Shirt Guy and the person he always sits next to were focused on the ringside area, with their phones out. They JUST SO HAPPENED to be looking in the direction that Seth Rollins hopped the barricade, seconds before Rollins could be seen by anyone else.
Yeah, the guy definitely works for WWE in some shape or form.
What pro wrestling conspiracy theories do YOU believe are true? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s move on to my Weekly Power Rankings, before closing things out for the week with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Anarchy In The Arena: Absolutely everything you could ever want out of a match like this, combining a bloody spectacle with tons of great action, and even mixing in some comedy.
Will Ospreay vs “Hangman” Adam Page: They wrestled like two men who knew people were going to question whether or not they should’ve been in the main event spot. With so much on the line, both men delivered a fantastic match that came with what I believe was a surprising outcome.
Jamie Hayter vs Mercedes Moné: Like her or not, Mercedes really may be the best in-ring performer in the history of women’s wrestling. She continues to deliver time and time and time again, no matter where she is and no matter who she’s facing.
Oba Femi vs Myles Borne: We already know that Oba is going to deliver in a big match scenario, but it was nice to find out that Myles Borne could rise to the occasion, as well. NXT might have something special in him moving forward.
Mark Briscoe vs Ricochet: Like Anarchy In The Arena, this was a nice combination of a bloodbath, exciting action, and comedy work.
Stephanie Vaquer vs Jordynne Grace: Styles make matches, and that was the case here. Both women were able to showcase what they do best.
Sol Ruca vs Kelani Jordan: Two of the most athletic women in all of wrestling… maybe in the entire history of women’s wrestling… trying to out-athletic the other one.
CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker: A hot match performed in front of a hot crowd, kicking off a hot show. Works for me.
The Street Profits vs FrAxiom: They were building an absolute banger together until the ending was ruined by the return of the Wyatt Sicks. If history is any indication, the Wyatts will be back off of television sooner than later because of injuries or shoddy creative work. Meanwhile, the Profits and FrAxiom will continue to do great work. Let the Wyatts story go away already. WWE has completely destroyed it at this point.
Kazuchika Okada vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey: A really fun match that was hurt a bit by something of a predictable outcome.
AJ Styles & Penta vs Finn Balor & JD McDonagh: Lots to like here, with all four men putting in work as the battle of the Bullet Club leaders continues.
Natalya vs Becky Lynch vs Roxanne Perez: A freshly motivated Natalya, the new kid on the block trying to prove herself on a bigger stage, and perhaps the greatest overall performer in women’s wrestling history, all coming together with big stakes on the line. Simple enough.
Joe Hendry vs Trick Williams: We really live in a timeline where an NXT wrestler is the current TNA World Champion, winning the match on an NXT pay-per-view against the former champion, who just wrestled at WrestleMania a month ago.
Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks: A fun little amuse-bouche to hold us over until Anarchy In The Arena.
Damian Priest vs Drew McIntyre: Both men wrestled hurt here, and maybe that’s why I felt the match wasn’t quite as good as it could’ve been. Still very entertaining, with two of wrestling’s hardest hitters throwing everything at each other.
Evolution: WWE’s all women’s pay-per-view returns in July. The last one took place in 2018, but WWE is in an entirely different place with their women’s division now. They could easily have an entire pay-per-view with their current roster, without having to dip too many times in the “Legends” well to fill the card out.
Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness vs FTR: I really hope someone finally gets their hands on Tony Schiavone one day. He has spent too many decades talking spicy behind the announce desk, and he needs to pay for it.
Zelina Vega vs Charlotte Flair vs Giulia: Another simple concept… take some competitors and put them in a match where some big stakes are on the line, then watch them go to work.
LA Knight vs Aleister Black vs Shinsuke Nakamura: Another simple concept… take some competitors and put them in a match where some big stakes are on the line, then watch them go to work.
Bronson Reed: He was involved in a big storyline last year when he got injured and needed to take time off. Now, he returns and is involved in another big storyline that has spun off from that initial storyline. Hopefully, we get an explanation soon as to why he and Seth Rollins are working together after trying to kill each other for so long, but hey, it’s a good start for Big Bronson.
Oba Femi & Myles Borne: They had a good promo segment on NXT, leading up to their match at Battleground. Oba was a very confident champion, but still able to give praise to his underdog challenger. Borne did a fantastic job delivering a promo that should’ve motivated anyone out there who has faced an uphill battle in life, who has told they can’t do something, and who has ever been defined by their supposed “disabilities.”
Jey Uso vs Bron Breakker: Whenever I watch Bron wrestle, it’s hard not to envision someone who is going to be the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion much sooner than later.
Chris Sabin vs Tommaso Ciampa: Whenever a tag feud is going on, we always get singles matches involving members of the teams. This was no different, but Sabin and Ciampa are old pros that delivered something fun. We also got the added bonus of Candice LeRae aligning herself with Ciampa and her husband, Johnny Gargano.
Je’Von Evans vs Ashante Adonis vs Sean Legacy: Spots! Spots! Spots! Spots! Spots! Spots! Everybody!
Jimmy Uso & Rey Fenix vs Solo Sikoa & JC Mateo: I’m not sure what was stranger… seeing the former Jeff Cobb wrestling in a WWE ring, or seeing one-half of The Usos teaming up with one-half of The Lucha Bros.
This Week’s Playlist: “Bad As I Used To Be” by Chris Stapleton… “Violent Nature” by I Prevail… “WE NOT DONE” by 42 Dugg… “no rest for the dreamer” by We Came As Romans… “Revery” by Electric Callboy… “I Feel Everything” by Holy Wars… “Gorilla Pimp” by Project Pat & Namond Lumpkin… “We’re Gonna Rumble” by Project Pat… “No Problem” by Lil Scrappy… “Promise” by Do Or Die… “Just Ballin” by Do Or Die… “Still Po Pimpin” by Do Or Die, Twista & Johnny P… “All In The Club” by Do Or Die & Danny Boy… “Bustin Back” by Do Or Die & Chilla… “Ultimate Showdown” by Do Or Die… “Tops Drop” by Fat Pat… “Just Clownin” by WC… “Cheddar” by WC, Ice Cube & Mack 10… “Hustla” by WC & Juvenile… “Who’s Crying Now” by Journey… “18 and Life” by Skid Row… “Second Chance” by 38 Special… “Still Loving You” by Scorpions… “Loves Me Like A Rock” by Paul Simon… “Got To Give It Up” by Marvin Gaye
