This time, Chris Jericho instigated his own fight, however, the backstage brawl was ten years in the making. There was bad blood between Chris Jericho and Bill Goldberg from the time they both wrestled for the now defunct WCW league. Years later, when Bill Goldberg joined the WWE, Chris Jericho was not pleased. Tensions worsened when Bill Goldberg greeted Chris Jericho (Y2J) with a hearty back slap on day one of entering the WWE league.
Eventually, during a RAW event, Y2J heard back about Bill Goldberg’s smack talking, criticizing his performance skills. With a chip on his shoulder and score to settle, Y2J strode into the dressing room to have a few challenging words with the much larger wrestler, Bill Goldberg. “If you have something to say to me, say it to my face,” he said. Goldberg silenced the significantly smaller Y2K, swiftly seizing him by the throat. Y2K, lit to pop with Goldberg’s hand clenched around his neck, returned the favor by taking the hulking man down and putting him in a front face lock. The two wrestlers eventually patched things up, but Y2K’s backstage rout against the massive Bill Goldberg is one for the WWE history books.
Sin Cara vs. Simon Gotch
You can call it a petty food fight. (But not to their faces!) Apparently Sin Cara and Simon Gotch were having some words while dining together. According to Simon Gotch they were exchanging some digs, and one hit a nerve. The meal ended with Sin Cara hurling an unopened can of soda at Gotch’s face.
To his credit, Simon Gotch took the hit in stride complimenting the thrower’s accuracy. It gave him a black eye. They brawled for about 20 seconds before their fight was broken up. They patched things up before leaving the dining room.
Perry Saturn vs. Mike Bell
Mike Bell botched a move and it flipped the fight from rehearsed to live. The mistake resulted in Perry Saturn landing on his neck. Clearly it was painful, because it triggered Saturn. Leaping to his feet, he attacked Bell for real. Unleashing punch after punch, pummeling Mike Bell, Saturn, in a fit of ferocious rage, grabbed Bell and threw him, head first, out of the ring. Bell, stunned and confused, luckily did not land on his head and avoided serious injury.
The WWF did not let Perry Saturn go, but his career gradually fizzled out after they punished him with a humiliating story line. Playing into the gimmick, Saturn teased mercilessly about being in love with a mop. He dropped the act after he avenged those who caused the mop named “Moppy’s” tragic fate – being fed into a wood-chipper.
Dave “Batista” Bautista vs. Booker T
This unscheduled smack down took place at a beautiful Encino mansion. It was 2006 during the SummerSlam season and a group of pro wrestler stars met at the mansion to do a promo shoot. Outside by the pool, Batista and Booker T began to air their mutual hostilities toward each other, and, of course, it came to a head. Booker T told Batista he didn’t like him. He said they’d never be friends, but that they had to work together. They didn’t. Booker T and Batista beat each other to a swollen bloody mess which took at least five hulking superstars to rip them apart.
One of those referees was superstar Fin Finlay, who told RF Video, “I don’t know what started it but they were rolling on the floor. They will say that Booker T got to Dave, but that’s not how it was. Dave was on top of Booker T, you know? Booker T had a swollen eye.” Fin Finlay went on to say that’s when they pulled the fighters apart and stood them up. The two were glad to resolve their hostilities and bury the hatchet. By now, they’re even good friends.
Brock Lesnar vs. Chris Jericho
This scuffle started at the 2016 SummerSlam event. This particular wrestling match was between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, but Chris Jericho (Y2K) got involved. It played out as rehearsed, except that the final blow to Randy Orton’s head drew more blood than Brock Lesnar intended. Randy Orton’s friend, Y2K, took offense. In WWE bloody wounds are staged. The showmen target the head because head wounds bleed profusely.
During the act, the wrestler hides a sharp object to initiate the dramatic effect. Sometimes bags of fake blood are used. Not so this time. Chris Jericho saw the blood, thought the wound that required ten staples to close was intentional and excessive, and he confronted Brock Lesnar about it. They got into it, nose to nose, at very close proximity, and that’s where Chris Jericho chose to leave it.