8 Wrestlers Who Were Known For Complaining Backstage

Even when they disagree with something, wrestlers still behave professionally. While there were cases when certain wrestlers acted poorly in the ring, due to issues with the management, they were in the minority.

RELATED: 10 Wrestlers Who Don't Get Along With Vince McMahon (& Why)

In a company like WWE, there aren't many wrestlers who have any creative control over their character. Due to this, they have to do what the company planned for them, whether they liked it or not. But top stars are always exceptions to these rules. They get more say in their booking than other stars, and that's probably why these wrestlers can also complain a lot and still not face any repercussions.

8 Steve Austin

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was the biggest star of the Attitude Era. It made sense why Austin would want to protect his character at times, and because of it, he also acted unprofessionally at times. From 1999 to 2002, The Texas Rattlesnake had tons of disagreements with Vince McMahon.

RELATED: Steve Austin's 5 Longest Title Reigns (& 5 Shortest)

Because he was the face of the company, Austin was able to get away with arguments with Vince without facing punishments. In 2002, he complained to McMahon about his booking against a young Brock Lesnar. When he couldn't get his way, Austin walked out on the company.

7 Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels was really disliked by his peers at one point in WWE. Michaels was known for having issues with many wrestlers. Once the company wanted him to drop the belt to Vader, The Heartbreak Kid refused to do so. He also allegedly sabotaged Ahmed Johnson's career in WWE.

Over the years, Michaels improved his reputation. He started considering others as well and stopped playing backstage politics and hampering the progress of other wrestlers.

6 John Cena

In the last few years, John Cena has transitioned from a full-time wrestler to a Hollywood star. Cena no longer appears on WWE television regularly and realizes that the company no longer needs him. But during his prime, Cena was sometimes overprotective of his career. If someone had a real-life beef with him, things didn't end well for that wrestler (ask Alex Riley).

All he had to do was go to Vince McMahon and tell him about his problems and since the latter couldn't upset his top star, he almost always gave in.

5 Randy Orton

Randy Orton isn't one of those wrestlers who turned down storylines. But The Viper was indeed known for complaining to Vince McMahon. He has only done so a few times in his career, but that really ended up badly for those wrestlers.

In 2009, Mr. Kennedy returned to the ring after recovering from an injury. He faced Orton one night, and according to the latter, injured his neck. When Orton complained about it backstage, it set events in motion, ending with Kennedy getting fired from the company days later. He also complained about Kofi Kingston and it stopped the latter's push in WWE for nearly a decade.

4 Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan was the biggest wrestling star of his time. He was a mainstream name and was known by the masses. Hogan cared about his character a lot and didn't easily put anyone over. He had tons of disagreements with Vince and wasn't shy to complain when he didn't like something.

RELATED: 10 Ways Hulk Hogan Failed WCW

While many wrestlers didn't like Hogan because of his unwillingness to put others over, it made sense why The Hulkster did what he did. He wanted to protect his character for as long as he could. When he got past his prime, however, Hogan became less protective of his character and put over several young wrestlers.

3 Bret Hart

Bret Hart was also one of the wrestlers who complained about his booking backstage. But it made sense because he had creative control in his contract.

Also, Vince McMahon promised him a ton of things (including a multi-year title reign) and didn't live up to his words. Vince also promised him a ton of money but later reneged on his deal.

2 Ric Flair

Ric Flair also used his star power to change plans several times over his career. Flair also complained about his booking sometimes. He also refused to drop his title against Lex Luger on several occasions in the late 80s. Even during the early 90s, The Nature Boy refused to drop his belt to Luger. One time, he reasoned that he wanted Sting to take the title off him and that's why he couldn't drop his belt to Luger.

Flair also recently complained to Vince McMahon personally about Charlotte Flair's treatment in WWE. Contrary to popular opinion, Flair believed that his daughter wasn't being treated properly by the company.

1 Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino was really popular among wrestling fans at one point. That's why he kept the WWWF Championship for nearly eight years (although he didn't defend his title regularly). Sammartino worked under Vince McMahon for only a few years before leaving WWE.

He criticized the company a lot and didn't like the usage of drugs in wrestling.

Sammartino was also very vocal about McMahon's treatment of legends in wrestling and how they didn't get paid enough. Bruno once also admitted to the Washington Post in 1980 that he would complain about wrestler's gimmicks. He even refused to work with certain types of wrestlers.