In WWE, feuding competitors often take their rivalries to a personal level by digging up dirt from their opponent's past and trolling them with it. However, Vince McMahon's idea of trolling doesn't always match up with the tastes of the real world.
The most notorious example of this is when Triple H trolled Kane by mocking the death of his girlfriend, Katie Vick. Although that was almost 20 years ago, Vince McMahon still incorporates trolling into the feuds which oftentimes fail the hardest with the WWE Universe -- and here are five of the absolute worst.
Baron Corbin Trolling the Big Dog With Dog Food
King Corbin isn't the most well-liked WWE Superstar, yet he's continually been given huge storylines with WWE's biggest stars. This jump to the top, along with what fans perceive to be a very mundane character, has made Baron Corbin one of the most hated WWE Superstars currently on the roster. Of course, horrible storylines in which he's forced to troll Roman Reigns with dog food certainly don't help his popularity either.
What should have been a nice notch in Corbin's belt feuding with one of Smackdown's biggest stars turned completely cringeworthy when he introduced dog food into the story. Since Roman's nickname is the "Big Dog," Corbin, along with Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, shackled Reigns to the ring post and poured dog food on top of him. This strange set-up to a high profile program for Corbin culminated in a match at TLC and a six-man tag team match where the loser would have to eat dog food. The absurdity was only made worse by Michael Cole's forced kennel references and fake laugh. Of course, Corbin lost, got dog food dumped on him, and the whole feud benefited no one.
Sheamus Trolling Jeff Hardy With His Past Demons
It's no secret to the wrestling world that Jeff Hardy has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse issues in the past. Hardy's latest DUI in October 2019 was a reminder of Hardy's struggles and how he's still battling his demons today. Naturally, WWE decided to work this into a storyline.
During his feud with the Charismatic Enigma, Sheamus trolled Jeff Hardy with his past troubles with alcohol. Sheamus framed Hardy for a hit-and-run, forced him to take a urine test publicly and taunted him with a fake bartender. Although there are a few theories as to why this storyline exists, trolling Jeff Hardy with his real-life addiction just for the sake of cheap heat is pretty low, even by WWE's standards.
Dean Ambrose Trolling Seth Rollins With Roman Reigns' Leukemia
On one of the most memorable nights in Raw history, Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish his Universal Title and take time off to undergo treatment for his real life Leukemia diagnosis. After the emotional announcement, Roman was joined by his Shield brothers, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, who dedicated their title match to Roman Reigns later that night. The two Shield members would win the Tag Team Titles, only for Dean Ambrose to turn heel immediately afterwards.
To make The Lunatic Fringe's betrayal all the more stinging, Ambrose trolled Rollins using the resurgence of Roman's Leukemia. Ambrose would mock Roman's disease, saying that it was "karma" and that the cancer was the result of Roman answering for his time in The Shield. According to an interview with Dean Ambrose, Vince wanted him to troll even harder, but Ambrose refused to do it -- and this became one of the reasons why Ambrose would eventually leave for AEW.
Vince McMahon Trolling HBK With "God"
Shawn Michaels had a long and historic WWE career, and over the course of that long career The Heartbreak Kid had his fair share of ups and downs. HBK wasn't always the most pleasant to work with backstage. He struggled with drugs and alcohol, and carrying the weight of WWE on his shoulders sometimes made him extra irritable. However, just prior to Shawn Michaels' return from his first retirement, HBK became a new man after becoming a born again Christian.
Shawn's faith never played a part into his character or storylines -- until his feud with Vince and Shane McMahon. In a scene which WWE would copy later, Vince trolled Shawn by making him take a urine test and then challenged Shawn to a tag team match between The McMahons versus Shawn Michaels and "God."
Vince went so far as to tape a backstage scene in a church where Mr. McMahon and Shane completely mocked Shawn's faith in preparation for their match. The segment may have been blasphemous, and was certainly tasteless even for an agnostic audience, but at least it ultimately paved the way for a D-Generation X reunion (much to Mr. McMahon's chagrin).
CM Punk Trolling The Undertaker With Paul Bearer's Death
Few WWE Superstars are as loved as The Undertaker. So when his longtime manager, Paul Bearer, died, many fans and fellow Superstars mourned and honored his passing. But the subsequent Raw episodes after Bearer's death would become the source of trolling for CM Punk's feud with The Deadman, as The Second City Saint would use Bearer's actual death to insult The Undertaker.
CM Punk would interrupt The Undertaker as he paid respect to Paul Bearer, mocked Paul Bearer's voice, attacked Kane with the stolen urn, and even had Paul Heyman appear dressed as Paul Bearer. This attempt to get under the skin of The Phenom only enraged him, and The Undertaker would defeat Punk to keep The Streak alive for the time being.
Unfortunately, the trolling not only failed to seal the win for The Best in the World, it also didn't sit well with Paul Bearer's real-life sons who, like many fans, found the segments hard to watch.