WWE Real-Life Friendships: Bonds Above The Ring

Professional wrestling often alludes to a world of competitive rivalries, dramatic storylines, and characters that are huge in their proportion. Down this route of scripted feuds and staged staredowns lies romance: real friendship developed amongst the superstars of the WWE. Most of it goes beyond the ring; in this world of professional wrestling, there can be a real sense of camaraderie and mutual respect within what is often challenging, labor-intensive work. In this article, we shall consider some of the most potent real-life friendships in the WWE that have stood by time and the wrestling business.

The New Day: Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E.
One of these immortalized instances of friendship in WWE is among the real-life best friends and The New Day members: Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E. The faction started in 2014 and quickly became one of the most popular and successful factions in WWE history—though their undeniable chemistry shows in the ring during on-mic work. What shines through, though, is their undisputable real friendship outside of the ring.

After all, Woods, Kingston, and Big E always talk about the brotherly bond they all share. It is founded such that the three are there for each other through thick and thin, meaning through personal and professional matters like injuries and family milestones. Their friendship is based on mutual respect, shared interest in video games, comic books, and a commitment to success. This kindred spirit seeps into their performances, making any of The New Day’s segments and matches have that most accurate and heartfelt notion to them.

Perhaps the best of times for this friendship was realized at WrestleMania 35 when Kofi Kingston won the WWE Championship. Big E and Xavier Woods were visibly clutching one another, tears streaming down both their faces, in a moment that resonated with how much this meant to so many people as Kingston held that title nearly 11 years after coming under contract for the WWE. Their legit joy and pride for what Kingston had done found an audience and put a stamp on just how strong a bond it would prove to be—not only for those men on the road but also in actually helping each other’s careers progress.

Sasha Banks and Bayley
Another pair of WWE superstars whose real-life friendship has made a huge difference in their on-screen chemistry: Sasha Banks and Bayley. Moreover, both are significant players in the Women’s Evolution in WWE, having a hand in some of the most unforgettable matches and moments over the past few years.

Banks and Bayley first met at NXT, forming a strong friendship based on their love of wrestling and their desire to take the women’s division to greater heights. Their rivalry in NXT, particularly the match at the 2015 NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, is said to have been one of the best women’s matches ever witnessed. All the while, however, throughout all the intense rivalries, nothing could tear their mutual respect and friendship apart.

The two continued to progress in their relationship when they were called up to the main roster. Again, whether working against or with each other, this real-life friendship shined through. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Banks and Bayley remain at the forefront of WWE’s women’s division, portraying their versatility and closeness in numerous storylines. Their friendship set the base for all their successes, allowing the two to push each other to great heights and manufacture moments that will never leave the WWE Universe’s memories.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are friends whose friendship began long before they even signed with WWE. The two men met on the independent wrestling circuit while traveling, performing in different organizations. The one thing that has survived takes those days in the Indies into coming into the family—a place where both have had reasonable amounts of success for themselves. Owens and Zayn’s real-life friendship has been well-documented, and WWE often nods to their bond in how they create their storylines. They have been stubborn business rivals, hardcore fight allies, which produced heated, exciting matches piled up with some compelling narratives. Their familiarity with the ring style and holding a deep personal connection proved a significant part in what would turn into a sequence of some of the most charged matches in WWE, both emotionally and technically.

Such a bond has been alive in one of their most silent, shining moments in WWE, WrestleMania 37, where Owens and Zayn collided in a much-anticipated match. This was regardless of the possible differences between them on the show’s storylines; the lived respect for one another and friendship shone through, so it was even more unique, especially for the fans who witnessed that.

Their journey from wrestling in small, rented halls to performing on Wrestlemania is a tale showcasing friendship and commitment.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Through it all, Becky Lynch’s and Charlotte Flair’s careers have had something in common: their friendship. The two wrestlers started training at WWE’s Performance Center together and quickly bonded over their shared experiences as second-generation wrestlers (Lynch’s dad also wrestled, while Flair is the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair) and their desire to make it big within the wrestling world.
Lynch and Flair’s friendship imbued their on-screen rivalry with far more meaning, and their work was amongst the most engaging storylines in the WWE. It eventually peaked in 2018 after Lynch defied Flair, leading to an intense series of matches with high tension and moments that kept viewers at the edge of their seats. Indeed, even if they are up by far less amiable in the ring, their respect and friendship did not go anywhere from behind the screens.

The caliber in their good friendship was rekindled when Lynch announced her pregnancy in 2020. Flair immediately turned to social media to wish Lynch a quick recovery among her initial well-wishers—a sign that she firmly upholds the tightness of their relationship. It just goes to show how much real-life friendships can help add weight and legitimacy to professional rivalries.

Edge and Christian
Perhaps one of the longest-running and most popular in the history of WWE, the friendship shared between Edge and Christian is precisely that. Two Ontario-born Canadians who grew up together with a vision of becoming professional wrestlers each trotted a line commitment and hard work from being childhood buddies to the WWE Hall of Fame.

Edge and Christian hit their stride in WWE, first as a tag-team unit, capturing an array of title belts; they became one of the most riveting and dominant tag teams in the company’s history. They were very much significant in the ring with quite good comedic timing; they also did a lot behind the scenes for the fans. What ended up keeping them at it were the bonds giving them so much support and encouragement toward each other.

Yet even after Edge was forced to retire in 2011 because of injury, the friendship never died. Almost like a tribute to a fallen friend, Christian kept coming back repeatedly to compete. So when Edge, against all the odds and logic of the fairytale, made it back to the ring in 2020, one of his loudest cheerleaders was Christian. From the emotion of the Royal Rumble comeback to another at one of that company’s other programs, the bond was evident.

The Undertaker and Kane
Of all the storylines past in WWE history, that between The Undertaker and Kane presents one of the most memorable on-screen brotherly relationships. However, the bond outside the ring seems almost as weighty. In ten years of paying dues in wrestling, Mark Calaway and Glenn Jacobs — better known as The Undertaker and Kane — have built a strong friendship based on deep respect for both personalities and experience in wrestling.

The Undertaker and Kane’s storyline made them both bitter rivals and powerful allies, starting back in the late 1990s. Their chemistry and understanding of their respective characters made the segments for both of them so compelling and believable. Outside the ring, Calaway and Jacobs have stood by each other through various personal and professional matters.
This can be attested by the many interviews and public appearances where each has spoken highly about the friend status and bond with the other. Jacobs, inducting The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022, said at length about the long-term friendship and lasting impacts each has had on the other’s career.

Triple H and Shawn Michaels
The next in line would be the legendary bond between Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Known collectively, their on-screen antics and rebellious behavior are what defined a period of time in WWE as D-Generation X, DX. It was, however, their real-life friendship that made the pairing so magical and long-lasting.
Triple H (Paul Levesque) and Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom) became buddies for the first time in the mid-1990s. Their love for wrestling and the same sense of humor helped them to gel well. As DX, they were beginning to test WWE programming and make some of the most unforgettable moments of the Attitude Era.

Their friendship survived Michaels’ 1998 retirement from active wrestling due to a back injury and his return to the ring in 2002. Triple H was massive in helping Michaels get back into the WWE, and the reunion as DX was one of the significant moments for so many fans. Behind the scenes, that friendship has helped to offer a shoulder to cry on, encouraging and pushing through all the evils that come with wrestling.

Natalya and Beth Phoenix
Natalya and Beth Phoenix did prove one significant fact in their friendship: mutual respect, as well as sharing a common experience, knows no bounds in making a friendship work. In the WWE, both divas are known to be pioneers in the women’s division, and that bond was what a significant factor for their careers.

Natalya and Beth Phoenix first met in the WWE. The friendship happened in a very short period because of their shared passion for wrestling and a similar goal—that is, to raise women higher. In the tag team, they were the Divas of Doom who rose above with bashing power in the women’s division.

Outside the ring, being there for each other went miles across many personal situations and triumphs for the team of Natalya and Phoenix. In 2017, Phoenix entered the WWE Hall of Fame, which passed what is known as a very proud moment for both women. Natalya was, after all, right there as part of celebrating her friend’s induction into the Hall of Fame. Proving that wrestlers bonded well after fights could prove to be the perfect tonic for the wrestling business, their friendship has been one to emulate for fans and fellow wrestlers.

Daniel Bryan and Kane
What began as an on-screen relationship quest for Daniel Bryan and Kane quickly became a true friendship. Known by the ridiculous name Team Hell No, it became something that fans would love just for the odd pairing, showing both comedy and chemistry in acts of mutual respect.

Bryan (real name Bryan Danielson) and Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) had been paired together for the first time in 2012, bringing forth several of the funniest segments gracing WWE programming. Combining the all-out opposing views of Bryan—with passion—and Kane—with a stoic disposition—brought to motion pictures the ideal duo for a comic team frenzy. All their individualistic personas and off-screen relationships helped perform the depth required.

Behind the curtain of their characters’ theatrics, Bryan and Jacobs have been there for one another in multiple professional and personal manners. For example, when Bryan returned to the ring after his injury and consequent premature retirement at the time, what we saw in real life from Kane was genuine rejoicing. They are friends, that kind of friendship hoping on-screen storylines end up being real life.

Sasha Banks and Bayley
Another pair of WWE superstars who are close friends in real life and, in turn, that was reported to help their on-screen chemistry was Sasha Banks and Bayley. To add another interesting factor, the consideration of both as critical elements in the Women’s Revolution in WWE and their deliverance of some of the most memorable matches and moments in WWE lately sets it all apart.

Banks met Bayley during their time in NXT, where they developed a strong friendship with each other based on their love and passion for wrestling and the vision of making the women’s division the best in the world. Perhaps the most famous match they ever had occurred at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015—an ash-wood clash that has been remembered as possibly the best women’s match of its time. They got on so hard and hated each other so well, but at the base were their mutual respect and an excellent level of regard for friendship.

The story began with evolution and continued once they made their way to the main roster. Whether as partners or adversaries, that natural chemistry simply couldn’t help but shine through. From the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Banks and Bayley led WWE’s women’s division in different storylines that displayed versatility and a profound cord attached to the relationship nurtured between them. Their friendship has been a solid foundation for their careers, challenging and lifting each other to greater heights and moments the WWE Universe will remember forever.

The Bella Twins: Nikki and Brie
Bella Nikki and Brie Bella, known as “The Bella Twins,” would be considered, perhaps, one of the more recognizably linked duos in WWE. Of course, being identical twins means having a relationship far different from most wrestlers and even connecting on a deeper level as sisters would have them right at the core of their WWE personas. Realistically, this would be part of the groundwork that would eventually lead to their road to success, both in WWE and outside of it.

The Bellas made their appearance for WWE back in 2008, and as soon as they saw how charismatic and athletic they were and how different but identical twins, the audience fell for them. Besides winning many championships, they were pioneers of Women’s Evolution – breaking barriers and setting new paradigms on what women do in the squared circle.

Outside the squared circle, Nikki and Brie have supported each other through a variety of personal and professional milestones, including their ventures into reality TV with “Total Divas” and “Total Bellas.” The sisters have been able to stick up for one another not only in wrestling but also beyond its bounds as they forged successful post-wrestling careers. Being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 was a massive deal for both sisters, acknowledging their work with WWE and their lifelong bond. One thing about the relationship with The Bella Twins is the vastness of what it underlines one’s family can shoulder and help achieve success.

Conclusion
Against a battlefield of high-strung rivalries and melodramatic storylines, the world of WWE equips them with numerous canonized friendships to further redeem the lives of these superstars within the boost of their ring performance. The bonds are forged from shared experiences and offer mutual respect—for their deep love of whatever and however wrestling entails—proof of ennobling camaraderie amidst the professional wrestling arts, which is very demanding at most. From the inseparability of The New Day to the immortal friendship of Edge and Christian, these genuine relationships have turned the key for WWE superstars’ careers and created moments not to be forgotten by fans. As the WWE juggernaut keeps on moving, the friendships being born off-camera retain their significance in carrying the enterprise, reminders that even in this most manufactured of carnivals, what pursues a real, organic spirit of relations and friendships is what makes the journey worth traveling.