WWE: The 7 Best Twitter Battles in Wrestling History

Throughout the history of wrestling, superstars have had to refine their feuds on televised events and during house shows. Since wrestling hasn’t been considered main stream for very long in the grand scheme of things, there haven’t been too many other platforms for wrestlers to develop feuds on. Over the past couple of years, that has certainly changed as many WWE superstars have taken to Twitter.

Not only has the social networking site allowed wrestlers to connect with their fans, it has also given them a stage to further storylines. For some wrestlers, receiving a few minutes of television time simply isn’t enough to make effective progress with the WWE universe. While many of these WWE Twitter battles are staged, there are plenty more that occur due to legitimate heat between wrestlers.

WWE television is restrictive to superstars in a lot of ways, as they have a limited amount of air time and have to adhere to what the creative team wants. Twitter allows them to show fans their true personality in a lot of instances, which can just as easily be negative as positive. Whatever the case, it looks like Twitter is here to stay in the wrestling world, for better or worse.

Here are the seven best WWE Twitter battles.

Gail Kim vs. Melina

In this feud that began and concluded just a few weeks ago, Gail Kim accused Melina of being “emotionally unstable.” Melina shot back with a YouTube video that she posted on her Twitter account. In the video, Melina said that Gail was “a horrible friend.” After the video, many wrestling fans were beginning to wonder whether or not this was a legitimate feud.

This was quickly answered as Melina, in a live interview on her website, admitted that they were simply trying to further a storyline. In actuality, she and Gail are actually good friends. Seeing as the WWE does a pretty poor job of building up their Divas (outside of a select few), you can’t blame Melina and Gail for taking matters into their own hands. Although the manufactured feud led only to a couple matches on Superstars, it at least helped to bring a little added attention to the Diva division.

Chris Jericho vs. The Miz

In one of the earlier WWE Twitter feuds of note, Chris Jericho and The Miz went at it in a war of words in July 2009. In terms of entertainment value, perhaps no WWE Twitter battle can match this one. Jericho and Miz went back and forth with zinger after zinger. Much of it had to do with Miz calling Jericho old and making fun of his band Fozzy. In turn, Jericho mostly bashed Miz’s wrestling skills.

There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the Twitter war, but fans undoubtedly enjoyed it. The feud didn’t lead to any type of program between the two in the WWE, but it set the bar in terms of how to effectively create controversy on Twitter. In actuality, Jericho and The Miz are at least friendly acquaintances as they have been seen out on the town together on a few occasions. This seemed to be nothing more than a couple buddies having a little fun at the expense, and enjoyment, of their fans.

The Miz vs. Tommy Dreamer

This Twitter battle between “the most must-see champion in WWE history” The Miz, and former ECW star Tommy Dreamer was a short one, but there was no shortage of vitriol being spewed from either side. Everything started last year when Dreamer, who was previously on the WWE’s version of ECW during the same time period as The Miz, said it was a joke that The Miz was awesome. He also said that it was a joke that the pushing of young wrestlers equated to good ratings.

The Miz fired back by essentially calling Dreamer an “old, fat, balding has-been.” Dreamer responded by saying that he was “the highest rating main event in ECW every year for three years.” With that, as quickly as it started, the Twitter feud was over. Presumably, The Miz didn’t want to waste his time with somebody whose relevance had come and gone. This was undoubtedly a real-life feud, and The Miz came out on top, while Dreamer came out looking like a bitter old man.

CM Punk vs. Shawne Merriman

Although this Twitter feud only features one WWE superstar, it still counts in my book due to the pure hilarity of the situation. While the WWE was touring in Costa Rica this past winter, CM Punk, some of his fellow superstars and some Divas were sitting by the pool. As they were sitting there, Buffalo Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman began hitting on some of the Divas. This led Punk to quip via Twitter that Merriman’s lack of game with the Divas reminded him of “the Bills in the Super Bowl.” Seeing as the Bills lost four-straight Super Bowls in the early ‘90s, this is quite the gut punch to any Bills fan.

Merriman proceeded to make himself look bad by threatening to beat up Punk and by making fun of Punk’s physique and telling him to do some pushups. Punk said that he had no intention of getting in a battle with Merriman, but he thought it was weak that Merriman sent his publicist to tell the Divas that he was interested in them after he struck out on his own. Punk said that the Divas are like family and that he didn’t want a “creep” like Merriman bothering them. It looks like Punk won this one. “Lights out,” Shawne.

Shawn Michaels vs. Shane Helms

Usually, for a Twitter battle to ensue, there has to be some sort of back and forth. When it came to Shawn Michaels and Shane Helms this past winter, though, Helms seemed to be the only one who mounted any offense. The feud started when Helms made disparaging remarks about HBK on a wrestling podcast. He said that Michaels was one of the biggest jerks and drug users in the history of the business. He also called Michaels a fraud with regards to his status as a born-again Christian.

Helms continued his lambasting of Michaels on Twitter by calling him a hypocrite and an animal slaughterer in reference to his hunting hobby. Rather than stoop to Helms’ level, Michaels took the high road and said that Helms’ comments didn’t affect him. He also said that it seemed like his fans were more up in arms about it than he was. Whether or not that was true, Michaels won this battle by refraining from name-calling, and Helms looked like a jealous bully.

The Rock vs. John Cena

Never before has the main event of WrestleMania been determined a year in advance, but that is exactly what happened between John Cena and The Rock. With The Rock having plenty of non-wrestling endeavors to focus on, he had to find some sort of medium to continue his feud with Cena over the course of the year. It turns out that Twitter has served that exact purpose. There has been quite the war of words between Cena and The Rock on Twitter since April. Most recently, The Rock posted a video bashing Cena for badmouthing him on a recent WWE tour in Australia.

The Rock emptied the chamber on Cena and called him every name in the book. Cena responded with his usual barbs, saying that The Rock was responding via satellite like always and questioning whether The Rock really loved wrestling. When it comes to wrestling, the best type of feud is one where the lines are blurred regarding whether the hate between the two superstars is real or manufactured.

When it comes to Cena and The Rock, that is absolutely the case. While most of it is probably storyline related, there seems to be some legitimate heat between the two. As long as this Twitter battle continues, it will be difficult to forget about the upcoming main event at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Bret Hart vs. Hulk Hogan

Some Twitter battles are in good fun and some are due to a legitimate dislike between the combatants. Then, there are some that completely cross the line and become all too personal. This was the case when it came to Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan this past March. Of course, Hart and Hogan are no longer WWE superstars but they are two of the biggest of all time, and Hart has been involved with the WWE a lot over the past year. There is quite the history of bad blood between Hart and Hogan. Most believe it stems from Hogan refusing to drop the WWE Championship to Hart before Hogan’s departure from the WWE in 1993.

Hart also felt like he was held back in WCW due to his perception that Hogan had a vendetta against him. Seeing as Hogan had creative control, this is quite possible. Hart was asked some questions regarding TNA on Twitter, and he decided to take some liberties with Hogan. He called Hogan “a two-faced, backstabbing steroid freak.”

After Hogan responded, Hart made mention of John Graziano. Graziano was severely injured in a car crash in which Hogan’s son Nick Bollea was the driver. Regardless of what Hogan has done over the course of his career, Hart bringing Hogan’s family into it completely crossed the line. Hart may or may not be a better person than Hogan, but Hogan made the right decision by ending the battle after that comment and not allowing it to go any further.