Ego is something that gets one in trouble no matter which the profession is.
And thanks to the volatile nature of the professional wrestling business, the impact of Ego is much larger in comparison to the regular jobs that we take up. Over the course of the professional wrestling history, we have heard about numerous instances where the Ego of a wrestler causing havoc in different levels.
It is hard to blame a celebrity performer for having an ego, but at the same time, the fact that this is dangerous makes it worth talking about. There are certain names in the business that has a big ego and this list is going to take a look at them and the instances that prove this addition in their resume
Steve Austin
Some of you might be surprised to see Steve Austin in this list, but others would be wondering why he is not in the first position. Austin was such a polarizing character. He was once tagged as the most demanding superstar by none other than Vince McMahon himself. And it was this ego of Steve Austin that led to him walking out of the company.
During the last part of his career, Austin was not happy with the way he was booked and felt himself to be bigger than the actual promotion. Although Austin carried around the company when they needed it so badly, it would be safe to say that the success of WWE during that time frame was not only because of his brilliance.
Kurt Angle
If it wasn't for Kurt Angle's ego, he would've still been in WWE right now. Kurt is a dedicated performer, period. He gave his blood and sweat for WWE during his time but there was one point when the doctors refused to clear him. The doctors suggested that Angle would have been in a wheelchair if he continued wrestling but Angle was in no mood to hear the same.
Some might say that this was his love for the business, but from another perspective, it is Angle's unwillingness to retire by hearing someone else's word. He then went on to have a good run in TNA and now, all Kurt needs is one final farewell match in WWE.
Goldberg
One of the reasons why Goldberg had a short-lived wrestling career was because of his ego. Thanks to the brilliance of Eric Bischoff, Goldberg was projected as a big name in the wrestling business even though he did not have the skill set to be one. The monstrous figure and the charisma were the reason for the same, but Goldberg fueled his ego with the newly found stardom.
He had some great demands when WWE signed him up and his backstage fights with Chris Jericho are other instances that showcase his ego. Goldberg is still staying away from WWE due to the problems he has with the company and we should wait and see whether he has one more run in him.
Vince McMahon
When you build a wrestling empire and successfully run it for numerous decades, you are bound to have a big ego and Vince McMahon has just that. McMahon, who has the power over everyone when it comes to WWE, has put himself in some situations that project his ego. He was been crowned the WWE champion, he was wrestled God and he has been involved with many WWE women performers as well.
And the most important evidence perhaps of Vince is the fact that he ignores the other wrestling promotions. Ever since the death of WCW, Vince has been running WWE as though they are the only promotion in the world. The situation has changed a bit thanks to the influence of Triple H, but still, it explains why Vince is in this life.
Bret Hart
There is a fine line between self-respect and Ego and Bret probably falls on the latter side of this line. Bret claims himself to be the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, and from what he wrote in his autobiography, he is someone who keeps track of all his achievements.
Bret was a great wrestler perhaps, but he was never near the level of Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin when it came to star power. Another example of Bret's ego is his refusal to drop the title to Shawn Michaels and this refusal went on to change the wrestling business forever.
Shawn Michaels
The life of Shawn Michaels could easily be split into two parts based on the time period that he chose to be a born-again Christian. Michaels was incredibly hard to deal with during the pre-Christian days projected a lot of ego during this time frame. One of the best examples is that Michaels kept drinking and getting into trouble despite getting warnings from WWE because he knew that he was valuable for the promotion.
At one point of his career, Michaels also refused to put over anyone and the whole ‘I've lost my smile' incident was also a stroke to his ego according to various sources. Shawn is currently a changed man but we cannot erase the past can we?
Hulk Hogan
There aren't many superstars in the world that could be on par with the achievements of Hulk Hogan. Hogan has been one of the main reasons why Wrestling went mainstream and with all these achievements came a big ego. Thanks to a string of shoot videos and wrestler autobiographies, the ego of Hogan is well known.
The backstage politics that he used to perform during his time in WCW is infamous and the way in which Hogan used his creative clause in the contract to his benefit also underlines his ego. It is not clear whether Hogan still has such a big ego after what happened to him, but at one-time frame, he was pretty hard to deal with.
Ric Flair
Although the egoistic side of Ric Flair is not there to be seen these days, back during the 80s and 90s, it was at its peak. Flair was ‘the' biggest draw during the NWA days and when he landed in WCW afterwards he wanted to remain the same. Thus, when WCW decided it was time to give others a chance, Flair decided to leave the promotion.
Flair, who had a great say in the creative matters before his departure, used to see himself with high regard and didn't even look at the lesser drawing superstars when he met them backstage. As mentioned, the current situation is still not clear and hopefully, Flair has changed for the better.
CM Punk
Some of the fans out there might be split when it comes to the inclusion of CM Punk into this list. CM Punk knew that he was a great performer when he was in the independent circuit and he had the same concept when he reached WWE as well. This led to Punk seeing himself as a highly rated talent in the wrestling business.
In fact, he was indeed a highly talented performer but that does backup his claims. During his podcast with Colt Cabana, Punk rated himself alongside the star power of John Cena and Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson. Although it sat well with the die-hard fans, for the casual fans who only tune in for big events like WrestleMania, it felt like some random guy blabbering.
The Ultimate Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior is a similar case to that of Goldberg. He was clearly not the best in-ring worker in the business but flourished thanks to the way he was booked and the gimmick he had. However, despite his shortcomings, Warrior felt himself as a big draw and was very money driven due to the same.
It was his demand for more money which led to his departure from the WWE. Warrior also had problems with Hogan which are well documented as well. Warrior, however, will be remembered as a great name and thankfully, his ego would be buried beneath the good things that he did.
