Wrestlers and Personalities Who Had The Worst Attitudes And Did Damage To Their Careers

Wrestlers and Personalities Who Had The Worst Attitudes And Did Damage To Their Careers

November 1, 2025

By Ryan Porzl

Professional Wrestling is truly an interesting business with interesting people. There are plenty of wrestlers who can be cool to deal with. There are certainly plenty of wrestlers who know how to play the game to advance their careers. Then there are wrestlers who are their own worst enemy. Talent who could've went even farther than they did only to damage their careers due to their behavior. In this article, we'll look at wrestlers and personalities who wrecked their careers and/or did damage to it with their attitudes and being headaches. I will point out this won't feature wrestlers with addiction issues so no Scott Hall or Jake Roberts.

Note: Credit to WWE, AEW, or whomever owns the photos.

Koji Kitao- We'll start with someone who fans of Japanese Wrestling should know and for all the wrong reasons. Koji Kitao is an interesting case. Like The Ultimate Warrior (who we will get to later), Kitao is someone who had a lot going for him to the point where if he played his cards right, he could've been a top star in one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world for most of the 1990s. Instead, he wrecked opportunity after opportunity and while he would eventually get his head out of ass, it was too late. Like many in wrestling, Kitao came from another sport, in his case, sumo. Kitao would compete in sumo from 1979-1987 even reaching the rank of yokozuna (grand champion). Unfortunately, it was here where Kitao's attitude would first haunt him as he was difficult to deal with and hated training and working hard all the while coming off arrogant. He eventually left in 1987 after a falling out with his stablemaster. In 1990, he tried his luck at wrestling training in the New Japan dojo. His debut was highly anticipated given not only his past run in sumo but his large frame at 6'7 and 300 lbs. After a few appearances as a masked wrestler in the AWA, he debuted at New Japan's Tokyo Dome show on February 10, 1990 with a win over Bam Bam Bigelow. As if debuting in the Tokyo Dome wasn't big enough, his match was second to last even going after Vader's IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense against Stan Hansen (the match where Vader's eye nearly popped out). Unfortunately, Kitao's arrogance and laziness saw his stock plummet quickly as fans and management quickly soured on him and he would find himself fired by July 1990 after making a racist comment to New Japan star and booker Riki Choshu (who is Korean-Japanese).

After his New Japan firing, Kitao would work for Genichiro Tenryu's short lived SWS promotion where his attitude and laziness continued to cause headaches. His biggest moment would be through SWS's relationship with the WWF where he and Tenryu defeated the Smash/Crush version of Demolition at Wrestlemania VII. However, following the event, the SWS would do some shows with the WWF in Japan where Kitao was paired with Earthquake (a former sumo in his own right). On April 1, 1991, the two met at the Wrestledream in Kobe show where Quake was booked to win. Kitao was furious over the thought of losing given he thought he was a better sumo and athlete. The match would see Kitao infamously be uncooperative until getting disqualified by kicking the referee. Following this, he got on the mic and exposed the business which got him fired again.

After a year and half away from wrestling, Kitao returned for a few shots with the UWF-i notably facing top star Nobuhiko Takada. The match would be the culmination of Kitao's behavior catching up to him as the two agreed to a three round draw only for Takada to famously double cross Kitao and knock him out with a head kick in the third round. Interestingly enough, this seemed to be a blessing as Kitao actually humbled up afterwards and was professional from there on out. However, it was too late for him to make the same impact he could've and he would eventually settle in Tenryu's WAR promotion before retiring in 1998. Kitao is the first on this list who could've had the wrestling world in his hands if he was more professional.

Bruiser Brody- Brody is one of several names on this list who did achieve legendary status but still could've went farther if not for his attitude. Brody turned pro in 1973 and by the end of the decade was one of wrestling's hottest talents. Brody had everything as he had an intimidating look, could cut a promo, had tons of charisma, could wrestle, and had a special aura about him. Brody's star power was so impressive he was one of the business' biggest names in the 1980s despite never stepping foot in a WWF ring during the decade. He never was on a Saturday Night's Main Event special on NBC or a Wrestlemania. Brody achieved success in various American territories, specifically for World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas as well as international promotions like World Wrestling Council and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunately, among the many things he was known for, Brody also became notorious for his attitude and being difficult to deal with. While companies drew with Brody, he was also like pulling teeth as he was protective of his image to the point where he almost always refused to lose matches or even sell for his opponents. He would also hurt his reputation by being known for purposely putting on bad matches in certain promotions if he didn't like the promoter thus making the promotion look bad. Brody's behavior would hurt his standings with two big promotions. From 1976-1977, Brody worked for WWE (then WWWF) and was a challenger for Bruno Sammartino's WWWF Championship only to leave the promotion due to issues with Vince McMahon Sr. and a near confrontation with fellow legend Gorilla Monsoon. In 1985, Brody jumped to New Japan Pro Wrestling but lasted less than a year when he walked out on the promotion with Jimmy Snuka right as the two were finalist for New Japan's yearly tag tournament. Again, Brody had a big career but you do have to wonder if he wasn't so difficult, he probably could've been even bigger competing for the WWF or NWA/WCW. In the WWF, especially, he could've had some fun programs with Andre, Bundy, Studd, Gang, or Hogan.

Austin Aries- After starting with some old names, we'll look at a more "recent" name. Austin Aries has earned the status of "legend" in wrestling enjoying hall of fame runs in Ring of Honor and TNA while also appearing for WWE, MLW, and NWA. Aries debuted in 2000 and spent years in the indie circuit before getting his big break with ROH. Aries would quickly rise through the ranks and become one of ROH's biggest stars from 2004-2010 (along with some appearances in 2015 and 2018). During his time, Aries became a two time ROH World Champion (as well as the first multi-time champion) and an ROH World Tag Team Champion with Roderick Strong. Obviously, Aries' biggest claim to fame was winning the ROH World Title from Samoa Joe on December 26, 2004 thus ending Joe's legendary 645 day reign. In TNA, Aries would enjoy three reigns with the TNA World Championship, six reigns with the TNA X Division Championship, one reign with the TNA World Tag Team Championship, and one reign with the TNA Grand Championship. Unfortunately, despite the success, Aries has repeatedly damaged his career with his behavior. Three of his four TNA runs ended with him leaving on bad terms and his first two TNA tenures lasted less than two years. His first departure came when he (and Roderick Strong) refused to listen to TNA management and worked a Northeast ROH show despite a snowstorm warning which resulted in them showing up hours late to the 2006 Against All Odds PPV. His second run began months later but also lasted around six months as well as he reportedly complained and showed a bad attitude regarding having to go into the studio to cut promos on what he thought were his days off. His fourth run also lasted less than a year as he basically lost the TNA World Championship to John Morrison at Bound For Glory 2018 and proceeded to walk out at the end of the show, casting a shadow on TNA's biggest show of the year. He also rubbed many in the WWE wrong resulted in his release from there. As of writing, Aries still competes but is now working smaller national promotions like NWA and MLW. Again, despite being 47, Aries is still good enough to the point where if he behavior didn't constantly haunt him, he might have a job in WWE or AEW or TNA on or off camera.

Jim Cornette- We now go to the only non-wrestler on the list. What can I say? All the names on this list deserve to be here but how can you have a list like this without Jim Cornette? A fan since childhood, Cornette started in wrestling as a teenage photographer before beginning his run as a manager in 1982 in Memphis. In 1983, Cornette made his way to Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling where his career exploded. For the remainder of the 80s, Cornette became one of wrestling's top managers mostly known for managing the second and third incarnations of the Midnight Express in promotions such as Mid-South, World Class, and NWA/WCW. However, by the 90s, Cornette's attitude and temper would begin to emerge. Like many in NWA/WCW, Cornette did not get along with NWA/WCW Executive Jim Herd and it eventually culminated with him and Midnight Express member Stan Lane walking out in October 1990 (Bobby Eaton stayed to support his family). At the time, Cornette walked away from reportedly a $150,000 a year deal and a position as perhaps NWA's top manager. During and after his time running Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Cornette began working for the WWF/WWE in 1993 but his behavior would be an issue for most of his time as he would be forced off the creative team due to his inability to get along with Vince Russo and he would be forced off production because he couldn't get along with Kevin Dunn. After buying a piece of Ohio Valley Wrestling, wanting to move back to Louisville, and knowing his WWF run was in trouble, he proposed OVW be a developmental. However, Cornette's attitude would follow him there and after screaming at wrestler Kevin Thorn and slapping Santino Marella, he would be fired from WWE in 2005. After his WWE run, Cornette would have runs in TNA and ROH but both ended ugly as his attitude and issues with Vince Russo would get him fired from TNA. Meanwhile, his ROH run also ended with him quitting/getting fired after constant arguments with ROH's head of the office Greg Gilliland and threatening to gouge his eyes out. By the 2020s, Cornette is largely out of wrestling though it did end up good for him as he's since gone on to host two successful podcasts where he reportedly makes good money and doesn't have to leave his house. In the end, I suppose it worked out well for Cornette but that could be chalked up to good luck.

Low Ki- Another modern name for this list. Ki originally was trained by fellow ROH legend Homicide and turned pro in 1998. For the first few years of his career, he became a sensation on the indie circuit thanks to his fast paced high flying and stiff strikes. In 2002, he achieved his big break when he began working for the upstart Ring of Honor and TNA achieving big success in both. In Ring of Honor, Ki became considered a "founding father" alongside Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson as the three main evented Ring of Honor's debut show The Era of Honor Begins on February 23, 2002 while also becoming the promotion's inaugural World Champion. In TNA, Ki took part in TNA's first televised match on June 19, 2002 and later became a major force in the promotion's signature X Division winning the championship on five occasions. He also enjoyed multiple runs with the NWA World Tag Team Titles three times in TNA as part of Triple X alongside Daniels and Elix Skipper. Ki also enjoyed various runs in Japan, specifically for promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, winning multiple titles in both. Unfortunately, Ki's career also became known for his unprofessionalism. Reportedly, Ki is a mark for himself and has had periods where he's taken himself too seriously which has resulted in him either refusing to lose matches or even be dangerous in the ring by knocking out opponents with stiff kicks. He's been fired or quit promotions multiple times and has lifetime bans in both Ring of Honor and New Japan. Ki's last big run in the national scene was MLW from 2019-2021 where he held the World Title but has since parted ways with them. For most of the 2020s, Ki has largely found himself still competing but largely on the indie circuit. Overall, Ki is probably one of those guys where despite being 46 in 2025, probably could have a spot on a roster or maybe work backstage if he wanted to but his behavior has pretty much gotten him blackballed to the point where it doesn't look like he'll even be inducted into any Hall of Fame anytime soon.

Alberto Del Rio- Del Rio is a true screw up. He had the pedigree, good looks, and came to the WWE at the perfect time but always seem to ruin his career in WWE and elsewhere. Del Rio is part of wrestling royalty as the son of Dos Caras Sr. and the nephew of Mil Mascaras. After enjoying success in amateur wrestling, Del Rio debuted in 2000 as Dos Caras Jr enjoying success in CMLL while competing for AAA and several Japanese promotions. He would also dabble in MMA as well.  In 2009, Del Rio debuted for the WWE where he was repackaged as Alberto Del Rio, a Mexican aristocrat. His entrance couldn't have been at a better time with the WWE looking for a new Hispanic superstar after enjoying previous success with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Due to this, Del Rio was pushed to the moon pretty quickly enjoying a five year run including two runs as WWE Champion, two runs as World Heavyweight Champion, and the 2011 Royal Rumble. Del Rio's first WWE run ended abruptly by 2014 after an incident involving a backstage employee supposedly made a racist joke. While the employee was probably out of line, Del Rio reportedly didn't handle it well and was fired due to "unprofessional conduct". Despite this, Del Rio was offered a second chance in 2015 but lasted only a year before he decided to ask his release due to unhappiness. Even leaving WWE didn't help as he then went to TNA in 2017 and even enjoyed a run with the TNA World Championship but less than six months into his tenure, he was suspended in the summer of 2017 and stripped of the World Championship reportedly due to an incident involving Paige/Saraya who he was in a relationship with at the time. Despite this, TNA tried again and brought Del Rio back in November 2017. However, Del Rio lasted about six months before no showing a TNA/Lucha Underground show during Wrestlemania weekend in 2018 ending his run there. Since that time, Del Rio has rebuilt himself in Mexico for AAA but with WWE purchasing majority stake, his future has been called into question. Del Rio was someone who could've been a long term main event player just about anywhere he wanted but his attitude continually got in his way.

Shane Douglas- What article on bad attitudes and burning bridges be without ECW's Franchise: Shane Douglas? Trained by Dominic DeNucci (along with Mick Foley), Douglas turned pro in 1982 and spent most of the 1980s working territories and paying his dues. After enjoying success in Mid-South/UWF and Continental, Douglas would seem to get his big break in 1989 in NWA/WCW as part of the infamous tag team The Dynamic Dudes alongside Johnny Ace. The act was a failure but it would be here where Douglas' behavior would haunt him with Jim Cornette claiming Douglas went behind his and head booker Ric Flair's back to complain to Jim Herd about the Dudes' booking when feuding with Cornette and the Midnight Express which eventually ended his run. After a cup of coffee run in the WWF, he returned to WCW from 1992-1993 but again left due to frustrations. Eventually, he finally began to make a name for himself in ECW from 1993-1995, including enjoying two runs with the ECW World Title and made a name for himself as an arrogant, profanity spewing athlete who had no issues attacking those he felt wronged him. In 1995, Douglas returned to the WWF where he was repackaged as an evil teacher named "Dean Douglas". Despite a brief Intercontinental Title reign, his run lasted less than six months due to issues with Vince McMahon, run-ins with the Kliq, and general unhappiness with his character and money. He returned to ECW for another three year run from 1996-1999 enhancing his legend but by May 1999, he had a fallen out with Paul Heyman over bounced checks and abruptly left. While you could argue Douglas was slightly in the right, it can be argued walking out wasn't the most professional thing to do. Douglas then returned to WCW and nearly walked out on them in January 2000 along with the Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn) only to return when the WWF didn't want him. Eventually, Douglas returned and remained with WCW until it was bought out in 2001. After that, he spent four years in TNA from 2003-2007 and a brief return in 2009. Since his TNA departure, he hasn't had much good stuff to say about them these days. Since the TNA run ended, Douglas is largely stuck working small indies and trying to revive ECW to failing results. Douglas is a sad one as he was a good wrestler and a great talker. He be perfect as a producer or working in the WWE Performance Center and teach younger talent but his attitude has saw him blackballed from the major wrestling promotions and is now reduced to working indies in his 60s basically becoming what he criticized guys like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan of doing which is sticking around too long.

Akira Maeda- Anyone who knows their Japanese Wrestling history knows this article wouldn't be complete without Maeda. Maeda is a man who is a legend in the business and a pioneer in both wrestling and combat sports in Japan. Like Koji Kitao, Maeda is someone where if he played his cards right, he could've ruled New Japan during the late 80s and most, if not, all the 90s. Hell, maybe even the successor to Antonio Inoki himself. Unfortunately, despite this and his talents, he's largely best known for his antics rather than his achievements. Maeda trained in the New Japan Dojo and turned pro in 1979. By the early 80s, Maeda showed himself to be a future superstar in New Japan with his talent, size, and charisma. Then in 1984, he decided to leave with several other wrestlers and co-founded the original Universal Wrestling Federation alongside Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Satoru Sayama (the Original Tiger Mask) which introduced the shoot style of professional wrestling. Unfortunately, it was here where Maeda's behavior would first get the better of him. Along with the egos of Maeda, Sayama, and Fujiwara and their own beliefs of what shoot style should be, another problem was Sayama and his refusal to lose or have anyone on his level as far as star. Maeda would respond on September 2, 1985 during a match where he double crossed Sayama and purposely kneed him in the groin. This resulted in Sayama leaving UWF and the promotion imploding shortly after with Maeda and most of the UWF crew returning to New Japan. 

Maeda's 1986-1988 run in New Japan saw him enjoy two runs with New Japan's IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix) Tag Team Championships and his share of great matches but once again, his antics overshadow it. He first ruffled feathers by refusing to work with Inoki due to both men's massive egos. Then on April 29, 1986, he was put in a match with Andre the Giant which became notorious for both men being uncooperative for nearly 30 minutes resulting in Inoki coming out and the match getting thrown out. Finally on November 19, 1987, during a six man tag match, Maeda took part in another incident when he injured Riki Choshu with a kick to the face resulting in Choshu suffering a broken obitual bone. There has been conflicting stories as to whether Maeda meant to kick Choshu on purpose or not but given his past, it's not hard to believe it was legit. Regardless, Maeda and New Japan finally parted ways in early 1988 ending what could've been a massive run. Following his New Japan run, Maeda would enjoy success with his return to shoot style forming Newborn UWF and later Fighting Network RINGS with the latter becoming a legit MMA company that launched the careers of legends like Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Maeda continued to compete until retiring in 1999. In the end, Maeda's legacy is sealed and he'll go down as a legend but you wonder how much bigger he could've been if he didn't let his ego or attitude get the better of him. 

CM Punk- One of the more obvious ones as well as recent ones even though things have appeared to work out for Punk in the long run. Turning pro in 1998, Punk worked the indies for a few years before getting buzz in promotions such as IWA: Mid-South around 2001-2002 facing the likes of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Hero. His first break came in late 2002 when he began with Ring of Honor and became an important part of the promotion's early years with legendary feuds and matches against Samoa Joe, Raven, and Christopher Daniels to name some while also enjoying a run with the ROH World Championship and two runs with the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Punk's matches with Joe are credited with helping ROH stay afloat following the Rob Feinstein scandal of 2004 when former ROH owner Rob Feinstein was supposedly caught in a sting operation. He would also do time in TNA from 2003-2004 as a member of Raven's Gathering before leaving to stay loyal to ROH following TNA not working ROH due to the Feinstein Scandal. In 2005, Punk would sign with WWE and spent a year in Ohio Valley Wrestling before moving up to the main roster in 2006. From 2006-2014, Punk became one of WWE's top stars, holding multiple world titles, and engaged in big matches and feuds against John Cena, The Rock, and Rey Mysterio. However, towards the end of his run, Punk became frustrated with various things from booking to working with Ryback to getting an undiagnosed staph infection and he eventually walked out of WWE in January 2014, the night after the 2014 Royal Rumble. The walk out, eventual firing, and unhappiness saw Punk leave the business for seven years. While Punk had a right to leave, he could've given notice or work a release instead of walking out, especially during Wrestlemania season. After a seven year absence, Punk returned to wrestling via AEW in 2021 which showed promise. Unfortunately, despite two AEW World Championship reigns and great matches, his behind the scenes antics overshadowed every time. In September 2022, Punk went into business for himself and buried the locker room which led to the infamous Brawl Out with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. After taking time away to recover from an injury, Punk returned in June 2023 but would be gone only two months later following a confrontation with Jack Perry backstage at the All In 2023 show. While many have defended Punk saying Tony Khan is a weak leader and some had it out for Punk, Punk still handled things poorly and still went into business for himself regardless if it made the promotion look bad. Like Cornette, things seemed to have worked out as Punk since returned to the WWE in November 2023, is still there as of writing, and appears happy. While things might have worked for Punk, it's still unfortunate his departure and bitterness towards wrestling saw him lose seven years of his career which makes you wonder what more he could've achieved. It also be nice if his behavior and backstage issues didn't overshadow his AEW run.

The Ultimate Warrior- We'll close this article with the man who's attitude probably cost him more than anyone on this list. In many ways, Warrior was a lot like Kitao and Maeda in that he was a big star at one point and if he played his cards right, could've ruled the WWF for most of the 1990s, perhaps all the way into the beginning of the Attitude Era in 1998. While not considered the best wrestler or talker, Warrior has a larger than life presence, enormous amounts of charisma, and was so full of energy. As many have pointed out, he was almost like a comic book superhero come to life. Unfortunately, Warrior's attitude would cost him and his legacy dear. The man who began the decade seemingly getting the torch passed to him by Hulk Hogan would end the decade having burned his bridges with the WWF multiple times and having an embarrassing run in WCW. The Warrior entered the business in 1985 where from September 1985 to June 1986 would be spent teaming with fellow future legend Sting as the Freedom Fighters/Blade Runners in the CWA in Memphis and Bill Watts' UWF. After a confrontation with Watts and a falling out with Sting, left for the Von Erich family's World Class competing there for a year as the Dingo Warrior. It would be in World Class where many of the elements that made the Ultimate Warrior came about and he would achieve championship success. Warrior then arrived in the WWF in 1987, became The Ultimate Warrior, and by the dawn of the 90s reached superstar heights. His biggest moment would be defeating Hogan for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania VI on April 1, 1990. Despite having a disappointing title reign, Warrior was still hot property and after big feuds with Randy Savage and the Undertaker, he was still the number 2 guy in the WWF going into Summerslam 1991 but it would be around this time it fell apart.

Truthfully, there were warning signs about Warrior before his blow ups with Vince. His attitude rubbed everyone the wrong way and he alienated many in the WWF throughout his runs to the point where he's had almost no one speak highly of him. He also had controversies with treated his fans, specifically children looking for an autograph, poorly to the point where he had a run in with the son of a TV executive and was forced by the WWF to tape an apology. In July 1991, Warrior had his first falling out with the WWF when he famously demanded a new contract and gave the WWF the impression he would no show Summerslam 1991 the following month. After Vince gave in, he proceeded to immediately suspend Warrior following Summerslam and Warrior vanished. The man who was supposed to succeed Hulk Hogan vanished into thin air. Despite the power play, Warrior would be granted a second chance eight months later at Wrestlemania VIII and would be brought back due to Hulk Hogan taking a leave of absence. Warrior's second WWF run would last less than a year. At this point, the WWF was cracking down on steroids due to the steroid scandal raging at the time. Not wanting to lose his famous body, the Warrior would attempt to use HGH but he would eventually get caught (along with the British Bulldog) and Vince would be left with no choice but to fire them right as he seemed to be returning to the main event. Less than four years later, Warrior returned for another run in 1996. Unfortunately, this run lasted less than four months as Warrior eventually stopped showing up to live events and parted ways. Now, Warrior has claimed it was due to a breach of contract but even if that's true, just no showing events wasn't the answer and it only made him look unprofessional. Eventually, Warrior would have somewhat a happy ending as he lived long enough to see himself go into the WWE Hall of Fame and hear the fans cheer and thank him one last time. Still, Warrior will go down as a legend in the business but you wonder what more he could've done and how much he could've dominated the WWF in the 1990s if he wasn't his own worst enemy.