History BullyingADragon / ProfessionalWrestling

* Any time ''anyone'' decides that since professional wrestling is choreographed rather than competitive, it's a good idea to get in the wrestlers' faces and talk about wrestling being fake. Between the fact that wrestlers tend to be large strong individuals, that they often know how to fight[[note]]not only are many wrestlers either trained amateur wrestlers or trained in another martial art, pro wrestling evolved from a real fighting style called catch wrestling and many wrestling schools teach the catch wrestling fundamentals[[/note]], and that they're all sick to death of 'wrestling is fake' cracks, trying to pick a fight about wrestling with a wrestler is a great way to get your ass kicked.
** Similarly, fans who decide to jump the barricade and run into the ring. As these invaders could be drunk, mentally unstable, have weapons, or are willing to do anything crazy for 5 seconds of glory, wrestlers and other ring personnel (including the referees, who are often wrestlers/trainers themselves) are taught to immediately and overwhelmingly subdue anybody who is not authorized into the ring area. If you look up videos of these fan invasions, you can clearly see the difference between choreographed violence and ''real'' violence, as these very big, very strong wrestlers [[{{Kayfabe}} suddenly forget they're supposed to be competitive rivals]], and start teaming up to beat the snot out of these invaders.
** This stems from the earlier eras of wrestling when {{Kayfabe}} was SeriousBusiness, not just with the wrestlers, but amongst the fans who truly believed that wrestling was real life. You would have incidents where [[{{Heel}} Heels]] would be assaulted outside of the ring by fans looking to get one back for their heroes, and so wrestlers, especially the champions, would need to be legitimate tough guys to hold off surprise attacks.
* Fighting Network RINGS founder Wrestling/AkiraMaeda found racists insults hurled his way by US service men at a military base, causing him to beat up four of them and make them vow to never insult Japanese people again. Maeda himself was Korean and bullied for it his entire life until [[Wrestling/AllenCoage Bad News Brown]] encouraged him not to take it anymore.
* During Wrestlemania 6, Wrestling/BobbyHeenan slapped Wrestling/AndreTheGiant for losing a {{tag team}} match against Wrestling/{{Demolition}}. Andre went berzerk and knocked Heenan out.
* [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] member Scott Norton interfered in the match between Wrestling/{{Psicosis}} and Tokyo Magnum on the August 3, 1998 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''. He then called out any regular Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestlers for a match. [[Wrestling/BillDeMott "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus]] ran down, saying, "Somebody's got to do this," with manager [[Wrestling/JimmyHart "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart]] [[LampshadeHanging telling him that he shouldn't mess with the nWo]]. Of course, Norton [[FinishingMove powerbombed]] Morrus, thus proving Hart right.
* At the Fukumen World League 1999, Dirtbike Kid not only refused to wear his mask on what was explicitly a show for masked wrestlers but {{no s|ell}}old Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke's spin kick, which was the finish they agreed on. So Sasuke kicked Dirtbike Kid without holding back [[BoringButPractical and made him tap to a neck crank]].
* Wrestling/KurtAngle pouring milk on Wrestling/TheUndertaker's motor cycle during the June 6th, 2000 episode of Smackdown.
* Wrestling/ChrisJericho's debut in WWE/WWF had him interrupting [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]. That's one thing that few superstars, let alone newbies like Jericho, have the guts to do. However, his second appearance had him interrupting '''Wrestling/TheUndertaker'''.
* [[Wrestling/ShaneDouglas "The Franchise" Shane Douglas]] called out Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} on the September 4, 2000 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''. As soon as Goldberg's music hit, [[EyeTake Shane's eyes popped]] in a true OhCrap[=/=]MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment. Shane recruited the Natural Born Thrillers (Shawn Stasiak, Chuck Palumbo, Mike Sanders, Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, Reno [Rick Cornell] and Johnny the Bull [John "Johnny Stamboli"/"[[SdrawkcabName Rellik]]" Hugger] doing a weak UrExample of what Wrestling/TheNexus would be ten years later) to help him, and, even with '''8 GUYS''' against him, Goldberg was still able to win the match.
* At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} Sand in the Vaseline'', Wrestling/LarrySweeney, at barely heavyweight, blamed Wrestling/ManaThePolynesianWarrior, a super heavyweight, for a loss against Lancelot and slapped him, leading to Sweeney getting a Samoan drop.
* In 2007, Wrestling/SantinoMarella would regularly mock Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin: mangling Austin's catchphrases, cosplaying as him while acting like an idiot, bashing Austin's movies and declaring him a horrible actor. When Austin finally confronts him face-to-face, he forces Santino to admit that he never actually watched any of his movies. Austin offers Santino a DVD of ''The Condemned'' and requests that he watch it before evaluating his acting skills, but Santino [[TooDumbToLive throws it down and stomps on it]]. Cue beatdown.
* This is pretty much Kellie Skater's gimmick, staring in QLD and especially after she joined Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}}'s roster in 2009. She is a good bit larger than the average woman and obviously good enough to get the invite but is nowhere near as big and strong as she thinks she is. Her taunting of [=LuFisto=], whom she stands noticeably taller than [[PintSizedPowerHouse but only outweighs by a single kilogram]] is but a mild example.
* Wrestling/MichaelCole. After his 2010 FaceHeelTurn, he's bullied Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/JerryLawler (his arch enemy), Wrestling/JimRoss, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] (''twice''), [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], the WWE Divas (''all of them''), and even his own [[TheDragon Dragon]] Wrestling/JackSwagger (making him a somewhat literal example of the trope) ''to their faces''. All of them could easily beat Cole to a bloody pulp if they wanted to, and half of them actually did. Cole also regularly mocked Wrestling/BookerT, Wrestling/ZackRyder, and Wrestling/TedDibiaseJr (following [=Dibiase's=] 2011 HeelFaceTurn).
** The WWE Divas deserve special mention here. He seemed to save his venom for two very specific Divas, Wrestling/NatalyaNeidhart and Wrestling/EveTorres. While most of the Divas are accused of being FauxActionGirl Eye Candy, he decided to pick on possibly two of the most dangerous of them. Natalya is a veteran wrestler and a member of the Hart WrestlingFamily. Eve is a trained Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter, and is (in Real Life) dating a member of the Gracie Family. He decided not only to bully the two most dangerous female Dragons, he also chooses the two most-well connected.
* In the early months of 2012, Wrestling/CodyRhodes made it his mission in life to mock Wrestling/BigShow, calling him a fat loser and continuously showing clips of Show's embarrassing moments. No matter how many times Show catches up to him and gives him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, he just won't stop. Come ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 28'', Rhodes ends up paying the price, as he not only got KO'd by Show, but he lost the Intercontinental Title as a result. Show then returned the favor to Rhodes, showing humiliating moments during his matches.
* Wrestling/DamienSandow interrupting the Wrestling/DGenerationX Army reunion. A rare occurrence where the bully openly acknowledges the consequences beforehand.
* This Wrestling/PrimeTimePlayers song about Ezekiel Jackson is another self acknowledged example:
-->"Big Zeke ain't got not cuts! Big Zeke ain't got no cuts! He's big, he's strong, but he ain't got no cuts!"
* "Portugal's Perfect Athlete" Shanna defeated [[Wrestling/BlackRose La Rosa Negra]] once and another victory at SHINE 20 seemed all but certain except for the fact Shanna insisted on provoking La Rosa's self appointed bodyguard, Noemi Bosques, a then undefeated boxer who was completely fresh besides exasperation at the dirty moves Shanna got away with. An EasilyDistractedReferee can work both ways though, so when Shanna decided to put her hands on Bosques she was quickly floored, allowing La Rosa Negra to come back.
* This a frequent, real life occurrence in locker rooms, where bullying vets often finding themselves knocked back by smaller wrestlers they thought woud be easy prey. Examples include Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield (Wrestling/{{WWE}}) (who was used as a backstage enforcer by Wrestling/VinceMcMahon himself) once getting punched out by Wrestling/SteveBlackman (a martial arts expert) and Buff Bagwell (Wrestling/{{WCW}}) getting knocked on his ass by [[Wrestling/ErnestMiller Ernest "The Cat" Miller]] (also a martial artist) after trying to push him around.
* In 2013, Wrestling/BigShow is forced to watch the main event match and not do anything to get involved. During this time [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]] starts taunting Big Show while he's sitting there, taunting a large man who could knock him out with one punch.
* Wrestling/BoDallas reminding Wrestling/BrockLesnar that he lost to Wrestling/TheUndertaker at Summerslam 2015.
* Wrestling/DanaBrooke slapping [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]], one of the most dangerous stiff strikers in Japan, and Dana got her ass thoroughly kicked.(Asuka, FKA Kana, herself once picked a fight with the at least 90 lbs heavier Pancrase openweight champion Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki, although that might have been a bizarre example of {{fan girl}}ism, given she spent the money to bring Suzuki on the card)
* At times, Paul Heyman makes the mistake of his life of insulting the likes of Samoa Joe and Goldberg without the presence of Brock Lesnar.
* Two weeks before Summerslam 2017, Wrestling/TheMiz has the balls to mock Brock Lesnar. The segment of course ends with Miz and his entourage being sent to Suplex City by the Beast.
** Miz also spent the latter half of 2017 harassing not only ArchEnemy Wrestling/DeanAmbrose, but also Wrestling/SethRollins, and ''then'' Wrestling/RomanReigns. So, it's only to be expected that his actions would cause Wrestling/TheShield to reform, much to his distress.
* Wrestling/{{Lodi}} faced Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} on the March 16, 1998 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' and one of the signs he had with him read "GOLDBERG IS A MEATHEAD." He actually stood behind the referee and jumped up and down while holding the sign. The ref moved out of the way, Goldberg grabbed the sign and you can probably guess the rest.
* This was Creator/AndyKaufman's main gimmick as a heel wrestler. His persona was as a deluded celebrity SmugSnake who would bait better wrestlers into losing their temper and humiliating or (kayfabe) injuring him, then use underhand means to try to get revenge on them.

* Wrestling/{{Lodi}} faced Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} on the March 16, 1998 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' and one of the signs he had with him read "GOLDBERG IS A MEATHEAD." He actually stood behind the referee and jumped up and down while holding the sign. The ref moved out of the way, Goldberg grabbed the sign and you can probably guess the rest.

** This stems from the days when {{Kayfabe}} was SeriousBusiness, not just with the wrestlers, but amongst the fans who totally believed that wrestling was real life. You would have incidents where [[{{Heel}} Heels]] would be assaulted outside of the ring by fans looking to get one back for their heroes, and so wrestlers, especially the champions, would need to be legitimate tough guys to hold off surprise attacks.

** Miz also spent the latter half of 2017 harassing not only ArchEnemy Wrestling/DeanAmbrose, but also Wrestling/SethRollins, and ''then'' Wrestling/RomanReigns. So, it's only to be expected that his actions would cause Wrestling/TheShield to reform, much to his distress.

* In the early months of 2012, Wrestling/CodyRhodes made it his mission in life to mock Wrestling/TheBigShow, calling him a fat loser and continuously showing clips of Show's embarrassing moments. No matter how many times Show catches up to him and gives him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, he just won't stop. Come ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 28'', Rhodes ends up paying the price, as he not only got KO'd by Show, but he lost the Intercontinental Title as a result. Show then returned the favor to Rhodes, showing humiliating moments during his matches.

* In 2013, Wrestling/TheBigShow is forced to watch the main event match and not do anything to get involved. During this time [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]] starts taunting Big Show while he's sitting there, taunting a large man who could knock him out with one punch.

* [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] member Scott Norton interfered in the match between Wrestling/{{Psicosis}} and Tokyo Magnum on the August 3, 1998 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''. He then called out any regular Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestlers for a match. [[Wrestling/HughMorrus "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus]] ran down, saying, "Somebody's got to do this," with manager [[Wrestling/JimmyHart "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart]] [[LampshadeHanging telling him that he shouldn't mess with the nWo]]. Of course, Norton [[FinishingMove powerbombed]] Morrus, thus proving Hart right.

* Wrestling/ChrisJericho's debut in WWE/WWF had him interrupting Wrestling/TheRock. That's one thing that few superstars, let alone newbies like Jericho, have the guts to do. However, his second appearance had him interrupting '''Wrestling/TheUndertaker'''.

* This a frequent, real life occurrence in locker rooms, where bullying vets often finding themselves knocked back by smaller wrestlers they thought woud be easy prey. Examples include Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield (Wrestling/{{WWE}}) (who was used as a backstage enforcer by Wrestling/VinceMcMahon himself) once getting punched out by Wrestling/SteveBlackman (a martial arts expert) and Buff Bagwell (Wrestling/{{WCW}}) getting knocked on his ass by Earnest "The Cat" Miller (also a martial artist) after trying to push him around.

** Similarly, fans who decide to jump the barricade and run into the ring. As these invaders could be drunk, mentally unstable, looking for 5 seconds of glory, or have weapons, wrestlers and other ring personnel (including the referees, who are often wrestlers/trainers themselves) are taught to immediately and overwhelmingly subdue anybody who is not authorized into the ring area. If you look up videos of these fan invasions, you can clearly see the difference between choreographed violence and ''real'' violence.

** Similarly, fans who decide to jump the barricade and run into the ring. As these invaders could be drunk, mentally unstable, looking for 5 seconds of glory, or have weapons, wrestlers and other ring personnel (including the referee) are taught to immediately and overwhelmingly subdue anybody who is not authorized into the ring area. If you look up videos of these fan invasions, you can clearly see the difference between choreographed violence and ''real'' violence.