WWE has been producing captivating pro wrestling content for a very long time, and the company has provided the fans with some of the best storylines in the history of the entire pro wrestling industry. The storylines featured every aspect of human emotions like friendship, love, anger, betrayal, and many more, and WWE is also known for improvising during the execution of such storylines and providing the fans with unexpected twists and turns.
RELATED: 5 WCW Plot Twists That Ruined A Storyline (& 5 That Saved Them)
There have been many such storylines in WWE, which surprised the fans with unexpected turnarounds, and with that said, let's take a look at ten of the most shocking plot twists in WWE history.
10 DIY Implodes
DIY was one of the most successful and entertaining tag teams in NXT, which comprised Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. The two talented wrestlers known for their exceptional in-ring abilities joined forces in the black and gold brand and went on to feud against other equally talented tag teams and capture the NXT Tag Team Championship.
However, despite being booked as close friends, WWE threw in a curveball with the storyline and had Tommaso Ciampa turn on Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in 2017. As a result, the two superstars put on some of the best matches in WWE history, and the fans appreciated WWE for the way they booked the entire rivalry.
9 Mark Henry's Fake Retirement
Mark Henry sent some shockwaves among the WWE Universe when he teased his retirement from in-ring competition back in 2013 through various social media posts. He then appeared on the June 17, 2013, episode of Raw and interrupted WWE Champion John Cena to give an emotional retirement speech, which looked legitimate.
Cena also thought Henry was speaking the truth and congratulated the World's Strongest Man on his iconic career, only to get blindsided by Henry, who revealed it all was a ruse to state his intentions of going after Cena's WWE Championship.
8 Vince McMahon Is The Higher Power
After Shane McMahon ousted his father Vince McMahon as the leader of The Corporation, he merged the group with The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness to form the Corporate Ministry. During the storyline, The Undertaker revealed that he had been taking orders from a higher power, and while the fans were perplexed as to who that could be, WWE provided a major plot twist by introducing Vince McMahon as the Higher Power.
RELATED: 10 WWE Storylines Vince McMahon Refused To Book
Vince McMahon screamed, "It was me, Austin, it was me all along, Austin," as he revealed himself as the driving force behind the Corporate Ministry, and the fans received it with mixed emotions.
7 Eric Bischoff Becomes Raw GM
Eric Bischoff gave Vince McMahon a lot of sleepless nights during the infamous Monday Night Wars as he helped WCW beat WWE in the ratings for multiple consecutive weeks. But his run didn't last for long as WCW went bankrupt in 2001, leaving Vince McMahon to buy his competition. While McMahon brought in several WCW wrestlers to WWE, no one expected that the former WCW President Eric Bischoff himself would sign a contract with WWE.
But it happened on the July 15, 2002, episode of Raw when Vince McMahon introduced Eric Bischoff as the new General Manager of Monday Night Raw, much to the fans' amazement.
6 John Cena's Royal Rumble 2008 Return
John Cena sustained a legitimate torn pectoral muscle during a match against Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007, episode of Raw. He had to take time off from in-ring competition to rehabilitate the injury and underwent surgery to repair the damage.
Vince McMahon had to strip Cena of the WWE Championship, and it was first reported that it would take at least six months to a year for Cena to make a full return to wrestling. But he surprised the fans and his coworkers by showing an amazing recovery and returned on the 2008 Royal Rumble PPV and went on to eliminate Triple H to win the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
5 Goldberg Beats The Fiend
During Bray Wyatt's first run as the Universal Champion back in 2020, Goldberg challenged him to a match for the title at that year's Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia, which Wyatt accepted.
Wyatt defended the title in his Fiend persona against Goldberg at the event, and the fans expected the Eater of Worlds to defeat the WCW legend to retain the title at the event, but WWE provided a shocking plot twist when Goldberg pinned The Fiend clean to win the Universal Championship for the second time in his career.
4 The Montreal Screwjob
By the time Bret Hart was scheduled to defend the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1997, it became well-known to the fans that Hart was jumping ships to WCW. To prevent Hart from taking the title with him to WCW since his contract was about to expire, Vince McMahon asked Hart to drop the title to Michaels at the event.
RELATED: Montreal: Every Story To Come Out Of The Screwjob
But since the PPV took place in Hart's home country, he offered to drop the title at a different location. But Vince McMahon wasn't buying it and gave the fans in live attendance an ultimate plot twist by screwing Bret Hart out of the title when the referee called for the bell when HBK locked Hart in the Sharpshooter despite the latter not tapping out.
3 Austin Joins Vince McMahon
Stone Cold Steve Austin was one of Vince McMahon's fiercest rivals during the attitude era, as the Texas Rattlesnake made McMahon's life a living hell throughout their iconic rivalry.
The feud continued at WrestleMania 17, where Austin took on The Rock for the WWE Championship. The Rock proved to be a tough competition to Austin at the event, and Vince McMahon came out with a steel chair in his hands, seemingly to take out Austin. Instead, Austin shockingly sided with McMahon and bashed The Rock with the chair before finally getting the pin to capture the WWE Championship.
2 The End Of The Streak
The Undertaker's iconic undefeated streak had been one of the highlights of the annual WrestleMania events. He extended his streak to 21-0 after he defeated CM Punk at WrestleMania 29, and Brock Lesnar emerged as the next challenger for The Deadman at WrestleMania 30.
The Undertaker looked strong during the build-up to the match, and the fans expected The Deadman to slay the Beast to extend his streak. But Lesnar provided the ultimate plot twist when he dominated The Undertaker in the contest before pinning him clean to end the streak.
1 Seth Rollins' Betrayal
After The Shield turned on The Authority in 2014, the trio defeated The New Age Outlaws and Kane at WrestleMania 30. The victory gave Triple H no choice but to reunite Evolution alongside Randy Orton and Batista, but Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins managed to overcome their challenge on two occasions and looked unbeatable.
It appeared The Shield was rock-solid together, and nothing could go through them, but Triple H's master plan worked out, and he had Seth Rollins make the ultimate betrayal by turning on his brothers to join forces with The Authority.
