Bruce Prichard Recalls Backstage Skirmishes Involving WWE Hall Of Famers

With all the unforgettable moments wrestling has given fans inside the ring, sometimes it's the altercations you never see that drum up the most conversation. Real fights in wrestling do sometimes happen, given the physicality inherent in the sport. But without cameras rolling, most accounts of these fights exist only through word of mouth. On "Something to Wrestle," Bruce Prichard shared a few incidents he witnessed firsthand, including a lesser-known scuffle between WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and General Adnan, Sgt. Slaughter's former manager.

"It was during the Iraq war, and Adnan had not been able to get ahold of his family," Prichard remembered. "When he got ahold of his family, he found out that someone in his family had been killed. And Adnan was upset at TV, and words were exchanged ... it just escalated to where I think Adnan threw a chair, and Shawn came at him and kicked him. And then it was Adnan basically protecting himself." Prichard said that despite Adnan being an old-school shooter, he barely retaliated. Prichard thought Adnan held back because he didn't want to derail Michaels' momentum, as Michaels was enjoying a new singles push at the time. Prichard said both men regretted the skirmish almost immediately.

"Shawn didn't really want to fight him. And Adnan didn't want to fight Shawn. And afterwards, you get together and apologize, 'What were we even fighting about, man? I'm sorry. I didn't know about your family.' Silly things can escalate when you don't have all the knowledge." Prichard described another dust-up that was over before it started between the late Butch Reed and The Barbarian, two bruisers on the late '80s WWE roster. "They got tired," Prichard said of that altercation. "Everyone wants to fight until you get hit."

WWE legends Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle put on several wrestling clinics on-camera, but also had a memorable tussle behind the curtain. "Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, where Eddie Guerrero tried to double-leg Kurt Angle," Prichard recounted. "It's like, Eddie. You tried to double-leg an Olympic gold medalist. He's just, 'I know! I'm stupid!' But it was just frustration on Eddie's part. And that frustration came out because it's a physical business."

Arguably the most infamous backstage fight wasn't much of a fight at all, given how brutally one-sided it was. Fed up with his mean-spirited ribbing, Jacques Rougeau decided to exact revenge on Dynamite Kid, one-half of the legendary British Bulldogs tag team. Brandishing a roll of quarters in his fist, Rougeau hauled off and socked Dynamite in the mouth, breaking his teeth and discharging a torrent of blood. Most accounts say it was a moment that effectively neutered the bulldog from his bullying ways.

"Jacques got that first punch in, and Dynamite Kid had nothing after that," Prichard explained. "And nobody jumped in because Raymond was there. Pat Patterson tried to break it up. Finally they got them separated and got everybody away. It just was brutal. ... [Dynamite] had nothing. He never had a chance." Reflecting on seeing so many of his colleagues go at it, Prichard noted that real fights between people you're close with are especially tough to witness. "It's a different feel and a different thing when it's actually people you know and your friends that are hitting each other," Prichard said. "You're watching blood come out of their eye, or somebody going for an eye, things like that. It's just not a lot of fun to watch."

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.