8 Wrestlers Who Were Major Babyfaces On-Screen (But Were Jerks In Real Life)

The concept of babyfaces and heels - or heroes and villains, if you prefer - is an effective storytelling tool that has been used since human beings have told stories to each other. It therefore only made sense for professional wrestling to adapt this concept as its theatrical side developed. Much like characters in novels or plays, movies or TV shows, wrestlers portray good guys or bad guys. Naturally, these characters do (usually) not reflect a wrestler's actual real-life character.

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As a result, there have been (and continue to be) many babyfaces that turn out to be real jerks. Following are eight examples of major babyfaces in wrestling history that turned out to be (largely considered) jerks in real life.

8 Matt Borne: The Troubled Clown

Major Babyface In Portland With Personal Demons

• Portrayed a babyface in Portland, WCW, and WWE
• Had alcohol and drug abuse issues
• Died in 2013

The choice to include Matt Borne on this list seems odd since his most prominent role in wrestling was as the evil clown Doink in WWE. However, as a youngster, Borne made his mark in the Pacific Northwest territory as a babyface. Borne was beloved in the territory (arguably only surpassed by Roddy Piper) and feuded with Buddy Rose - a feud that included the real-life marriage of Rose to Borne's sister. Outside the ring, as this Dark Side Of The Ring episode on Borne has shown, Borne was an abusive husband and father with anger and substance abuse issues.

7 New Jack: Unprofessional Cult Figure

Beloved ECW Original With Disregard For Human Life

• Was a babyface in ECW and TNA
• Died in 2021

New Jack made his first impact on the American wrestling scene in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as part of the Gangstas tag team alongside Mustapha Saed. They moved north to the Philadelphia-based ECW promotion where Jack became a cult figure among fans. In late 1996, however, Jack was involved in the infamous Mass Transit incident. After ECW folded, Jack attempted murder in a wrestling ring when he threw Vic Grimes off a scaffold. There are other instances of Jack assaulting his opponents in the ring, including an incident in 2004, where he stabbed his opponent in the head nine times with a metal blade in retaliation for the opponent's stiffness.

6 Dynamite Kid: Malicious Pranks And Serious Threats

Trailblazer With Anger Issues

• Portrayed a babyface in WWE and Japan
• Known for malicious and cruel pranks
• Died in 2018

The Dynamite Kid was one of the trailblazers of modern wrestling. Smaller than most his opponents, Dynamite had an exciting mix of high-flying and innovative grappling. Everything he did looked crisp and flawless. He was beloved by millions as a part of the British Bulldogs tag team in the WWE and Japan. Behind the scenes, however, Dynamite could be a liability and unhinged. His ribs were notoriously cruel and he had a history of abusing his wife physically and mentally.

5 Lex Luger: A Natural Heel

The Born-Again Christian Had A Hard Time As A Babyface

• Portrayed a babyface in NWA, WCW, and WWE
• Was often considered arrogant and aloof
• Born-again Christian

For most of his NWA run, Lex Luger had been a heel. The persona fit him as even colleagues found Luger aloof and somewhat arrogant. While it worked in the NWA and his first WCW run, Luger's attitude became a bigger problem in WWE, especially during his babyface run. Luger never connected with the fans on a personal level. Luger's behavior became even more notorious during his final WCW years. However, by the fall of 2006, Luger - after many legal troubles and the loss of his partner, Miss Elizabeth - became a born-again Christian and has, according to many reports, turned his life completely around.

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4 Randy Orton: Entitled And Immature

Attitude Problems Almost Killed Legendary Career

• Portrayed a babyface at various times during his WWE career
• Had outside the ring issues with fans and reporters
• Seems to have mellowed as he got older

As the Legend Killer, Randy Orton was one of the hottest heels on the Raw roster in 2003 and early 2004. After being kicked out of Evolution, Orton was supposed to be the WWE's next franchise babyface. However, Orton's attitude kept getting him in trouble. Even after turning back heel in early 2005, Orton's list of incidents with fans is long - and well-documented. However, as time went on, Orton seemed to mellow and has been incident-free for quite some time.

3 Shawn Michaels: (Almost) Career-Ending Personal Issues

Drugs And Injuries Lead Down Dangerous Path

• Self-destructed as top babyface in WWE in the mid-1990s
• Had substance abuse and attitude issues
• Career revival after getting clean; currently in charge of NXT

Shawn Michaels reached the top of the mountain at WrestleMania 12 when he beat Bret Hart to become WWE champion and replace the Hitman as the company's top babyface. Behind the scenes, however, Shawn was losing the battle with pills. Two years later, at Wrestlemania XIV, it seemed like Shawn had aged ten years. His personal issues were not restricted to addiction though: Shawn was notoriously hard to deal with, for example refusing to lose matches and/or titles, and aggravating colleagues and fans. Thankfully, due to his wife and child, Shawn found the motivation to better himself and not only turned his life around but also enjoyed an eight-year long career revival.

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2 Ultimate Warrior: Bizarre Gimmick And Controversial Worldview

Homophobic Comments And Racist Rants After Successful In-Ring Career

• Was not liked by his peers for being stiff and arrogant
• Made headlines after his career for homophobic and racist rants
• Fell back into good graces of WWE shortly before his passing

The Ultimate Warrior was the most colorful cartoon hero in WWE's Golden Era. He was so popular that Vince McMahon intended to make him the next Hulk Hogan - even before Hogan was ready to hang up the boots. Warrior had the muscles, the presence - it didn't even matter that his promos were bizarre at best and incoherent at their worst. Three comebacks - 1992, 1996, and 1998 in WCW - came at diminishing returns. Behind the scenes, Warrior was somewhat hard to deal with and unpopular amongst colleagues. After his in-ring career ended, fans began to see Warrior's personality online and during guest speaking gigs that were filled with racist rants and homophobia.

1 Hulk Hogan: The Master Liar And Manipulator

While Hogan's Lies Are Funny, His Racist Remarks Were Not

• Was the face of wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s
• Scandals in more recent years include racist slurs and outrageous lies
• Was long unpopular among peers for his political influence backstage

Hulk Hogan was not only the WWE's franchise during its Golden Era - he was the poster boy for wrestling in general. He dominated the WWE from 1984 until 1993 and WCW from 1994 until 2000. However, as dirt sheets and wrestling websites began to spread in the latter part of the 1990s, so did the tale about Hogan's creative control and influence, especially in WCW. Hogan was exposed as the master manipulator that had one goal in mind: to promote Hulk Hogan. In 2015, it was revealed that Hogan had used the racist slurs on a sex tape - a scandal that follows Hogan to this day. His constant lies - most famously how he wrestled over 400 times in one year because he crossed the date line from Japan to the US so often - are also legendary and usually intended to make himself look good.