WWE: Ranking The Top Ten Backstabs of All Time
4. Evolution turns on Randy Orton
You can argue that without Evolution, Randy Orton wouldn’t have become the star that he is today. Before being selected to be in Evolution, Orton was struggling to find his place in the company. His biggest spot to this point was for his weekly updates while he was injured. After joining Evolution, there was nothing that could stop him.
He went from being simply a third-generation superstar to becoming “The Legend Killer”. As a member of Evolution, Orton feuded with legends like Mick Foley and “killed” multiple others as he made a name for himself. He won the Intercontinental Championship and stood tall alongside Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista with all of Raw’s titles in their possession.
Nothing seemed like it could stop Evolution. However, as stated before, everything changes when jealousy comes into play. When Randy Orton became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, he expected his friends and stablemates to be happy for him. He had no reason to expect anything to be wrong when Evolution was celebrating his victory.
However, everything quickly came crashing down for him. When Triple H quit clapping and smiling, Orton knew he had messed up. Triple H gave him the thumbs down and Batista dropped him to the mat. The men that he considered his friends turned on him and beat him down, all because of Triple H’s jealousy.
Orton turned into a face as Triple H would soon win the World Heavyweight Championship back from him. Evolution had done wonders for Orton, who was always primed to be the breakout star. The job had been done and Orton was off to become the 14-time world champion we know today, and he has Evolution to thank for a lot of it.
3. Seth Rollins turns on The Shield
The Shield could be the team that had the most discussion about a potential split before it happened. The team of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns had three future stars ready to break out. Everyone knew that all three were destined for big things once they went their separate ways. However, nobody was sure who was going to be the one to stab his brothers in the back.
At the beginning of The Shield’s run, it looked like Ambrose was going to be the breakout star of the group. While Rollins and Reigns won tag team gold, Ambrose was pushed to become the United States Champion. However, Ambrose would actually turn out to be the last member of the group to become a world champion.
After months of turmoil inside the group, it looked like The Shield were as solid as ever….until they weren’t. Only a night after The Shield defeated a reunited Evolution at Payback, Seth Rollins did the unthinkable. Triple H said that when Plan A doesn’t work, you go to Plan B. As the words were said, Seth Rollins raised a steel chair and hit Roman Reigns with it.
The man that was known as the peacekeeper of The Shield kept them going for longer than expected. In the end, there was nobody to play peacekeeper for Rollins. He beat down his two brothers in arms before joining Triple H and Randy Orton. He passed a chair to Orton and stood by as “The Viper” finished off Ambrose and Reigns.
The fans were left shocked and angry as Rollins became the chosen one of The Authority. He would go on to win Money In The Bank and cashed in at WrestleMania 31 in the middle of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns’ WWE Championship match. Seth pulled off the “heist of the century” as he left WrestleMania as the world champion and the first member of The Shield to do so.