There are backstage problems in every sport, players that dont like each other, etc. Joe Montana & Steve Young have both said publicly over the years that while neither one personally dislikes the other that when they played together in San Francisco they were not friendly due to the competition between them. Also, how the boss/manager handles things contributes to these issues. We've head stories in football regarding the decline of Dallas attributed in large part to lacksadaisical style and lack of discipline exhibited by Head Coach Barry Switzer in the 90s. Terry Francona just got fired as Boston Red Sox Mgr as his players seemed to care little about the losing streak that cost them a playoff spot last year, alongside the clubhouse drinking during games, etc.
Wrestlers have two issues that regular sports athletes do not have. First, much of what you accomplish in wrestling is attributed to how you are booked. A guy like Tom Zenk might be able to go out and outwrestle Hulk Hogan on any given night back in the day but Zenk never got half the push Hogan got in either WWE run or in WCW. Now you can argue that Zenk lacked charisma, showmanship, mabe he was a had person to get along with. fact remains success in Pro Wrestling depends in large part how promoters/bookers treat you and your character. In San Francisco at least Steve Young was given an opportunity to compete heads up for the starting quarterback job vs Montana. He failed, but he failed based on his own performance and the team's performance when he played. No such "fair competition" exists in wrestling.
Second, wrestlers do not have guaranteed contracts (WCW did for awile, but they're gone). In WWE you do have a contract, with a base salary and provisions for income from merchandise sales (which depends largely on how the company markets you, if you're not on TV or dont win very much who is buying your stuff?), as well as added income from appearing on PPV events, based in part on the success of the PPV itself and the importance of your match to the show (Im sure Sheamus isnt getting an equal WM payout as Cena or Undertaker are). However there are also provisions that allow WWE to cut wrestlers, and void the end of the contract, for different reasons. A three year deal does not mean you are making your bse pay no matter what for three years. There is no health insurance, no pensions or retirement plans, and no union to help with bargaining for the wrestlers. They are independent contractors, and much of their ability to earn money depends on how people in the office market and utilize them independent of their skill level. Nothing like that exists in regular pro sports in America.
Its only natural then that you would have issues with jealousy (like the reports that younger wrestlers were made The Rock was getting the Main Event slot vs Cena at WM when he hasnt wrestled fulll time in so long, or reports back in the 90s that Vader was mad when he was asked to drop the WCW title to Flair because Flair had just come back earlier that year), people may try to run stories to make others look bad in comparison to themselves (rumors) and occassionally real bad blood will develop between wrestlers over their respective spot in the company and how much they contribute vs how well they are taken care off (main events, title runs, wins, etc). Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage are a great example of this.
In some ways things are better than the stories you heard from years ago, not as many people pulling the "I wont wrestle if Im booked to lose" card like HBK was famous for in his 90s heyday, wrestlers dont have as much creative control over their characters (sometimes exercised for their own benefit at the expense of the product) like Hogan & Hart did at times, drugs and alcohol abuse are seemingly not as rampant (in part because of increased media scrutiny, Im sure if Cena & Jericho go out, get hammaered, drag race, and get busted for DUI it will be all over the media today, but barely a peep was heard when Flair & Piper did that back in the 80s, very litle publicly was covered in the media about WWE's drug problems in the early 90s with Tully Blanchard, Marty Jannety, and Kerry Von Erich, although publicity increased a bit when Von Erich died). On the other hand, jealousy and personality clashes maybe more intense now that WWE is the only major employer for these guys. Is there an organized pro wrestling league that promotes in large venues and has TV contracts in Canada ? TNA is not close to WWE in media coverage, audience share, or pay. Realistically, the only place for these guys to go and still be major stars making big money is Japan.
Pro wrestling is hard business, physically taxing, no health care or benefits, lots of travel, and much of what you do depends on how you are booked by others. Under those conditions its no wonder there is not a picture perfect harmonious locker room for these guys all the time.
