Rey Mysterio (RAW 2024)

Throughout his entire run in WWE, Rey Mysterio has exclusively worked as a babyface. This is extremely rare, and ultimately, WWE and Mysterio have never felt the need to turn Mysterio heel, as he has maintained his popularity and drawing power for the past two-decades.

Due to Mysterio’s status as an all-time great, as well as his status as a WWE Hall of Famer, this gives Mysterio a strong amount of backstage power in the kayfabe world of WWE.

In May 2024, Mysterio cut a babyface promo following RAW, and in this promo, Mysterio outright declared that he used his backstage sway to ensure that his arch-nemesis Carlito was drafted to the same show as him:

“…Cathy, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I did some work behind the scenes and pulled a couple strings to make sure that Carlito got drafted to Raw with the LWO. It’s time for Carlito to pay for what he did to us. Carlito it’s time for you to man up and face me in the ring…”

This was fantastic storytelling from WWE and Mysterio, and to see a top babyface admit to using his backstage power was a total rarity, yet it worked perfectly for the storyline WWE were telling.

Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 9)

Oftentimes when backstage power is used from a kayfabe perspective, it’s usually an extension of a wrestler or wrestlers legitimately using their backstage power to change something within WWE creative.

This was most definitely the case at WrestleMania 9, as when Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart to win the WWE Title in the main event, Hulk Hogan appeared out of nowhere, and minutes later would go on to defeat Yokozuna to close out WrestleMania 9 as WWE Champion.

The interesting thing about this was that Hogan earlier in the evening, issued a challenge to the winner of Yokozuna vs. Hart, and this meant that Hogan from a kayfabe perspective, believed he had enough sway in the company to instantly establish himself as being first in-line for a shot at WWE’s top prize.

Of course, we all know that behind the scenes, Hogan legitimately politicked himself into this position, yet it’s often forgotten that Hogan did declare himself as number one contender from a kayfabe perspective on the show itself.

Seth Rollins (RAW 2015)

In the world of kayfabe, authority figures can book a show in such a way where it puts their friends at an advantage, and one of the times this played out on TV was in 2015 on RAW.

Seth Rollins had become The Authority’s number 1 guy, and due to Rollins’ positive relationship with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, The Authority would proceed to change the creative direction for the 2015 Royal Rumble. The initial confirmed matchup for the PPV event was Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE Title; however, after months of Rollins doing The Authorities’ villainous bidding, Rollins was awarded by being added to the match.

This made a ton of sense in the world of kayfabe, yet it was a unique dynamic, as Rollins had the Money in the Bank briefcase at the time, so in theory he didn’t need to be inserted into the match to become WWE Champion.

Triple H (WrestleMania 31)

When Triple H took on Sting at WrestleMania 31, he was presented on screen as an individual that was constantly abusing his backstage power and influence to get what he wanted.

This was on full display during his infamous match with Sting on the show, as just as it looked like Sting was about to defeat The Game, DX made a run-in, and interfered on The Game’s behalf.          

The Game had a back-up plan just in case he couldn’t get the job done on his own, and the smart thing about this particular kayfabe move was that Sting also had his own form of back-up in the form of The New World Order.

Roman Reigns (Royal Rumble 2017)

Ever since Roman Reigns turned heel in 2020, fans have seen first hand that the heel version of Reigns will manipulate and use his backstage sway. However, there are numerous incidents of Reigns using his backstage power from his babyface days that fly under the radar.

One of these took place in 2017, at the annual Royal Rumble event. Reigns had lost his Universal Title match to Kevin Owens earlier in the evening, yet Reigns magically entered the annual match at number 30. This booking move received major criticism, as the number 30 spot is usually saved for a surprise or a returning star, so it was seen as a total let down that the spot was used for a name that had already had a World Title opportunity on the show.

From a kayfabe stand-point, it could be explained that due to Reigns’ World Title match ending in controversial fashion, Reigns went to his relevant authority figure, and demanded that he was given another chance at defeating Owens. The authority figure in question then listened to Reigns and saw it fitting that Reigns should enter the Rumble match at number 30. If this was any other talent in the kayfabe world of WWE, then the authority figure would have said no, but somehow, Reigns had managed to insert himself into WWE’s signature matchup, and somehow managed to secure the most advantageous spot imaginable.

The Rock (WrestleMania XL Season)

Due to the overwhelmingly negative reception to The Rock taking Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania XL spot, WWE issued a creative change, and The Rock would turn heel, and he would join forces with Roman Reigns.

The Rock’s heel work as The Final Boss during WrestleMania XL season saw him deliver some of his finest work ever, and throughout his run, it was made clear several times that The Rock was abusing his power backstage to favour himself and Reigns, as well as put his WrestleMania XL opponents, Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a disadvantageous position.

The Rock would show up unannounced numerous times throughout the season, and this would be to completely surprise Rhodes and Rollins and get a physical and mental upper hand.

We also saw The Rock breaking PG guidelines time and time again, and The Rock would basically imply that due to him being on the WWE Board of Directors, he was above these guidelines, and this was a fascinating and compelling mix of kayfabe and reality intersecting.

Fast-forward to WrestleMania XL itself, and for night two of the show, Rollins would defend his World Title against Drew McIntyre. The match would open night two, and the kayfabe reason as to why the match was on first could have been that The Rock used his backstage influence to schedule the match first, and to give Rollins the least chance of retaining. Rollins had wrestled in the main event the night prior, so making him wrestle at the next possible opportunity would give him a major disadvantage.

Randy Orton (SmackDown 2019)

One of the more infamous moments of Randy Orton’s career saw him derail Kofi Kingston’s push in 2010. WWE wanted to turn Kingston into one of the top babyfaces in the entire company, yet due to Kingston messing up a spot on RAW, Orton endeavoured to cancel Kingston’s push, and WWE would subsequently drop him down the card with immediate effect.

9-years later on SmackDown during a feud between the two, Orton using his backstage power would be firmly addressed, and WWE and Orton did a superb job in turning the real-life abuse of power into a kayfabe storyline.

Kingston would directly inform the audience that Orton used his influence to hold him back and stop him reaching the main event scene. Orton would confirm Kingston’s claims, and Orton would explain that he truly didn’t believe Kingston was ready for the big-time.

Roman Reigns (SmackDown 2023)

Triple H would be forced to introduce a new World Title in 2023 following WrestleMania 39. Triple H explained to the audience that due to Reigns using his star-power and aura, he had managed to negotiate a part-time deal, which meant he didn’t have to wrestle too many times within a calendar year.

This was a smart way of WWE addressing why Reigns, despite being World Champion, was absent from the show, and it was yet again another case of WWE blurring the lines between what was genuinely happening with Reigns, and what the Reigns character was doing on screen and behind the curtain.

Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 35)

During the weekend of WrestleMania 35, it was an expectation that Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal Title would be taking place towards the end of the show and would be in a prominent spot on the card.

However, when Paul Heyman interrupted Hulk Hogan and Alexa Bliss at the start of the PPV event, Heyman revealed that if Lesnar wasn’t being booked to main event the show, then Lesnar would be opening the show so he could leave early.

Corey Graves on commentary would reference Lesnar’s influence backstage, and would even state that “The Beast does what The Beast wants”.

This was a great way for WWE to explain why the matchup was on first, as the reality of the situation wasn’t too different from the kayfabe reasoning. Lesnar firmly believed that his match vs. Rollins would heavily benefit from opening the show, and he was spot on, as the crowd were fully invested in every minute of the Universal Title encounter. 

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