10 Most Controversial Wrestling Moments Of 2025

2025 was another year in pro wrestling full of firings, lawsuits, comebacks, sickening shoot attacks and a lot of other crazy incidents that caused no shortage of controversy. 

As we look forward to another 365 days in the world of professional wrestling with 2026, we look back at the biggest controversial moments from this past year. 

These are the 10 Most Controversial Wrestling Moments of 2025.

10. John Cena Taps Out In His Final Match

After a year in which John Cena turned heel, had some classic matches along with a few in-ring disasters, and had a rollercoaster final year that, for better or worse, was like no other in wrestling history, WWE’s top star of the 21st century so far went one-on-one with Gunther in his final match on the December 13 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

It was a great final in-ring performance from Cena as he gave every last bit of himself against The Ring General on Saturday Night’s Main Event. In the end, though, Super Cena couldn’t find a way to beat his bigger, stronger and younger opponent and tapped. The man who made a babyface career out of never giving up, and hadn’t done so since 2004, tapped out in his final bow. 

Some called it poetic and credited Cena for staying true to the ‘time-honoured tradition’ of putting somebody else over on your way out, but for many it was an unforgivable booking sin, with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque receiving heavy criticism afterwards, including in the form of a plethora of derogatory chants when he showed up on the post-show and had to explain himself to the WWE fans behind him. 

9. Tiffany Stratton & Charlotte Flair Shoot On Each Other

It is very rare in the micro-managed environment of WWE that a segment goes off the rails, but that is exactly what happened during a promo battle between WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and Women’s Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair on the April 4 episode of SmackDown before their WrestleMania 41 match.

Following issues in an earlier dual interview in which some perceived that Flair tried to bury Stratton, the two talents clashed in an in-ring promo face-off that quickly turned into a wreck after personal remarks, including Stratton mocking Flair for issues in her personal life, including her recent divorce from Andrade, while Charlotte made fun of Tiffany stumbling over her words and suggested that Stratton’s then-boyfriend Ludwig Kaiser had been sliding into her DMs. 

WWE management were furious at how things turned out and there were concerns that their planned WrestleMania 41 title match could be in jeopardy over fears they would shoot on each other. 

In the end, the match went ahead as scheduled and they were able to work together without further incident. Stratton later revealed that, though she had apologised to Flair for the personal remarks, she felt her actions were justified in the moment.

8. AEW & Jon Moxley Sued By Crew Member

On the May 10, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley beat Kenny Omega in a Steel Cage match main event. Two years later, production crew member Christopher Dispensa sued both Moxley and AEW for something that occurred during said match.

Dispensa filed suit in the Wayne County Circuit Court, alleging negligence, civil assault and battery. He claimed to have suffered severe neck and shoulder injuries after being shoved to the ground by Moxley during the match. Per his claims, he required cervical fusion and shoulder surgery. 

According to Dispensa and his legal team, the shove was unplanned. They accused AEW of gross negligence for not providing measures to protect their production staff and were seeking damages of over $25,000.

AEW did not directly respond to the lawsuit publicly, but they did file to have the case moved to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, citing diversity of citizenship and a claimed lien over $215,000 as reasons.

7. Ryan Nemeth Sues AEW, Tony Khan & CM Punk

Another legal headache for the lawyers representing All Elite Wrestling emerged in 2025. Even though CM Punk left the company in 2023, things that were alleged to have happened during his AEW run were still causing problems for company CEO Tony Khan in 2025. 

Former AEW wrestler Ryan Nemeth sued AEW, Khan and Punk, alleging assault, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with prospective advantage.

In the suit, Nemeth claimed that Punk “undertook a campaign to terrorise and intimidate him” while AEW and Khan did nothing to protect Nemeth (and other wrestlers) from Punk’s conduct. He further alleged that Khan and AEW had attempted to ‘blackball’ him from the wrestling business after Punk was said to have ‘attacked’ Nemeth backstage, with the problems between the two performers resulting in the former Briley Pierce being sent home from an AEW show.

Nemeth later filed to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit, and the case moved to private arbitration, which also happened to the lawsuit that Kevin Kelly and the Tate Twins initially filed against the promotion in August of 2024.

6. Nixon Newell & Miranda Alize Walk Out Of AEW Collision

There is a perception in the wrestling world that certain talent in AEW have, at least in the past, taken liberties with the promotion when it came to turning down creative plans that required them to put over other wrestlers. 

While you can sort of see the thinking behind a top star baulking at taking a loss, for two unsigned enhancement talents to literally walk out right before a live television taping because they didn’t like what they were being asked to do was considered mind-boggling by many. 

Nonetheless, that is exactly what the tag team of Nixon Newell and Miranda Alize did ahead of the November 8 episode of Collision, where they had been booked to lose to Anna Jay and Tay Melo in a three-minute match.

Newell and Alize felt that a three-minute loss wouldn’t benefit them or anybody else and opted to walk away. This came a week after there were reportedly problems in their first AEW match, particularly during a double German suplex spot with Megan Bayne. 

It appears as though the duo have burned their AEW bridge, as they haven’t been booked by the promotion since. This also came just months after Nixon Newell publicly noted she had received a “severe lack of bookings” since her WWE release in 2024. 

5. WWE Releases Ridge Holland While He's Injured

WWE have released people while they were on the injured list before, but such decisions attract scrutiny and criticism, particularly when the company are making more money than ever. 

2025 saw Karl Anderson get cut while he was recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, while later in the year Ridge Holland was told his contract would not be renewed when it expired, despite him being out of action due to an injury suffered while working for TNA at WWE’s behest.

Holland – who was also looking at potential neck fusion surgery in his near future – went public with his frustrations at being ‘hung out to dry’ by WWE and shared his fears that he wouldn’t be able to pay his mortgage without a guaranteed income, having already had his salary drastically reduced when he re-signed with WWE a year prior. WWE terminated his contract early after he made his comments, which he made upon being given a foreclosure notice on his home. 

Wrestling fans were critical of how WWE handled Ridge’s contract situation, though the Yorkshireman did stress that the company were paying for his surgery and rehab. 

WWE also received criticism in some quarters after it was revealed that Andrade had a one-year non-compete following his own release in September 2025.

4. John Cena Turns Heel

He may have received his fair share of boos over the years, but not since late 2003 had John Cena actually been a proper, full-scale heel. 

He had not only been a face, but the face of WWE for an age when he announced that 2025 would be the final year of his in-ring WWE career. 

While most assumed Big Match John would simply go on a dream match tour prior to taking his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame, he and WWE shocked the world when he finally turned heel once again, completely throwing his Last Time is Now run on its head.  

After winning the 2025 men’s Elimination Chamber match, Cena aligned with The Rock and viciously beat down Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. This was controversial in its own right, but even more so due to the involvement of rapper Travis Scott, who gave Cody a busted eardrum after a slap to the face. 

The controversy then continued at WrestleMania 41 when Cena beat Cody to become a record 17-time world champion, with the presence of Scott and absence of The Rock being major talking points afterwards.

3. WWE Announces WrestleMania 43 In Saudi Arabia

WWE's years-long partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was controversial from the very beginning, with some fans, commentators and wrestlers disgusted that the company would take an untold amount of money to produce shows in the country, which they argued would contribute to Saudi Arabia successfully ‘sports washing’ their public image. 

The shows themselves have more often been misses than hits, and wrestling fans have tended to view them as something separate from WWE’s other output, particularly with shows like the Greatest Royal Rumble or the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy. 

The partnership has only expanded, particularly in recent years, as it was announced the Royal Rumble would emanate from Saudi Arabia in 2026. The partnership then went one step further in 2025, however, as WWE announced WrestleMania 43 would be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027.

WWE seemingly knew the decision would be criticised as the company made the announcement at a press conference, although there were no actual press in attendance at the event, which meant Triple H and Turki Alalshikh actually just spoke to an empty room. The announcement was then booed at the WWE x AAA Worlds Collide event in Las Vegas in the days after the “press conference.”

2. WWE Brings Back Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar was supposed to show up as an entrant in the men’s 2024 Royal Rumble match. In the days leading up to it, however, The Beast Incarnate was implicated in Janel Grant’s bombshell lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE, with Lesnar then being named in the amended suit that was filed in January 2025. 

Lesnar was subsequently pulled from the Royal Rumble, and all creative plans for him going forward were scrapped. The general assumption amongst WWE fans by the summer of 2025 was that Lesnar was likely finished with professional wrestling, but at the end of SummerSlam 2025, Lesnar came back and attacked John Cena after Cena had dropped the WWE Title to Cody Rhodes in night two’s headliner. 

The reaction to Brock’s return was swift and, in many circles, highly negative, as people could not believe that WWE would bring him back while he was named in a high-profile ongoing lawsuit. 

1. Raja Jackson Attacks Syko Stu

It isn't often where something that happens on an independent show garners global attention, but what went down on KnokX Pro’s August 23, 2025 event was unlike anything the industry had seen, possibly ever. 

During the show, Raja Jackson - the son of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson - got into the ring and attacked indie wrestler Syko Stu (real name Stuart Smith) by slamming him to the mat and then hitting his unconscious body with 22 punches, 18 of which connected to his head and face, before other wrestlers intervened.

Stu suffered a multitude of injuries in the attack, which Raja livestreamed on his Kick channel, including broken bones in his face and teeth being knocked out of his mouth.

WWE dropped KnokX Pro as a WWE-ID affiliated school, while Raja was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, who ultimately charged him with battery before he was released on $50,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

As for Syko Stu, he subsequently announced his retirement from wrestling.