WWE Hall of Famer JBL has confirmed a long-standing rumor that two of WWEโs top female stars from the Ruthless Aggression era, Sharmell and Melina, had legitimate backstage heat during their time with the company.
Speaking during a recent Q&A session on the Something to Wrestle podcast, JBL was asked directly whether he had ever broken up a fight between the two. While he couldnโt recall stepping in to stop a physical altercation, he confirmed the tension was very real.
โThey had heat. They had real heat,โ JBL admitted. โBut I donโt remember that [a fight]. I donโt remember if they were ever separated. At one point, there was real heat, real heat between those two and several other things.โ
Both women were heavily featured on WWE programming in the mid-2000s. Sharmell worked as Queen Sharmell alongside her husband, King Booker, while Melina was a standout performer in MNM, going on to become a multi-time WWE Womenโs and Divas Champion.
JBL clarified that although he may have been present during some of the incidents, he couldnโt definitively say if he had physically broken up a fight.
โYes, I donโt think I broke it up,โ JBL explained. โNow I may have separated them. I do remember times where there was some confrontations, and I was there, so I could have been the one that stepped in between. That part certainly could be true. Maybe itโs not a fight, maybe itโs more of a confrontation.โ
Sharmell was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022 and continues to appear occasionally alongside Booker T. Melina has also made sporadic WWE appearances in recent years, including a surprise return in the 2022 Womenโs Royal Rumble Match.
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)