Berserk Button/Professional Wrestling

When a nice, normal character suddenly goes into a rage, you've hit his Berserk Button.

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• Typically, when fans jump the rail or even flinch in a threatening manner toward a wrestler, the wrestler's first act is to beat the holy hell out of the fan. Even referees are not to be messed with.
• Festus was a Gentle Giant until the bell rang, thus triggering his Berserk Button.
  • And it worked in reverse, too; when the bell rang again, usually after a victory, Festus visibly reverted to his gentle self. Genre Savvy opponents took advantage by ringing the bell themselves, forcing his tag team partner Jesse to ring it again to re-trigger him.
• A sure way to bring out a certain wrestler to interrupt a promo is to say something that plays on his Catch Phrase. This contributor feels that the cleverest use of this was when Booker T said his own Catch Phrase, "Don't hate the playah, hate the game" to HHH who is also sometimes known as the Game.
• And speaking of HHH, should you bring harm to Ric Flair, he and Shawn Michaels will not be happy campers. Unless, of course, it's Triple H bringing the harm.
• A documentary on pro wrestling showed a clip from an interview with Leon White (Big Van Vader). He was a nice guy, but that stopped when the interviewer asked him if wrestling was fake. Leon slapped him in the head several times and said, "Does that feel fake to you?!"
  • Another earlier incident had David Schultz being asked by John Stossel, who was doing an investigative report on pro wrestling. According to Schultz, Vince McMahon told him to beat up Stossel, threatening to fire Schultz if he didn't.
• Andre the Giant, normally a Gentle Giant, was taunted about his size by some mooks outside a bar in Europe; they then got into their car to drive away, but Andre grabbed the car and tipped it over, with all four of them inside it.
  • Another time, in the waning years of his career (his gigantism had made even standing too long painful), Andre became so disgusted with The Ultimate Warrior constantly hitting him too hard with a sloppy clothesline night after night, he simply put up his fist and Warrior ran right into it, knocking himself out. The next night, Warrior was gentle as a lamb with Andre. Back in the locker room, Bobby Heenan said Andre told him "He'll learn."
• Don't ever call Homicide your "nizzle" unless you're in the mood to drink Drano.
• Threatening Lacey with a railroad spike is a surefire way to have either Austin Aries or Jimmy Jacobs attempt to murder someone.
• Tipping or spilling the APA's beer is just asking for them to beat your ass.
• Do not, I repeat, do not, call, Damien Demento, a jobber.
• PRINCESS PEACH IS A TRAMP!
• Green Lantern Fan is one of the most reviled figures in wrestling, even moreso than Vince Russo. That said, if you want to infuriate a horde of smarks, bring his name up in conversation. Steve Corino absolutely hates the man, going as far as to insult his family at ROH's "Fight of the Century."
• Mocking Jim Ross will inevitably incur the wrath of EVERYONE. God help you if Jim Cornette, Jerry Lawler, or Steve Austin find out about it themselves.
  • Matt Striker is slowly becoming this for Lawler, as well.
• Don't touch "Dashing" Cody Rhodes' face, unless you want to see him throw a huge tantrum and run towards the nearest mirror to check his reflection.
• Attacking HBK's family or faith in any way-- physically, mentally, financially-- is a great way to communicate to him you really don't need your bones anymore. Vince McMahon, Chris Jericho, and JBL all discovered this the hard way.
• In a July 11, 2011 promo, John Cena claimed that he was an underdog to CM Punk... but then Punk retaliated that he was the underdog, while Cena was the face of the company. And then rubbed salt into the wound when he compared him to his "hometown" (West Newbury, MA, but the show was in Boston so that's what got named) - going over its underdog history as insinuators of the American Revolution and the Boston Red Sox - but saying that now they were a dynasty, they'd become the New York Yankees. Cena promptly punched him in the face.
  • Cena's best bud, Zack Ryder is definitely off limits. Once you go after Ryder, Cena will definitely give you an attitude adjustment, and then some. Look no further than Cena beating the holy freaking hell out of Jack Swagger on the 1/16/20 edition of Raw for proof.
• Learn from Christian's example and do NOT slap Sheamus or spit in the face of Randy Orton^[1].
• Oh, good God. Don't even think about making personal attacks towards either the mother, father, or sister of CM Punk. Just ask Christian on exactly why^[2].

CM Punk: (While holding Christian in a submission with enough force to get officials involved) THIS IS YOU, CHRIS! THIS IS GONNA BE YOU, CHRIS!!!

• Do NOT make fun of John Laurinaitis' voice.
  • Unless your the Face of the whole Professional Wrestling industry.
• Never try to remove a luchador's mask ^{[dead link]} ; they wear it for a reason...
• If you see a male wrestler getting beaten by a Diva, even if it’s a bitch slap, DON’T laugh at that guy or risk retribution. Someone learned this the hard way when he saw another one getting slapped by a diva.
• During Christmas time, DON’T RUN OVER SATNA CLAUS or a badass legend in that role, even if you can prove it was a mistake. Just ask Alberto Del Rio when he got the entire roster after him for this and had to do in battle in a street fight with the man that had to save Christmas.
• Learn from Layla and DON'T THROW FOOD AT Natalya Neidheart! It won't end well.
  • Same goes with Ryback, as Kane quickly discovered following Survivor Series (2014).
• If you're going to offer any diva a business deal, make sure that one or two things are clear: One don't hit on her and two checks to see if she's married. The Miz failed to realize this when he made a move on Naomi, and Jimmy Uso made Miz pay for it.
• For the love of Foley, DO NOT make a disrespectful remark about a wrestler's deceased family member. Just go ask Paige when she made that mistake.
• If a food fight is in process, make sure you refrain from throwing your ammo toward The Big Show and Kane if you can. If you're going to, make sure there are few people looking, or run the second they're hit by food from YOU. We're looking at you, Heath Slater.
• If you're a woman and slaps a man, with a strict hands off of women rule, you might wanna sure he isn't dating a woman who will attack... bonus points if it happens to be a Bella. Just ask Maryse when she opts to slap John Cena, of all people.
  • The follow week, (March 14, 2017), The Miz pushed Daniel Bryan, despite being forced to retire due to his injuries. Bryan had it with Miz, to the point he had to get John Cena and Nikki Bella to do the job.
• Sadly, in real life, domestic violence is a problem. Luckily, many wrestlers WON'T put up with it. Big Cass found out the the hard way when he was to confront his real-life ex-girlfriend, Carmella. When Cass got violent towards Carmella, many of the other wreslters, such as the Usoes and Erick Rowan, weren't going to let that happened. While it wasn't sure if it can be proven, it's clear that the WWE has their limits on violence, and Cass was fired on those grounds.
• If you plan on hitting a girl in front of a guy, better hope the guy with a strict rule against isn't a Wife-Basher Basher. Baron Corbin learned this one the hard way.

1. ↑ That time he was being Dangerously Genre Savvy concerning Randy
2. ↑ Though Christian didn't even attack Punk's family, he just happened to be on the receiving end of an epic ass-kicking after Chris Jericho (the actual perpetrator) verbally mocked Punk's mother and father.