10 Beloved Wrestlers Who Fans Initially HATED

From Goldust to The Rock, these are 10 Beloved Wrestlers Who Fans Initially HATED.
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@l2jnichol1986]

Mandy Rose. How she went from being one of the Total Divas to becoming one of the most popular thanks to her unlikely romance with Otis plus taking a massive level in badass in NXT winning the NXT women's championship until her abrupt sacking.

[@JakeLovesSteak]

Now she's really popular in other ways...

[@AlexaMKDiss]

@@JakeLovesSteak You say that as if it is a bad thing lol

[@diabeticman2194]

I remember rolling my eyes when she won the NXT women's title, but it was crazy how much she improved while in NXT for that run to become a good heel and promo. The Otis romance was also one of the best modern day WWE storylines

[@dano_the_collector8421]

I remember she came had a couple of matches then completely vanished for over a year

[@PadmeTheMermaid]

You should do an opposite list like this! 10 wrestlers that people once loved but now hate!

[@jtizzle124]

Dolph Ziggler would be a top 5 lock

[@Samwwrl]

Hogan is up there

[@Molson-xg9hs]

Hello Rousey and Charlotte!

[@murofr]

seth rollins would be on there. also with cody in aew

[@purpleheart9160]

CM Punk too

[@Molson-xg9hs]

One I was looking for was Sheamus. Kind of an afterthought in the dying days of ECW and then rocket shipped to a title win before he was ready. Absorbed the hate for the Daniel Bryan squash and stuck in the heartless League of Nations. But then The Bar and finally the last two years of Banger after Banger and the guy is can’t miss now.

[@michaelrivera8360]

I have always been a Sheamus mark makes me happy people are jumping on the bandwagon😄😁😁

[@josephsua7246]

As someone who started watching again around mid 2014, it’s astounding how far Roman has come. Hell, it’s astounding how far all these people listed and some mentioned in the comments have come. Proof that a god heel turn can do wonders for anyone’s career.

[@jamesAGarfield608]

Wrong roman reigns is boring even as a heel man relys on the usos to help his mic skills LMAO

[@johnsmith-po9gt]

Mine was the Miz. Perfect example of “Put in the hard work till your haters ask for your autograph”. Absolutely hated him in the beginning, now I will admit the guy is HOF material.

[@DragonHeart613]

One of the greatest IC Champions & talkers of all-time.

[@johnsmith-po9gt]

Also a well rounded performer. Whether it was a comedic role(mizdow) or the serious role(A-lister). The guy made people relevant whoever he worked with. B-team, Sandow, hell even AARod got a little push.

[@EssexAggiegrad2011]

@@johnsmith-po9gt Totally agree

[@jamesb1988]

Wanna know why? Because he's AWWWWEEESOOOMMEE. But seriously, I adore The Miz. Check out his 2010 "locker room" promo to see where The Miz truly arrived as a major player. Now I realize that his meat & potatoes wrestling style isn't for everyone, but look at the facts: he never gets hurt or hurts others, he's reliable and trustworthy (you don't have to wake up worrying that he got arrested for a DUI) and you can ALWAYS count on him to be able to represent WWE fantastically in appearances done outside the company and never worry about causing any embarrassment. I got a lot of love/respect for Miz, nice to see I'm not the only one.

[@dylfromthe6]

I hated him too, same with dolph. I think that’s due to me being a kid. I remember dolph came to a Tesco near me to sign autographs and my dumbass said no -__-

[@dman9152]

DDP could be on this list if you go back to 90s.

[@AFMountaineer2000]

It really turned around for him when he gave Hall the Cutter and threw Nash out of the ring

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I'm so happy for where Jay White and the New Day are now. And to think, Jay is a rather literal case of growing the beard.

[@oddishhonor]

That opening joke got me off guard and man was it funny

[@garretindall2820]

Aww yes back when What Culture was watchable 😁

[@jbailey5061]

This isn't Whatculture.

[@chaosof99]

Pacitti literally makes a joke about "his first day at WhatCulture" to start the video.

[@jbailey5061]

@@chaosof99 Fair

[@skywardbound67]

Honorable mention: Kurt Angle. His situation was kinda like Cena’s but in reverse

[@SomeOfTheJuice]

Kurt Angle is kind of like a combination of Cena and Santino, honestly. When he showed how good he was in ring and at playing comedy, he just killed it. Whether it be his fake hair stuff, the tiny cowboy hat, all of the milk, or anything else he did, when Angle did comedy promos and backstage segments, he was doing some of the best work in the company.

[@jamesAGarfield608]

@@SomeOfTheJuice yawn Kurt angles comedy never made me laugh a better grappled who died in a bad way so he is forgotten about in chris Benoit

[@claymathewselevator8121]

The John Cena United States Championship Open Challenge was awesome

[@OH_MY_DOGGG]

Hey everybody thats a german sign. It says Thee Rocky Thee.

[@MarkieDood]

Watching the fans' consensus on Jay White go from "in over his head replacement goldfish" to "arguably the best heel of our time" has been one of my favorite real life wrestling storylines of the past five years.

[@michaelrivera8360]

Him,MJF and Roman are fighting for the beat heels of the last 10 years

[@quinnsanders4676]

@@michaelrivera8360moose can give them a run for there money

[@RexVonDoom]

Braun Strowmen was actually a part of Adam Roses entourage way before the Wyatt family. That was his first appearance on WWE TV.

[@damarithomas7168]

Yup I remember that

[@HoV326]

Also along with Rose's entourage was Simon Gotch and Becky Lynch

[@jeremywilliams5141]

Honorable mention: Tommy Dreamer. When he debuted in ECW in 1993 as a "pretty boy", the hardcore fans booed him. Of course, when he became The Innovator of Violence, everything changed.

[@TheSaltySeaman]

He had to take a literal ass whooping from Sandman to get their respect, and became the heart and soul of the company

[@hvywghtheaver]

Beat me to it.

[@nightstreak]

Personally liked Brawn when he debut with the wyatt family, the black sheep look was cool and well im a fellow superman fan so that was added points

[@endingmemories]

Goldust was the first wrestler I ever saw on Monday Night Raw when my dad showed me it and he is the reason I'm a wrestling fan today and am forever grateful to Dustin. Also my first live event was MITB 2015 aka the Dusty tribute show so the Rhodes family has a very special place in my wrestling heart

[@richardtherichard26]

I met stone cold (the pic in my thumbnail) due entirely to goldust. I was at a raw with my family in early 98. During his “artist formerly known” gimmick. I had to pee. Dad didn’t want to take me so mom did, but she didn’t know where she was going. A nice stage hand noticed the little boy doing the pp dance and his increasingly flustered mom and offered to let me use the bathrooms near the dressing rooms as they were closer and I clearly wasn’t going to be able to hold it much longer. Well on our way back we pass, this MASSIVE man with his face painted weird colors. I knew who goldust was obviously but I had no concept of the fact they were playing characters. So anyway, this giant face painted man looks at me and goes “aw man look at that little kid, he’s dressed like stone cold. I have to show Steve” and Dustin literally scooped me up in his arms and CARRIED me to meet stone cold Steve Austin. Legit one of my favorite and earliest memories. So idc what anyone says ever, Dustin runnels is a solid fuckin dude in my book 😎❤️

[@DragonHeart613]

7:08 = "White toppled Tanahashi for The IWGP Title." Shows a picture of Okada🤣 That said, this is a fantastic list. Seeing some of the biggest Pro Wrestling stars ever ascend to unparalleled heights of adoration & success despite all of them having very awkwardly bad starts is a great topic to feature on the channel. Honorable Mentions: 1). Drew McIntyre. In his first WWE stint, a young Drew McIntyre was vince's chosen one and quickly ascended up the ladder to become IC Champion. No one could deny that Drew was a talented wrestler & his feud with John Morrison was great but Drew's mic skills were pretty weak & even though he was working as a heel, people didn't seem to take Drew serious and as is usually the case with vince & Superstars he initially pushes, vince quickly got bored of Drew whose main event future soon devolved into him being stuck in the laughably awful 3 Man Band stable before Drew ended up being fired from WWE. However Drew's sad time in 3MB might've actually been the best thing to ever happen to Drew as shocking as that might sound as it was during his 3MB days that Drew accidentally stumbled upon his now iconic finisher The Claymore Kick during a match against Ryback & was encouraged backstage after the match to try to perfect the move as it could be a great addition to his skill set. After his WWE departure, Drew re-dedicated himself completely as a Pro Wrestler by packing on tons of muscle, further sharpening his in-ring abilities, becoming alot more confident & comfortable on the mic and fine-tuning The Claymore Kick into one of the most legit-looking devastating finishers in all of Pro Wrestling. When Drew finally made his return to WWE via NXT after traveling the world working for various other promotions, he was now the complete package & was instantly embraced by first the NXT fans than finally the Main Roster crowds who would ultimately cheer loudly for Drew when he famously eliminated Brock Lesnar at The 2020 Royal Rumble which Drew won & had it not been for that dam pandemic, Drew would've undoubtedly received an even bigger more deafening pop from the fans at Wrestlemania 2020 when he finally fulfilled his destiny as The Chosen One by capturing The WWE World Championship from Lesnar and carrying WWE on his back thru out one of the most depressing & frustrating years ever. Thank You Drew. 2). The Miz. Going from obnoxious reality TV guy to WWE hopeful looked like one big unfunny joke to everyone who tuned into that one season of Tough Enough when The Miz joined for a shot at a WWE contract. No one took Miz seriously & everyone thought he was just trying to prolong his 15 minutes of fame from his time on MTV's The Real World. Miz lost to eventual Tough Enough winner (& inevitable Royal Rumble whipping boy & failed MMA fighter) Daniel Puder but impressed WWE officials enough that he still scored a developmental contract and the fans definitely weren't happy to learn that the former Real World star would be staying on in WWE. Miz was so good at playing the cocky spoiled narcissistic heel in front of the WWE cameras & crowds that fans everywhere genuinely hated his guts & wanted so badly to see him get the crap beaten outta him everytime Miz showed up & opened his mouth. Fans everywhere also scratched their heads whenever Miz won Tag Team or IC gold to the bewilderment of everyone watching WWE TV whether live or at home. & than of course there was all the numerous stories being reported of Miz legitimately pissing off countless of his fellow WWE Superstas in the locker room with his immature cocky antics but as the years passed, Miz's in-ring skills consistently evolved proving to everyone that he really was putting in all the hard work & taking Pro Wrestling very serious, his already good mic skills were increasingly better & more razor-sharped and his character work was entertaining to no end that Miz ultimately became one of the quintessential Pro Wrestling villains you can't help but like and now Miz is regarded as one of WWE's greatest ever IC Champions with multiple reigns on his resume, has feuded with a who's who all-star collection of talent from day 1, is now respected by not only the fans but also by everyone in the locker room who once wanted to beat the crap outta him for real and is undoubtedly a future WWE Hall of Famer. If it wasn't for The Miz, there would probably be no MJF at all.

[@jcast23]

I went to a house show at MSG in 1997 (after the Montreal Screwjob) and there were "Rocky Sucks" t-shirts at the merch tables.

[@wesleygainey2611]

Dwayne 'The Dwayne' Dwayneson made me laugh far more than warranted.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Love the Braun Strowman Ricochet tag team

[@Stiggs-bu2fz]

Hey, it's a good tag team so far!!

[@VincentMI9]

I guess we dont have the same definition for "initially", most of the list doesnt concern the starts of their careers, the title of the video should have been "superstars loved now once hated", it's way more accurate

[@mycahjofficial]

*I’m pretty sure we all knew that Roman I was going to be at the top of the list*

[@thebigbop5866]

Or the rock

[@NeonKnightOA]

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson Rock "the Dwayne" Johnson John "the Rockson" Dwayne The "Johnson Rock" Dwayne

[@NeonKnightOA]

Johnson "The Dwayne" Rock

[@jbailey5061]

A controversial opinion but I'm still not seeing what everyone else is seeing in Jay White. As far as Bullet Club leaders go he is so far below Balor, Styles, and Omega. To be fair maybe that has more to do with NJPW falling off over the pandemic? Like Jay just didn't get a fair go in the spotlight? I don't know, I'm willing to give him more time.

[@JagerLange]

GOLDUST uses Gay Panic It's super effective!

[@Ellthom]

I would go as far as putting Sheamus on this list. a guy who was pushed to fast too soon and who no one really got behind initially. It wasnt until his team with Cesaro and beyond where people really started opening up to him. And since then the guy has put on some of his best work and is now a beloved veteran

[@gatesofwrestling]

For my experience as fan, it’s Wade Barret when he became Bad News, “I Got Kids” Heath Slater, and Drew McIntyre

[@gas4717]

The barret one was bad , he was getting over & could of moved to the main event but Vince didn’t like that he was getting over so there went that gimmick

[@diabeticman2194]

Free Agent Heath Slater was one of the best WWE storylines in 2016, loved the skits that he got up to

[@etremecameron]

babe hold up new top ten cultaholic vid

[@Dim4323]

The rock Hell turn with the nation save him.

[@neighslayer768]

Honorable mention to Tetsuya Naito. Dude went from a Tanahashi clone that got the worst reaction you could think of in absolute silence, to a charismatic anti-hero who cared little for his opponents, the company or even championships. All he wanted was to steal the show and fans in Japan loved it.

[@dano_the_collector8421]

Great video Adam 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@themachodan13]

I think you fail to remember that we were fans of Roman at first, we didn’t even turn against him after the shield broke up, it still took a bit!!

[@MiladAhmed3]

Lmfao the WhatCulture reference 😂

[@dmercy8477]

Almost all of this is Vince McMahon’s fault (not crediting the Triple H part).

[@christophersanchez1976]

Dwayne “the dwayne” dwayneson

[@kimwaddell4577]

Bloodline rules

[@danielcharnock8975]

Good list mate. Very entertaining.

[@Naruto0s44]

Roman can never turn Babyface again he can't because it won't work with him as a Babyface again he would get booed like crazy

[@roden706]

Initially HATED... I still not a fan Braun strowmen find him boring and santino... never found him funny..

[@agentorange1156]

Triple H was way over-hated. He is as good as any wwe wrestler & had draw about him. RVD proved to be unreliable whenever he did get the title. Booker t I agree with, the storyline especially Booker should have won. But then he also put over Shawn, Benoit, Batista, Orton, Cena, Bryan. When it benefitted the company he was always down to do business. A few title reigns from 02-05 is fine. Why isn't Charlotte critiqued the same way he was?

[@hhtptai]

It's crazy to think that I've witnessed the tide turn in the favors of both the New Day and Roman Reigns.

[@pjr238]

Man in 2018-19 I remember every wrestling KZbin comment (including mine) bashing Roman as a babyface. Then he turned heel and MY god he’s a top tier wrestler!

[@Straw_Hat_11]

If only people didn’t take everything so seriously, maybe Braun Strowman would be respected today… we’ll never know.

[@Naruto0s44]

The Miz because he was an asshole and still is but we love him for it and it all started with the real world because I remember how he used to be on that show because I watched that season and he had to transform and be someone else because initially he was cancel culture and he would say things that would piss other castmates off and once he transformed into the miz that's when people started liking him and after the show he would get casted in real world road rules challenges and then used that $$ he made for wrestling school and do tough enough and the rest is history

[@gamezharks]

Now, I don't disagree that Roman belongs on the list he absolutely does for his turn around. But putting him over The Rock feels like recency bias.

[@weeoth8380]

I still don't like Jon Cena (the wrestling character not the real life guy) and I never liked him Never liked his moveset, his gimmick, and ngl I don't like his returns either. Sure he's fun on the mic, but i don't think its nearly as fun as people make it out to be.

[@eironwyman8157]

When HHH was the D generation x highschool prat I hated him and Shawn....every other version of HHH was meh to me. Did not like him but no longer hated him so he never really got heat or love after that. I did lose what respect I had for him when he used his backstage power to squash wrestlers that should have been put over to keep himself champ....

[@gestaltdude]

I guess there had to be a time limit on this list, but a part of me expected Hogan to be in there somewhere. He was a hated heel in both his first WWF run and during his time with AWA. It was only when he came back to the WWF and won his first world title (which was about a month after his return) that he was pushed as a baby face. In fact, the only reason Andre was seen as a heel in his later years, after a career long run as a face, was because he went up against Hogan.Of course, if this hadn't happened, chances are the industry would look nothing like it does today, but still a fact worth mentioning.

[@billgonzo116]

Every NXT Take Over (from the golden NXT era) was HHH paying all his sins and the bad things he did in the past.

[@botaniccal]

I would place Sheamus and The Miz somewhere on this list too. Maybe even Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes

[@Justin_North]

There is a glaring omission here. Kurt Angle was absolutely despised when he debuted. Yes it changed but never forget there was a reason everyone still sings "you suck" in tune with his music.

[@tizkonfusionvoiceover2446]

Personally I still can't stand Santino & New Day. I guess I just hate the pg era comedy

[@krolik1157]

Many, many mistakes were made with James Ellsworth but his match against Braun was one of the great jobber squashes in wrestling history

[@seanhuggan1989]

Thought The Miz would make this list ahead of someone like Goldust

[@timothygraham4304]

John Cena doesn't belong on this list, if the fans were on his side before being champ, and turning into the Cena that sucked.

[@cheesepizza9143]

I like triple H before nxt . And now people say Goldberg bury young talents

[@ChristopherJohn4389]

Kurt Angle im sure is #1

[@ChristopherJohn4389]

Wtf man?? Not even on the list??? 👏👏👏way to go, A Holes

[@dazagib94]

BRAWN STROWMAN IS THE MONSTER AMONG MONSTERS NOW ADAM OMG DO YOU EVEN WATCH SPORT ENTERTAINMENT???

[@MudSluggerBP]

I loved Goldust, and let’s have more gay panic comedy, I find it hilarious 😂😂😂😂

[@tanaka7341]

Pieee

[@TheMarcoC]

D'X New Age Outlaws Radicalz

[@hassamali8887]

And then comes new day and Charlotte doing same crap for the past 7-8 years

[@2rare2die100]

Brawn Strowman is beloved? Really??

[@christianu9159]

Santino was hilarious n I think hes underappreciated

[@quinnsanders4676]

In my opinion nobody hated braun they just ain’t care about him

[@moxgirl5]

I laughed at Dwayne The Dwayne Dwayneson 😂

[@hassamali8887]

Roman reigns from the most hated baby face to the beloved heel

[@aS-df8zj]

11:12 Good joke, the walkin sedativa is still hated assfak..

[@themachodan13]

This channel just isn’t the same anymore

[@KHLthe2nd]

No one at the macro level cared about Braun on Twitter. Micro-level nerds were angry, but the vast majority couldn't care less. That you brought it up only makes me think you're too nerdy.

[@hgallez95]

I'd say honorable mention: The Uso's. While not hated, they certainly weren't very likable at first, more so boring. But just like their cousins, turning heel turned them into one of the best tag teams of all time!

[@greasy2007]

Yes they were so bland and boring in the beginning

[@pushon10]

I have always hated Santino Marella

[@bubbajoshproductions3990]

Honorable Mention: Dominik Mysterio

[@depauldixon795]

How could you not have Austin on the list?

[@scottdehaan5864]

The Horsemen, nWo, Kurt Angle

[@cheesepizza9143]

I never hated roman so your wrong again.

[@petesmart1983]

People actually like Braun strowman? Jay white was the start of Japanese fans losing interest in njpw

[@Avatar1977]

He was quite popular during his run that mostly involved beating the crap out of Roman. Admittedly the fact that it was the peak of anti-Roman sentiment at the time helped. Also all the bits when he flipped huge vehicles popped people, ridiculous as they were.

[@blackironkatana]

What happened with Braun and twitter?

[@AFMountaineer2000]

That's not Die Rocky Die, that's German for The Rocky The

[@viktorriquelme3735]

I understood the reference

[@multiyapples]

Interesting.

[@Teeheehee093]

Imagine being told in 2014 New Day would still be a group in 2023 and two of them went on to become WWE champion without ever leaving the group

[@Marsh31]

"... I'll see myself out.."

[@jayedjoy]

I still don't like Roman.

[@4fortune1984]

Still hate Cena and White lol

[@Nbflowers1989]

AJ Hazzard anyone?

[@NikJohanik]

What about the MIZ

[@girlgarde]

About Triple H, his reign of terror was only until 2004 as Chris Benoit got the Raw World title off of him at Wrestlemania 20 and managed to hold onto it until Summerslam 2004 when Randy Orton beat him for it. Sure, Triple H got the title back but he wasn't dominant like he was earlier and had big feuds with Orton and later, Batista over the world title.

[@mrbrawly2908]

Roman reigns

[@sakuragi_X]

Were wrestlers really enhanced by Cena’s US Challenge or was Cena himself enhanced? Did all those opponents really got a good or even decent push outside of KO?

[@joedonnelly2133]

i like this video

[@UninvitedGhost]

I initially liked Rocky M, I never liked the Rock.

[@UninvitedGhost]

I like Mr Johnson in most movie roles, though.

[@jtp2007]

To me Rock is the CLEAR #1 here. He went from legitimately being hated to being the most over wrestler of all time. There is no better example of this list than the Dwayne.

[@lilpoetat]

thanks!

[@Ariurotl]

whom

[@Charlie_Xmas]

I remember not Liking Kurt Angle as a kid, but now I can only appreciate how good he was at his job you know

[@scubasteevo7013]

Is this a re-upload? The transition from Rock to Roman felt very familiar.

[@hvywghtheaver]

Dreamer was loathed by the ECW faithful when he arrived. He then became the heart of the band of misfits.

[@jerranspearman3369]

good video

[@ytcomment4242]

Kurt Angle was an omission of Olympic proportions.