What made you go from hating to liking a wrestler?

[Brahma Bull]

I kind of made this thread many months back, but didnt really get my point across, so ill do it again. I just want to ask you guys, what made you go from hating a certain wrestler to liking him. this must be from dislike to like. ill give you two personal examples.

I use to not be able to stand morrison. i thought he was dull as hell, and i wanted him gone from the wwe. then he had his amazing half hour match with mysterio where he won the intercontinental title. after that, i've been a fan of his ever sense.

next would actually be batista (to a degree since he's gone now). i couldnt stand the guy as a face. i thought he was boring and he forced all his actions. i didnt even like him after he turned heel. but then he cut his amazing promo on cena before mania. (the one were he says he doesnt hug fat women, priceless.) after that, i was a fan of his, until he quite a couple months later. lol.

so how about you. was there ever an instance where you went from hating to loving a wrestler?

p.s. this is in the wwe thread, so keep it to wwe wrestlers. if you want to do a wrestler from a different company, at least mention one wwe wrestler with your responds. cheers

 

[Ace Sleeper]

One I know have to use is Triple H. I couldn't stand him in the 90's. I don't know what it was. I really couldn't stand the guy. I liked his stuff with D-Generation X, but him by himself really didn't do anything for my. It was just one of those things.

Now I completely respect him and what he has done. Sure you can argue he's 'mediocre' or that he doesn't put talent over, but he deserves everything he's gotten. He's a true legend. I think I started to like him more when he had his feuds with Goldberg, Shawn Michaels, etc, and was the leader of Evolution. That was a great few years for Triple H, and I really enjoyed watching his feuds unfold. After a while I started to like him more and more and now I look back and realize how amazing he was. Whether he's good in the ring or not, he has some of the best chemistry with other wrestlers and with the crowd. I can really respect that, and he really won me over with his feuds in the early 2000's.

 

[kingjaekob]

Morrison is a good wrestler, but lacks mic skills, and I dont know if he can do much better! I dont think you can teach Charisma! He is like HBK without HBK mic Skills!

I used to love Chris Jericho, especially when he debuted on raw in aug. 1999. Since then he sounds so Monatone on the Mic, makes his promo's boring! I dont think of y2j, like I did in early 2000's. I hope I answered your question!

I used to hate CM Punk, but he is a great talent, now I like him! reminds me of young Macho Man Savage/Jake the Snake type character!

 

[TheRealDeal]

Randy Orton, I used to hate this guy.. All he could do was just wave his arms around and act like some king when he wasn't.. I wasn't as huge a wrestling fan then but I never liked his Legend Killer Gimmick.. Then it started to develop and started getting my attention in 2005-2006... As the Viper or the predator (whoever you want to call him) he was pretty good for a few months, but now starts to limit his skills that were really good before (as Legend Killer).. Now I just watch him as it is, a killer Viper

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Sometimes, it can be something as simple as a match or a promo that shows a wrestler is at least doing his best to step up to the next level. Take CM Punk for example. Punk has always been a good talent inside the ring but I thought he was a little overrated. It was when Punk really developed into a character, when he started giving these golden promos that really got me interested in the guy. Everything about Punk just seemed better from his look to his ability inside the ring. Punk made me care about seeing what he does and that's the most important thing any wrestler can do in my opinion.

A better example would be The Miz for me. Like most other people, I hated this guy when he first showed up. I thought he was some piece of shit tool reality star hack that thought he could just break into wrestling. I thought he was someone that just didn't respect wrestling or wrestlers and was looking to score some easy money in a "fake sport". However, The Miz managed to change my mind due to the fact that he put in a lot of hard work into getting to where he is and he wants to be there. He might not be HBK or Kurt Angle inside the ring, but that doesn't make him a bad pro wrestler.

 

[Brahma Bull]

All great answers, but i dont think i was clear. i want one event that made you change your mind on a wrestler. i used one match for morrison, and one promo for batista. was their one thing that made you go from disliking to liking a certain wrestler?

 

[Rayne]

Vickie Guerrero.

When she broke in, it was the classic "hey boss, how about I bring this girl I'm close to and having her do a bit with me?" She was dreadful to watch. She was a spot killer. If she saw a spot, if she was anywhere near it, she killed it.

And then I remember one entrance she did- not a particular one, but just another entrance, shrieking "Excuse me!" I wanted to stab that bitch in the face. I wanted to see her dragged behind a Ford until she was nothing but a pelvis and eyeliner marks on the pavement. That's what made me realize just how incredibly good she was at her job. I can't think of a heel who's made me have that kind of honest reaction since Andre sold the belt.

Now, of course, she overuses the phrase. She'll yell it to an arena that's dead quiet in order to garner heat, whereas she used to use it to turn heat into a raging bonfire. But.... it still pisses people off, and they still want to see her get slapped, so it's still working.

 

[Ace Sleeper]

All great answers, but i dont think i was clear. i want one event that made you change your mind on a wrestler. i used one match for morrison, and one promo for batista. was their one thing that made you go from disliking to liking a certain wrestler?

Well that's a little hard, don't you think? It's on rare occasion you just go from disliking someone to liking them. It has to build up. You can't really switch your stance in an instant, and if you can, it has to be a very big moment. I can't really think of anything like that from my experience.

 

[GoochOwnsYou]

Well that's a little hard, don't you think? It's on rare occasion you just go from disliking someone to liking them. It has to build up. You can't really switch your stance in an instant, and if you can, it has to be a very big moment. I can't really think of anything like that from my experience.

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This was one of those rare occasions for me, I always considered The Miz mediocre on the mic until that point.

 

[SMKM]

Hm, Id have to say I never was a fan of CM Punk when he was a face and then he started being a heel, a very good one at that, and unlike most I think I really liked him when he debuted the StraightEdge Society, most say the gimmick sucked, I personally thought it gave him character, and now hes leader of New Nexus, although I dont like how they made Wade Barrett have to form a new group (i still think Wade should be leader of the Nexus), Punk as leader of any faction really works out and keeps me entertained. Another superstar I used to dislike with a passion would probably be dolph ziggler, i mean come on the spirit squad says it all, then he debuted the "Im dolph ziggler" gimmick and ended up getting suspended in like 2 months cuz of the wellness policy, he pissed me off lol who knew Id actually start to like the guy after he polished up in the ring, he went from what I thought was future endevoured to a 1 time world champion, and if didnt know better id say a 2 time champ by the summer after edge and del rio go back and forth for the titles, but who knows I could be wrong, maybe ziggler will win tonight? thatd be a shocker

 

[Jackal960]

My answer is...

John Cena!

And not from good to bad in my eyes, actually from a bad guy to a good guy. I hated Cena, not that i love him now, but he was number one in my top 10 list to hate. He was boring, overrated, lame, and everything else that you can call him... Then last year at wrestlemania after he won the match, he posed with the guys on the first row who had "i hate Cena" shirts. He was OK with it. Then when he was supposedly "fired" from WWE he made a speech at Raw. It takes a man to make a speech like that. When you know half of the building thinks you are useless, it takes to be a man to talk to them with sympathy. That's professionalism, and more than anything: Loving this business. With all its pros and cons...

Today i think that because of most of the IWC hate todays product, miss Attitude Era, want a show suitable for their age etc etc they give Cena a go, because he is the face of this era. I realized we are a bit overreacting to him, and we are reflecting our hatred of all the crap mostly on him. We are a bit unfair on him. Then was when i started to actually like him (though i still think his gimmick sucks)

 

[Wrestlingfan100]

John Morrrison & Kofi Kingston i dislike a bit, they are overated by the IWC when Kofi only has 5 years experience, John Morrison 7 years but what about

Evan Bourne/Matt Sydal, Brian Danielson/daniel bryan they've been wrestling for 11 years. Jomo and Kofo are gettting pushed because they are home grown talent. Kofi's better on the mic though then all of them both as a face and heel(watch his past work in developemental of wwe), It just kind of bothers me too
that Tyson Kidd is 30 and jobbing to hornswoggle while being a technically sound
kungfu kicking awesome former indie guy and Morrison is pushed. Or Ted Dibiase
who unlike orton and cody cut his teeth in japan instead getting in just for who
the hell he was related too.

 

[TheViper723]

I went from completely HATING the Miz...to absolutely astonished by him. I hated him with pure passion. I hated the mere presence of him. Then i saw him every night. Every night and trying to put on a show. His mic skills were horrible. Then he just went up the ranks and learned and digested the heat and kept going. Gotta admit, you just gotta LOVE to HATE such a guy. And now I like him. He can talk, he still can't wrestle, but he can work the crowd and that is good enough. He may not have the most selling merchandise but he can sure as heck do enough damage to leave the crowd wishing someone would put an end to his in-ring work. And that is all you need to be a formidable heel and eventual face. Just look at Randy Orton, Y2J when he first debuted, HBK when he split up with the Rockers, The Rock when he was with the nation and then the corporation...all these guys were guys you just hated and now they are the ones we cheer for. Sorry...Triple H still doesn't do it for me as much...I neither like him or hate him. But a young HBK is a good example of the Miz right now...only problem is...the Miz is getting pushed too fast. They need to slow it down and eventually turn him face.

 

[supaman5279]

I thought Sheamus was a big goof. I thought he was a big for nothing nobody on ECW. I wasn't too impressed. Then I saw him beat the crap out of Jamie Noble 2 weeks in a row. Big props for Noble on the sell job but I took Sheamus a lot more serious after that.

 

[Jason Scene]

Jeff Hardy - I have GENUINE hatred for this prick. Go back to 2001 and beyond, and a while after and I was a fan of the Hardy Boyz', but now look at what hes become. The guy is imploding, people say that it's just people hating him for being in TNA, but that isn't the excuse for everything.

Showing up to a PPV where you're the World Champion and in the Main Event intoxicated or high, whichever he was is ******ed. Making these stupid videos where he said, the words, and I quote, "I made CM PUNK!"

WHAT?! No you didn't, he carried your ass. Jeff Hardy hasn't made shit in the last few years except just that, shit! I have another 10 reasons why I can't stand him, but he's a jackass. And at one point I supported and respected him, one of my favourite matches on RAW was him and Undertaker for the Undisputed Championship in a ladder match back around '04. That was Jeff Hardy. Now he's a fucking ass.

Chris Jericho - I only hated him for a couple years. I was a mark of The Rock growing up, and when Y2J interrupted The Rock on his debut my older brother marked out but I hated him. But when he became the first Undisputed Champion I began to like him.

And then since his return in 2007 I've became a Y2J mark. I love his narcissist heel work, but I want to see the old Y2J Chris Jericho again. My favourite Mania match is him Vs Christian at WM 20. But nobody interrupts The Rock.

 

[xBANEx]

Hm..

Randy Orton. I really hated him as the "Legend Killer" because of the gimmick, period. Can't really state why just something about it made me really hate the guy. Rated RKO thing made me hate him even worse, but that's probably because I despise Edge, but whatever. Around the time he was going from Rated RKO to "The Viper" I really got into him. I know a lot of people think he's boring but there's something about slow-paced heels that make my boxers moist. @_@

Also, silly reason, but Jack Swagger. Really hated the guy until he came on Raw and "threw the match" against Orton during the gauntlet-like thing saying he respected Orton or something along those lines.

 

[Dr.Shades]

I gotta say mine was tommy dreamer on wwecw, I was indifferent towards him until he went and saved colin after a handicap match against miz 'n' morrison. from then on he was one of my favorites. though I really don't know why.

 

[StunningBlackMamba24]

Well i used to not like john morrison
like i used to hate him alot like from 2009-2010(his face run)
until he started teaming with r truth to face shomiz at wrestlemania
And then for some reason i wanted morrison and truth to win that match therefore my mind had changed and i started to love john morrison

 

[RatedRSuperstar]

THE MIZ.

When he first came to the business, I couldn't stand the guy. I thought he was a cheap reality star that thought he could break into the wrestling business that would get future endeavored in a heartbeat, UNTIL...

The week after the draft in 2009. He cut a promo. I don't remember the whole thing, but I remember one line in particular - "I'm tired of seeing the same guys in the main event.". He started gaining my respect after that moment. That may have been the same night he called out John Cena. I don't remember exactly, but I just remember how amazing that promo was and that line I just mentioned.

Since that moment, he's really grown on me and has become one of my favorite wrestlers/entertainers. He's solid in the ring and he has AMAZING mic skills. Sure, he's no Shawn Michaels or The Rock or Stone Cold, but this guy has the total package, and I'm glad they're giving him a spot in the main event because if anyone deserves, it's The Miz, because of the above statements I just made.

BECAUSE HE'S THE MIZ....AND HEEEEEE'S....AWWWWWWEEESSOOOOOOMMMMMEEE!!!

 

[RatedRSuperstar]

Another one is Sheamus. He shows up on Raw and decimates jobbers, then about a month later he wins the WWE title. I'm just sitting there thinking to myself "WTF is WWE thinking??". He was dull, no one cheered/booed for him. And when he won the title, it put a lot of butts in seats (lol).

But then during his fued with Triple H, I started to notice he has something special. Triple H put him over big time in my opinion, and if the game decides to stay out of the game, Sheamus can be known forever as the guy that ended the career of Triple H, which is huge. But Sheamus has really grown on me in the last year. His mic skills need a little work, but he's great in the ring and can garner heel heat in an instant.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I don't know if this can go in here but I hated Mr Anderson when he first started out with the WWE. I could not see what was so great about him. He just yelled his name into the microphone and was an altogether sloppy wrestler. And yet the IWC was talking of him as the next Stone Cold Steve Austin. I remember a main page columnist on WrestleZone writing a whole column about him in which he fantasy booked as to how he would get Mr Anderson over in the WWE. Some of that shit even included giving Austin a "Stunner" and what not. It was some of the wierdest shit that I have ever read and while most people were deeply saddened by his ouster from the WWE, I was pretty happy because I saw nothing special in the guy.

Then he went over to TNA and I was pretty pissed to see him getting preferential treatment there as well. However his first feud with Kurt Angle changed my outlook towards him. Suddenle he was cutting really intense promos and started looking less and less of an idiot. He toned down on all that yelling and really worked on the content of his promos. Later on when he aligned with Jeff Hardy he also showed that he was a pretty funny guy. I would say that he has even improved his ring work a bit and is getting better. He is especially good at gimmick matches.

 

[legendkiller1979]

Not only do I know who I want to use for an example but I know the exact day it happened. I have never been a big Shawn Michaels fan. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why but I just couldn't stand him. I will never deny his talent, he put on some great matches. Montreal is what put it over the top for me. He was so obnoxious and I loved Bret Hart. I'm not here to start a debate about Montreal nor do I want people going on about how wrong I am for feeling this way. That topic has been debated to death. It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it, as is everybody else.

January 4, 2010 provided one of the greatest moments in the history of the WWE as well as an opportunity for healing for me personally. Seeing Bret and Shawn bury the hatchet was an amazing moment and at that moment I was able to let go of some of my resentment and hatred for HBK. It may seem silly to take something so personally but this was real life, not just a story. Seeing these two bitter enemies shake hand and even hug so big for me. I'm not saying I jumped on the HBK bandwagon, but I was able to let go of some feeling that I had been holding for 12 years.

 

[OutsiderDX]

Santino

I really couldn't stand the guy. I'm never a fan of the instant push. When he became intercontinental champion on his first night, i definitely held it against him. The whole thing of "fan coming out of the audience" was so contrived. I saw no redeeming quality from this lil peanut looking guy who was being put over other deserving guys.

But obviously his comedy schtick is universally loved for one reason...its funny. I've already said he is one of the most entertaining characters in wwe history. Everything he has been given from jobber, being dressed up as a girl, to another run as IC has been executed brilliantly.

Yeah so I hated Santino, but now everytime he is on TV i definitely pay attention and am rewarded for it.

 

[AwesomeRko]

Mines would have to be the fact i hated shane O'Mac during the attitude era particularly when he was flanked by the Mean Street Posse. But after seeing him in his awesome hardcore match with Steve Blackman (the one with the titantron) i developed a whole new respect for the guy he knows how to put on a show is funny and is pretty fearless shame hes not in the WWE enough

 

[Zigglerfan227]

All great answers, but i dont think i was clear. i want one event that made you change your mind on a wrestler. i used one match for morrison, and one promo for batista. was their one thing that made you go from disliking to liking a certain wrestler?

You sure are picky. I don't think me and you would get along. Anyway, to answer the question that you asked, I hated Brian Kendrick until he was repackaged as The Brian Kendrick on the July 18, 2008 episode of Smackdown. I remember he came out with Ezekiel Jackson, he had a new theme song, and a new look. He impressed me in his match that night with Jimmy Wang Yang and his finishing move, The Kendrick, was really awesome. After his debut I wanted to see more of Kendrick and he earned my respect, especially after he started cutting promos.

Also, I hated the Miz for a long time but he grew on me over time. I had become a Miz fan soon before he turned on John Morrison. I grew to like him even more as he fueded with john Cena.