Wrestlers That You Hated, But Now Enjoy.

[LamaNamaneumi]

There have always been those wrestlers you hated, but then something happens to them and you start liking them. It could be a outfit change, a heel/face turn, or they could have been just plain repackaged. Whatever it was, something made you change the way you felt about them.

For me it would have to be Cody Rhodes. When he first debuted I could not stand him. Bob Holly and Cody teamed up to win the Tag Team Titles, I thought this was because the WWE wanted to push him just because he was Dustys son. I did not see anything special about him, I thought he was a waste of tv time that would soon be let go.

A little later he Teamed with DiBiase and went on to become Ortons lackeys. I thought the were just keeping him in the tag division so the would not have to let him go, he was doing nothing to shine on his own. When Legacy broke up I thought that was it for him and it would not be long before he was released. The break he had after Mania had me thinking this was true.

Then a couple months ago, Cody came out on SMACKDOWN! and cut his "Dashing" promo. I was eating it up from start to finish. The grooming tips he gives each week are classic and he has the best entrance on the brand. Cody plays this persona perfectly, he finally got a gimmick and is running with it full steam. Now Cody is the second or third best heel on SMACKDOWN!. I don't think it will be long before he has the IC gold.

My thoughts on Cody Rhodes have changed a lot in the time he has been in the "E". Are there any wrestlers that you once hated, but after a while you found yourself liking? If so, who and explain why.

 

[mrbrownstone]

For me it's John Cena, yes that's right when I first started to watch wrestling I couldn't stand him, there was no real reason to it it was just the cool thing to do. Over the past year or so I have come to like the guy for the most part, sure there are little things he does that annoy me but most wrestlers do.

What made me change my opinion of him? I realised that most of the stuff said about him on the internet is complete shit. "But he only has 5 moves" that's crap I can name atleast 9 that he frequently uses of the top of my head. "He cant cut a promo" that is bullshit, he has more charisma than about 99% of the WWE roster he can be funny when he want to be but can also get serious "He can't wrestle" again crap, he has had many classics with the likes of Edge, HBK, Orton, HHH and JBL."He is booked like superman" so is basically every other face in the history of wrestling, it is the simple formula for a wrestling match, heel dominates most of the match then the face makes a big comeback and wins (not saying it always happens but alot of the time it does) so basically everyone from Hogan to HHH to The Rock has been booked like a superman because they are a fucking face.

So yeah basically the more of him I watched the more I realised, why do I hate this guy there is nothing wrong with him.

 

[Shay]

Miz comes to mind i hated the way he looked when he debuted it was like f##k off you had your 15 mins of fame on the tough enough show stop trying to extend it but then he worked his ass off and it showed in his rapidly improved promos from his dirt sheet days on wwe.com but i was worried that he would be the janetty when they broke up but he ripped straight into cena and i was loving it and now he is US champ and MITB and has great promos and is one of the biggest heels on raw right now so now i enjoy watching the Miz because he's AWESOME

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I've been sort of on and off with this superstar but I'm going to pick him anyway.

I didn't like John Morrison when he first came to the WWE as Johnny Nitro because he was Eric Bischoff's toole basically backstage every episode, then he moved into competition as a part of a team with MNM and I still didn't like him. I hated him more than ever when he with The Miz. I started eventually liking him when he left Miz and went into singles competition and started going after some gold. He was one of my favourite superstars when he actually was a champion, but then I started disliking him again because he was always in the Intercontinental Championship picture, which bored me quite alot.

I've only just started liking him as of 2 Raw's ago when he beat Chris Jericho, so I'm very on and off with John Morrison. Without spoiling this past Raw for anybody that hasn't seen it, I was quite impressed with Morrison. That is all.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

When I was younger I really hated Kurt Angle. Everything about his arrogant ass-kissing American hero persona made me want to vomit. I could not stand the man, and would root for whoever he was going up against.

But when you get a bit older, and can see past the "face" and "heel" personas of the wrestlers, I realised that Kurt is the best wrestler in the world, and he ended up becoming my favourite wrestler, simply through the quality of his matches, and how enjoyable he was to watch in the ring. Now, I have nothing but the upmost respect for the man. He is a legend.

 

[The People's Peep]

There are two for me. Cody Rhodes and The Miz.

I pretty much hated Legacy. I didnt think they did anything good. They were just boring. I was happy after their breakup to see what they could do on their own, but I still didnt like either of them. In fact, I saw nothing in Cody. But his new gimmick has done wonders. Now, he is one of the reason why I watch Smackdown. His promo skills have increased dramatically and he is solid in the ring and he is just downright entertaining.

When I started watching wrestling again last summer, The Miz was still in his whole Anti-Cena thing. I hated it. He legitimately annoyed me. Then he outright said that he was setting his sights on the US title and completely changed his attitude (and new trunks to go along with it). Since then, he has showed me, along with the rest of the wrestling world what he truly is. He has showed that he is a big part of the future of the company. He is now arguably my favorite guy to watch and one of the most entertaining guys in the WWE.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

When I first started into the wrestling after I got older and wiser, I went to some of the live shows and really got agitated watching this Kurt Angle. I was glad at first when he left WWE, but got ticked when he went to TNA. But after a while, I realized that he really is a cool person after meeting him after a TNA show, and after reading his autobiography. He really is a mellow guy and NOTHING like the heel he played on tv. He really was a cool and down to earth guy. Genuinely awesome guy and one tremendous talent. At first I also couldn't stand Jeff Jarrett, then after watching him more and more on TNA, and seeing his King of The Mountain dvd, I learned SO much more about him, and even after the death of his wife. My heart broke and seeing how much he loves the wrestling biz. I am the biggest fan of his, I always am pulling for him with TNA.

Another one, and my internet friends will tell you, as noted by my inside jokes with them. At first I couldn't STAND this guy. I hated this weird little teacher guy that was on ECW and thought "Why is this guy on this show? He seems so outta place." It was Matt Striker. He was always talking down to people and if he was a teacher (me being a former teacher myself), why wrestle? Then I heard more about him and found out he was wrestling in his off time and saw that he was not that bad in the ring, it was too bad he was never really given a fair shot in the WWE ring for any major titles or anything. But I do quite enjoy seeing him do commentary with Grisham, as his education does provide quite a bit of entertainment on Thursday and Friday nights, and on NXT.

 

[info62]

There's only one wrestler I drastically changed my opinion about: Jeff Hardy. When he came back to WWE in 2007-ish I hated him at an unhealthy level. I guess it just pissed me off that people liked him for no reason other than that he dressed funny. The entire crowd would chant for him and I would just stare at my TV and be like "what the hell are you chanting for?"

And then, I think it was when the CM Punk feud was starting, I suddenly liked him. Which is strange, since that feud was the one that made everybody jump on the CM Punk bandwagon, and for some reason it made me a fan of Jeff instead. I finally just found him likeable. It may have been that I sympathyzed with him for having his personal issues all over TV. At any rate, I went from hating Jeff to tolerating him. And in the present day, I actually kind of enjoy him in TNA. Three years ago, I never would have thought I'd ever say that. Lol.

Another mention could be John Morrison. I despised him once, though not to the degree to which I despised Jeff. My opinion on him changed recently. I've been re-watching smackdown episodes from four years ago, and I was really surprised at how much MnM were entertaining me. So about a month or two ago, I decided to stop blindly hating him and I actually found that JoMo (along with Edge) was the only reason why I kept watching RAW. Of course it eventually got so unbearable that I stopped watching WWE anyway, but before I quit watching, my opinion on him really changed.

 

[Furyof5]

The first one that comes to mind is Triple H. I used to hate Triple H, first durring his feud with Austin until his subsequent injury during the Power Trip storyline, and the second and highest level of hate came during his Reign with Evolution. I couldnt stand the sight of him, and when I went and saw him live during his Feud with Steiner I booed him relentlessly.

Today I understand that the reason he made me hate him is because he really is that damn good. Hes on of my favorite wrestlers today and cant wait for his return.

Another name that comes to mind is Cody Rhodes. I used to not like him at all. I thought the only reason he was in the business was because of Dusty and Golddust. I saw no talent in him whatsoever; and then he got his Dashing gimmick. Now I love Cody Rhodes and hes usually one of my favorite parts if not my favorite part of Smackdown every week, and I look forward to see where he'll go next and what more progress he makes with his character.

 

[youngbullzeye]

I gotta agree with "Dashing" Cody Rhodes but my favorite has to be JBL.I fuckin loved the APA but when the "fired" Farooqo i was pist.Then i see JBL with this new gimmick and i hated him now.But as time went on i started likeing him more and more each week and when he finally one the title i was happy.I think why i hated him so much is the he can geniuanlly pull that gimmick with no problem.

 

[Eck]

I used to hate Orton and Jericho. Just because they where heels. I was younger and I didn't get it that much. The more I watched Jericho I just found him awsome, I found his promos hilarious, his storytelling perfect and ring work was like an art. The same with Orton minus the funny promos. Orton is just a badass loner that I feel can kick anyones ass. He just looks like he is actually feeling the anger during his promos and stories. You can feel the cockiness that he gives off which is just great.

 

[RVDgurl]

Wade Barrett

I loved the 1st season of NXT. Mainly, because it was kinda like "The Bryan Danielson Show featuring 7 other guys"- which was kick ass. Secondly, it made me a huge fan of Wade Barrett. At the beginning I was not at all impressed with him. In fact, I remembering making the statment "that Barrett guy bores me to death". As the weeks went by I became more and more anxious to see him perform.

Now, I look forward to seeing him every Monday. The Nexus angle has been one of the most innovative and interesting storylines presented by the WWE in the past decade. Barrett is a legitimate main event player on RAW and he deserves every bit of it.

 

[The Doctor]

Sheamus.

Well, "hate" is a strong word. I didn't hate him at all. I just didn't see anything special in him at all. People were already jumping on his bandwagon after his debut, saying he was awesome and great on the mic, and I just did not see it. And then, he won the WWE Championship, feuded with Triple H, and won the title again. His work has been very good and he's taken that main event spot by storm. He really fits, and fits well. He's really changed my opinion of him, and now I quite enjoy his mic work and ring work, as well as the man himself. I can respect anyone who changes my opinion of them.

 

[I Suck Ass]

Cody Rhodes immediately comes to mind for me. I always hated Legacy, just because I still have a little of the love the face/hate the heel left in me, and I always thought that after Legacy broke apart, DiBiase would flourish and Rhodes would fall, just because Rhodes didn't have a gimmick. Boy, was I wrong. Now, if anything, DiBiase is struggling to stay relevant, while Rhodes may be getting a tag title match with McIntyre at NoC. I love the "Dashing" gimmick and everything about it. Rhodes has evolved so much since Legacy, and that's why I love him.

 

[xSharpShooter]

The Miz
I just didn't like him at all, and I thought if the tag team ever broke up, he wouldn't be such a huge star anymore (but I was wrong, thankfully). Now, I'm a Miz mark and I absolutely love seeing him come out everyday. The feud with Daniel Bryan also helps.

Randy Orton
Eh, I just didn't like him because he was a heel. Even after I stopped caring about if someones a face or a heel, I still didn't like him. But Legacy changed that.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

The Miz is certainly one of them. I didn’t like him so much until he teamed up with Morrison. He had a lame look and you just couldn’t get it out of your head that he somehow didn’t belong. I have to give huge credit to him for turning everyone around and finding the respect he honestly deserves for getting out of that reality star stereotype. Good on him.

Another guy that comes to mind is Randy Orton. I couldn’t stand Orton for a long time and never understood why he was so liked as a performer. I never really liked him much until he returned as the Viper in 2008 after breaking his collar one. I think having the new music and the full sleeves helped get him over for me but there was something different about him when he returned. He’s definitely a favourite these days but it took a while to understand him.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

The Miz is certainly one of them. I didn’t like him so much until he teamed up with Morrison. He had a lame look and you just couldn’t get it out of your head that he somehow didn’t belong. I have to give huge credit to him for turning everyone around and finding the respect he honestly deserves for getting out of that reality star stereotype. Good on him.

Another guy that comes to mind is Randy Orton. I couldn’t stand Orton for a long time and never understood why he was so liked as a performer. I never really liked him much until he returned as the Viper in 2008 after breaking his collar one. I think having the new music and the full sleeves helped get him over for me but there was something different about him when he returned. He’s definitely a favourite these days but it took a while to understand him.

Sheamus is also another one. I couldn’t stand him when he first debuted but after slowly getting better and better I have accepted him and actually enjoy watching his work. He’s turned into a believable main eventer in under a year and has really made his mark on the WWE. I give him props for coming out and “swimming” so to speak.

 

[Nicole13Edge/HardyFan]

For me it is Edge. I used to hate him but now I am absoultly in love with the guy. Edge used to get on my nerves but then I started liking him after he dumped Vickie on the June 9th 2009 edition of Raw then he quickly became one of my favorites of all time and my favorite of today.

I never thought I would be an Edge fan I used to hate him so much I would hate to even see him on t.v. Now if he isn't on t.v. I get made because I love to see him that much he is awesome.

 

[hman24]

Like a few people have mentioned, mine used to be Orton. I never liked his legend killer gimmick. It was mediocre to me and he was getting pushed to the stars. I didn't understand it. Than when he changed to his Viper gimmick, something just worked. I don't know what, but something just clicked and he is now one of my favorite guys in WWE.
Another guy that, I wouldn't say I hated, but just didn't care at first, was CM Punk. I didn't like his first couple of title runs and just didn't find him entertaining. I sat there thinking, they are giving the belt to this guy? Once he started the SES gimmick and began cutting some of the most hilarious promos I've seen in the PG era, he has risen to be a favorite of mine.

 

[Branden]

CM Punk: I sort of went up and down with him. I liked him when he first debuted, then he got stale and I couldn't stand him. But once he started the Straight Edge heel gimmick I loved him.

The Miz: I hate to admit it but the Miz is Awesome. I didn't think that until I saw him away from WWE programming and got a feel for his personality in real life. Seeing that bit of reality shine through with his pompus gimmick makes me like him.

Cody Rhodes: He's finally got a believable gimmick that I enjoy watching. Now I actually don't fast forward through his segments, and enjoy him in the ring.

Santino: When he first came on TV and beat Umaga, then just was sort of a random Italian guy he was horrible. But now that he has his comedic gimmick I love him.

William Regal: I couldn't stand the guy as a kid. Now being older I really appreciate his in-ring ability and mic work, and I think he's a very very under-rated talent.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE

The Miz - A lot of people have already mentioned The Miz and he was someone that I just outright hated. He seemed like a completely lame, generic tool and a lame reality show tv star that didn't want to give up his 15 minutes of fame. Over the course of the past several years, however, The Miz has worked very hard to get where he is. The Miz, in my opinion, is the best young heel in wrestling right now. He was able to change my mind and show me that he has the stuff.

Alberto Del Rio - The vinyettes they showed of this guy bored me to death quite frankly. I didn't really know what to expect from him but I didn't expect much. Since he made his debut on WWE television, I have to say that Del Rio has impressed me. The guy has loads of charisma, can talk on the mic and can wrestle really well. He has tons of heat already and I just think he's fun to watch.

Cody Rhodes - Cody Rhodes just seemed so one dimensional in general up until the past few months. I haven't been won completely over, but I do think Cody Rhodes does very well in his current gimmick. He comes off as charismatic and extremely comfortable with the role he's playing. Rhodes has always been very solid in the ring, but the guy had no personality. He was simply Randy Orton's stooge. As I said, I'm not completely on board but Rhodes has come a long way towards changing my mind.

TNA

Motor City Machine Guns - On the surface, I saw these guys as being little more than a pair of overrated spot monkeys. That's really all I saw when I looked at them but the Guns managed to win me over due to their performances in actual wrestling matches. They have a fast paced, high energy style that works and works well. They have legitimate chemistry with each other and just feel like a tag team. Their best of 5 series with Beer Money was the best thing going in tag team wrestling in quite a while.

 

[#hamler]

The Miz
Stated before. No need to explain.

Sheamus
Holy shit I hated this dude. I remember watching him on ECW and I remember thinking "this ass will never be WWE Champion". Then when he won that battle royal to be number one contender then beating john cena? I was pissed. I don't know what it was exactly that got me to love him. Maybe I just wasn't use to him. But this guys got talent.

Christain
I use to hate this guy. Since around 2003 or so when he started out wrestling single matches. The guy had zero talent. I saw him as the Janetty of Edge and Christian. Then he moved to TNA and became a main eventer something clicked. That's when I started becoming a peep.

Kurt Angle
Thought he was over rated and getting pushed too damn fast. I mean every championship in a year? I couldn't stand kurt. And him always bitching and crying made me hate him more. His fueds with The Rock in 2001 or so got me going. Now he's one of my favorites.

 

[The Holy One]

Triple H

He was just that good of a heel. I couldn't stand anytime that he won. I didn't care who faced him whether it was The Rock, SCSA, HBK, RVD, Kane, Scott Steiner, Goldberg, Chris Benoit, Eugene. I just wanted to see him lose. I even became a big Orton fan b/c of his fued against Evolution. I think the height of my distaste of HHH was at WM 19 when he beat Booker T, my favorite wrestler as a child. It was a little while after I discovered the WZ site and the forum that I changed my mind about him. I guess I can attribute it to all the hate he receives. He's now one of my favorite wrestlers.

 

[One to Remember]

Goldberg without a doubt. I hated him through the streak, i hated him after the demise of WCW and i hated his WWE debut. But years after WCW's demise and with WWE dominating I now have a whole new love and respect for Goldberg because he represented a major name created by WCW, He took apart i the main event of the last Nitro to have more viewers then Raw, and he was the face of WCW for a little bit.

Ron "R-Truth/K-KWIK/K-KRUSH" Killings. I could not stand him in the WWF and felt like he was bland and a walking talking sterotype and a guy who would never make it off of Sunday Night HeAT. He went to NWA-TNA, captured the NWA Heavyweight title, got grabbed back up by WWE ad now hes in the maint event as an upper-midcarder.

I hated Morrison because I couldn't stand how he had the WCW Nitro theme as ring music and Nitro as a last name. I also felt like he was a flash in the pan as well as the rest of MnM but I respect his skills and his longevity now.

Triple H c. 1998. I couldn't stand how immature is character was, how unmotivated, and the lack of seriousness in career goals. I became a huge fan of Trips in 2001 when he was in his absolute prime, came back from a huge injury, and dominated in a way not seen before in my whle time of watching wrestling.