WWE Superstars that Grew on You [Part 2]

[Trill Co$by]

A couple years ago, one of my very first posts on these forums was a post where I asked people which WWE Superstars grew on you, and why. It was in that post that I stated The Miz had grown on me, after shining bright with his former Tag Team partner and Dirt Sheet co-host John Morrison. I stated that his bout with CM Punk at Cyber Sunday 2008 was one that I would always remember, and to this day it still is. And I even went on to say he'd be a future world champion, which he did. All of this after admitting that I had originally hated him. I hated that he was a reality show star that came to the WWE and basically was handed everything on a silver platter.

Well, now I'm back at it again with a new post years later for a part 2. And in this one, there are a lot of honorable mentions here that can be thrown around. Names like Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Rusev, Del Rio, and even Charlotte can all be added onto my list for different reasons each. But the one person I have to tip my proverbial hat to this time is, I presume, the eventual face of Smackdown's Women's division in Becky Lynch.

I'm not sure if people have really read what I've said about her in the past, but ever since her time in NXT, I wasn't really a fan of hers. I always admitted that in-ring wise, there wasn't anything wrong with her. She was and still is one of the better women on the WWE's roster right now, and to be honest in-ring wise she's even better than a lot of guys too. But what always had me turned off of her was her character, it seemed a bit odd. I didn't understand what she was supposed to be.

Now I get it, her character is Becky Lynch and that's what she's supposed to be. But, how would you explain Becky Lynch to someone who never watched WWE? And for the longest time, I couldn't. There wasn't anything, for me, that made her stand out. Sure, the hair dresser in WWE put almost three entire hair dye bottles in her hair but that didn't make her different. It didn't change her overall character. However, since literally the Royal Rumble, I've begun to see just what she is.

Without disrespecting her, I've come to begin labeling Becky Lynch as the nerdy girl. She's the girl that loves her music, loves her comic books, loves being a women's wrestler, and virtually loves being different. She's trusting, to a degree, but also prideful enough to take absolutely no shit from anyone. She's the one that little girls who read the comics can relate to. She's the one that being a nerd myself could say, "you know, I bet it would be cool to hang out with her" and things still be cool. She's that girl, and to be honest, I like her for it. And it's eye opening that it's just now setting into me 100% that while I love Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch is the perfect person to be running the women's division as the top face.

So with that, I have to ask the question.

Which current WWE Superstar has grown on you, and why?

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

None. If anything, guys who initially get over with me inevitably "lose their shine" because of horrible Creative.

 

[Azane]

I think Charlottes the only one I've turned around on recently, Mostly because they dumped Ric and are letting her do her own work now.

Charlotte and Ric was pretty brutal to me, holding back their whole diva's revolution and putting the woman's division focus on an old man.


names like Shinsuke and joe and others don't need to grow on me, they've been giving me exactly what I've expected.


The Revival have grown on me though, I don't like their name. but their style of oldschool smashface wrestling and pure heel tactics have made me enjoy their matches more than usual. I also like whenever Scott Dawson (? the bald one) talks, because he seems like a legit badass and not just the pretty face thats been stereotypical.

 

[TheBadGuy92]

Tye Dillinger. Thought after they split him and JJ he was just going to be a generic jobber, his perfect 10 gimmick is great!

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Charlotte - Mainly because of dropping Ric Flair. He was just so annoying.

New Day - I absolutely hated these guys at first, but I freaking love them now.

Roman Reigns - I hated this guy at first, but you can't blame the booking on him. He has also improved greatly.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

100% Seth Rollins. I thought he didn't deserve a main event slot because it didn't generate the hype that a John Cena would receive. I was right back then, but man Rollins has come a long way and I put him right up there with Kevin Owens as my favorite wrestlers right now.

 

[akathelaw]

Xavier Woods has grown on me over the years. He was decent as Consequences Creed in TNA. I was worried when he came to WWE and spent a very long time in developmental. His debut on Raw with R-Truth was one of the worst debuts I'd ever seen. Even his personal styling was off, the hairdo and moustache he had aged him a lot. The New Day gimmick was a blessing in disguise. It got Woods with better partners in Big E and Kingston. The progression from gospel singers to motivational nerds was pulled off without a snag. I give Woods credit as I think he established the tone of New Day more than the other 2. He acted a similar character to classic Jim Cornette and became so entertaining as the annoying heel manager that the team went babyface. The team has been able to handle crowd chanting, they've injected Raw with some socially relevant humor, and they've been excellent tag team champions.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I would have to go with Paige. I wasn't a fan of hers until about a year into her run. She was pushed WAY too hard, WAY too fast, and it instantly soured me on her. Right now is when she should be one of the top Divas, but WWE's mindset these days is that after a year or two under their belt, wrestlers don't matter anymore and are just jobbers.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Seth Rollins man, the black sheep of the Shield or the ugly duckling. I thought Rollins was gonna be the next Ziggler, lol.

Seriously, back then at the shield, who thought that Rollins was going to be the first to become a World Champ?
Who even thought that he'd beat Roman and Dean in top matches?
Noone.

When Rollins won the MITB contract I was like wtf. But then, Rollins really showed to me, why he deserves to be the top guy. He has the looks, the skills and the charisma. It's not too much to call him a modern-day HBK.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

For me, Cesaro and Sami Zayn are probably my biggest answers. As someone pointed out, the majority of the superstars that debuted within the last 4 years have actually immediately captured my appreciation and then waned (Bray plz show me something on SD) as opposed to me not liking them and then changing my mind.

Cesaro is perhaps the only man in this time period I can say I didn't think anything of at first but now definitely appreciate. I didn't hate him, but I definitely didn't think he was anything special. His US title reign was extremely forgettable and his gimmick at the time only consisted of him speaking 5 languages which did absolutely nothing for me. The Real Americans was a dumb tag team that only got over due to the catchphrase but even WWE creative realized it was a dead end storyline and ended up giving Cesaro better by April 2014. I'll always stress the belief that WWE missed a huge opportunity with Cesaro when he won the AtGMBR at WrestleMania XXX. He was so over, and they instead wasted it and turned him back into a stupid character but it wasn't until last year's SummerSlam where I realized his tremendous in ring talent. These days, even his "shoot" didn't move the needle for me at all in terms of mic skill but I would still put him in the top 5 most gifted in-ring performers in the company, which is much better than I thought of him this time last year.

Sami Zayn is probably also in that top 5, if not he is absolutely in the top 7. The only two current wrestlers that I'm a bigger fan of right now are Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. I didn't watch NXT so I didn't get to appreciate the Zayn/Cesaro feud when it happened, as a matter of fact the first Sami Zayn match I got to watch when it happened was when Kevin Owens demolished him for the belt. Obviously that first impression didn't do Sami any favors in my eyes, he looked extremely weak and pitiful. Now though, Sami has proven himself to be a very reliable worker and seems to be a standup guy who probably doesn't get enough credit - he has top face potential.

 

[Radical]

I would say New Day are a good example of wrestlers who grew on me.

New Day now, are great. They are a great example of the combination of elements that make wrestling fun and entertaining: style, athleticism and fun.

They have style. They have kept adding to it. From the Unicorn horns to the trombone and Booty-Os shirts. These guys just became so fun to watch that even though they were supposed to be heels at one point, the fans couldn't help but cheer them so they've become super-faces now.

They have athleticism. And a variety of abilities. Kofi obviously the best high-flyer, while Xavier sadly hasn't got a chance to show all his abilities but he is a good technician and Big E provides the muscle but can almost move well.

And fun! They have fun while still taking their wrestling seriously. Their current feud with the Wyatts is great since it's the classic good vs evil, positive vs negative, storyline but done well because both teams play their parts well and Xavier does a great job of showing doubt in his team's side.


The New Day is also a great example of why the WWE should not always listen to the small, but vocal IWC. If the IWC was in charge they would have killed this group in the first few weeks and never let them get the chance to grow and expand to be more interesting and entertaining.

Not to say IWC doesn't have some good ideas but they are very quick to judge and criticize and unless WWE persists with certain individuals and groups they would never get the chance.


Quick side note:

Baron Corbin. WWE is touting him as future WWE Champion. That obviously makes some people very angry. I'm not sure why. But people seem like to hate early before giving time for growth.

What I'm predicting is Baron Corbin will grow on fans and they will accept him more and more. He is a heel so they will learn to appreciate his abilities more than be big fans of his character but I think they will grow on him, if they give him a fair chance (and WWE doesn't ruin great opportunities to make him a big heel like they did with the Wyatts).

 

[Dagger Dias]

The New Day.

Definitely a group that grew on me. When the group first formed I hated them. Kofi I had been a fan of ever since his WWE ECW days but the other two I couldn't stand. I thought the stable was stupid, that they should split up with Kofi getting a singles push and the other two going back to NXT. Over time I started to realize how funny they were. The promos about unicorns, power of positivity, the silly way they say WWE Tag Team Champions while dancing, Xavier playing the Final Fantasy victory fanfare on his trombone during a few matches, and all their other random antics. These guys are a highlight of every show they are on. I even bought their Booty-O's shirt (which I happen to be wearing today) and use the fake cereal box it came in became a box to store snacks in the pantry. To go from being a team I hate to one of my favorites speaks for itself.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

Its easy for me. There's 4 names on my list and below I say why...2 retired that I hated!!, 1 current that's on me over, and 1 that I don't like half way..

1) CM PUNK (retired) ....The single biggest crybaby to ever try to wrestle. He was good on the pic towards somebody but never by himself
2) Daniel Bryan (retired).... Nothing, I mean nothing ever appeword to me about Bryan. Ever
3) Finn Balor (Raw).. I knew he was decent from seeing him Japan, But in NXT he took off!! Now on RAW he will be a top star very shortly!
4) Austin Aries (nxt)...This guy is Legit Boss!! I had never seen him because I don't watch TNA. But I was was excitedly surprise to see him. I think he's ready for main roster upper midcard.

For extra credit... My WORST ON TH FULL ROSTR,,,..Sammi Zayn. What has he done to prove himself th push? He's like in a tag match he'd be the "hot tag" that comes in on fire. The Kalisto or mysterious type. And has the worst finishing move in the history of mankind.

Now 2 have been a pleasant good surprise.
1) Often over looks but of my tip favorites, Heath Slater!!! After the Nexus storyline he got nothing but trash comedy to work with. Give him a serious singles role and then watch him work!!! He's never lost it!
2) Cesaro has grown on me a lot last few months

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I would say there are several who grew on me. The Ringmaster, Rocky Maivia, Mankind, HHH, Glen Jacobs - all 5 grew on me. Either in 1995 or 1996 when they were not established, I would often not be that interested in their bouts on Superstars, Action Zone or Live Wire, or Mania or Shotgun Saturday Night! But eventually, the Attitude Era came in and all of them became must see TV, particularly in 1998.

 

[Noshowers]

Biggest group by far that started off as a joke in my eyes but morphed into something special is the NEW DAY. The first impressions I got was they were forced into some racist gimmick just to try and keep jobs and stay relevant in Vince Mcmahon's WWE.

Slowly but surely their antics have grown on me and have provided something that the show had lacked for a while, which was some "intentional comedy" and entertainment. I enjoy their performance nearly every time I see them.

Sami Zayn and Bayley both grown on me through their work in NXT. I am not the kind of person that usually seemed to like all of the good guys persay and usually like more anti hero types (Austin, Rock, etc), but it seems as though I just needed to find the right good guys to cheer.

Sami plays the roll of underdog perfectly, his theme is fun and uplifting and his wrestling skills do nothing but dazzle. I was even to the point where I was hoping against hope he would somehow beat Nakamura during his debut.

It is also impossible for me to dislike Bayley. She has a certain something you can't explain, and it seems plenty of other people feel the same way when she got the biggest reaction for a woman performer on the main roster then the attitude era. She should be the face of the division plain and simple, not Paige or Charlotte or even Sasha Banks.

 

[ShinChan]

The only superstar that grew on me ever is Antonio Cesaro.

I hadn't seen the guy outside of WWE. When he debuted as a heel along with Aksana and had a United States title run, I just hated the guy a lot. But wasn't I supposed to hate him as he was a heel? But I didn't understand this at that time.

The time I actually started to respect this wrestler was when he formed a tag team with Tyson Kidd. He impressed me a lot with his unique strength and wrestling skills.

As much as The Great Khali was very lowly credible in his last couple of years, It is indeed very difficult to swing that 7 foot monster and he did it very easily. Then I saw more videos about Cesaro while being outside of WWE. This guy had swung an opponent 100 freakin' times.

Fast forward to now and this guy is my favorite wrestler on earth.