From ring villains to beloved icons, these superstars completely turned their reputation around! Join us as we look at wrestling's greatest redemption stories, from controversial backstage politics to real-life scandals, and see how these performers won over the fans who once despised them.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous times
00:10wrestlers who were legitimately hated by fans, not just good character work, turned it all
00:15around to become icons in the industry.
00:29Getting heel heat is great, it means the baddie is doing their job well, but while Sean Waltman
00:35got a variation named after himself with X-Pac Heat, it was anything but positive. Instead,
00:47the fans were incredibly bored of the character and despised him. Also known as Go-Away Heat,
00:53fans felt X-Pac had barely changed since he was in the NWO in 1996. Throw in betraying
01:00Kane during their well-received tag team in the then-WWF, and the fans had no love left
01:06for X-Pac. After leaving the company in 2002, Waltman battled personal and substance issues.
01:17He overcame them and found a new lease on the independent circuit, completely transforming
01:22his reputation. As such, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer is now hugely respected.
01:33With a backstory of winning an Olympic gold medal with a broken freaking neck, Angle's
01:38WBF debut was heavily publicised with vignettes. However, this was the wrestling industry in
01:44the late 90s, where edgy and attitude ran supreme. As such, the fans quickly turned
01:51on the American hero's tired trope. Angle leaned into the hatred, turning heel and ramping
02:01up the obnoxiousness, leading to the iconic, You Suck, chant. Eventually, he turned face
02:11and often a comedic character, but it was his run from 2006 as the wrestling machine
02:17in WWE and TNA that cemented him as one of the best to grace the ring. When Angle returned
02:23to the WWE in 2017, those You Suck chants were now done with a lot of love.
02:34In 1995, Rhodes returned to the WWF for the second time. However, rather than going by
02:40the natural, he was decked out in gold and black paint, a blonde wig and a gold unitard.
02:55It was the birth of the bizarre one, Goldust. With suggestive and unusual mannerisms, fans
03:02didn't know what to make of the character. In fact, even other wrestlers had issues with
03:06the gimmick. With every return to the WWE, Goldust found something new to entice the
03:12fans while leaving poorly received gimmicks like WCW's Seven and TNA's Black Reign
03:18in the bin. It was Rhodes joining AEW in 2019 that really improved his image. As a grizzled
03:31veteran who can still wrestle, fans have really taken him to heart.
03:47With his backstage politics, his behaviour towards China, and constantly being in the
03:53main event, fans had grown to really hate Triple H. So much so, he's been voted the
03:59Most Hated Wrestler of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated a record five times. Even with
04:05him leaning into a heel character throughout most of his career, Triple H was very divisive
04:10in the ring. He was especially hated in the early 2000s after the despised Katie Vick
04:21story with Kane and feuds with former WCW stars. What really changed Triple H's perception
04:34among fans was his work on turning NXT into the biggest development brand in wrestling.
04:41Signing indie darlings and making them into stars drew a lot of love. His current role
04:46as Chief Content Officer has been credited by many for the recent rise in WWE's popularity.
05:03As the Rated-R superstar began his ascent to the main event, a real-life scandal sidetracked
05:08it. Even though Edge had been a heel, it was a new level of heat in 2005, when he had a
05:13real-life affair with Lita, who was dating one of his closest friends, Matt Hardy. With
05:25Hardy's firing after going public with the ordeal, Edge was getting nuclear heat. Hardy
05:30was brought back for a work shoot story against Edge, which cemented the Canadian as one of
05:37biggest villains. After his forced retirement in 2011, all that drama was forgotten, especially
05:47when he returned to the ring in 2020. Today, Adam Copeland can be found being serenaded
05:53by AEW fans with his entrance song.
06:06After growing to fan-favourite status as the Doctor of Thuganomics, Cena quickly became
06:11the face of the WWE as he morphed into Super Cena. With that, his reputation with hardcore
06:18fans plummeted. The 2006 event, ECW One Night Stand, really highlighted this problem. With
06:30fans holding threatening and insulting signs, Cena was heavily booed as his shirt was thrown
06:36back at him. Did this change anything? Not really. For the next 13 years, Cena was essentially
06:42the same character. While this resonated with kids, it didn't with many adults. However,
06:57as he began focusing on acting and reduced his work in WWE, whenever he is back, it's
07:03with thunderous applause. With time, fans have recognised how talented the leader of
07:08the C-Nation is, which makes that heel turn hurt all the more.
07:20As the quiet, intimidating powerhouse of the Shield, Reigns enjoyed marvellous popularity
07:25with the group. However, when they broke up, his positioning as the new face of the WWE
07:30soon frustrated fans. After all, they'd already made their dislike of Cena's character
07:43known, so Cena 2.0 wasn't gonna land. As such, Reigns was heavily, heavily booed. Especially
07:50when given despised storylines, like the dog food feud with Baron Corbin. After years
08:01of calls for Reigns to turn heel, fans finally got their wish in 2020. Now the Tribal Chief,
08:08Reigns leaned into the hatred perfectly. He, along with The Bloodline, became one of the
08:13company's most watched segments. Even when he turned face again in 2024, Reigns was still
08:19reigning with fans.
08:31A member of Wrestling Dynasty, and with a squeaky-clean character, Rocky Maivia made
08:36his debut in 1996. However, since this was the 90s, fans didn't want all heroes and
08:43nepotism. Not even lifting the Intercontinental Championship helped, as Maivia soon drew a
08:49levels of heat, with some fans chanting or holding up signs stating,
08:54Die, Rocky, Die. Things had to change, and boy did they. Rechristened The Rock, he joined
09:03the Nation of Domination in 1997, allowing him the chance to showcase his electrifying
09:10charisma. With his popularity quickly rising, The Rock turned face, increasing his standing
09:22even more as he became one of the industry's most celebrated wrestlers, and crossed into
09:27the mainstream as a successful Hollywood actor.
09:43After growing frustrated as Stardust, Rhodes left the WWE in 2016. From there, he began
09:49rewiring his career on the indie circuit, leading to him working with Ring of Honor,
09:54TNA and New Japan. This guided Rhodes to becoming one of the main contributors to forming
09:59AEW. However, over time, his once stellar reputation with the fans began to collapse.
10:11Rhodes' star had fallen after the ill-received feud with Anthony Ogogo, and seemingly not
10:17turning heel. During one match, Rhodes' weight belt was thrown back at him by a fan.
10:27In 2022, the American Nightmare jumped back to the WWE with an incredible reception from
10:33the audience. Since then, he's built on it, turning him into one of the company's
10:38biggest merchandise sellers.
11:05When he turned on Marty Jannetty in 1992 and became the Heartbreak Kid, Michaels'
11:11incredible ring work and charisma caused him to be elevated in the company. However, with
11:21that power came a lot of backstage issues and politics, often attributed to substance
11:27issues. In 1998, after a back injury, Michaels retired from wrestling. In 2002, he made an
11:34astonishing return. Yet, what made it more special was the personality change. Gone was
11:40the obnoxious attitude, instead Michaels did what he could to lift other wrestlers. Hence,
11:52he only had one brief single title run with the World Heavyweight Championship in 2002.
11:58A more focused HBK, who was somehow even better in the ring, turned all those who previously
12:05hated him into die-hard supporters.
12:14What other previously hated wrestlers, who are now beloved by fans, did we miss from
12:19the list? Let us know in those comments below.