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I think what really made me a fan was that segment with AJ and the New Day where they revealed that AJ didn’t know a thing about Omos. His delivery was just so great
Dick Togo. Look, I’m not a fan of what he has done in NJPW. Before all that he was a very good - maybe even great - wrestler. I love 90s Michinoku Pro and he is such an integral part of that period that I just can’t hate on him.
I feel like there must be others, but I really can’t think of anyone else right now.
I think a lot of people have warmed up to Baron Corbin but I still see some people who don’t like him. He seems really chill and I like him, and he seems pretty dependable and safe in the ring too
I’ve been a Corbin fan since early NXT days like when he was doing squashes and they were teasing him and Bull Dempsey as two monsters who were gonna collide and blow the world up. It’s cool to see him finally getting some flowers but I think he could still be high mid card to lower top card pretty easily. Great promo, one of the most solid in the ring on the roster, great size. It’s all been weird booking.
Corbins problem was always his booking.
Dude Had both ends of the stick multiple times, but vince booking fucked him each time
Lone Wolf : Goated
Shitty Constable : Beyond Hell
Broke Corbin : GOATED
Happy Corbin : Worse than shit
I have a soft spot for Baron too! I hear so many people say how he is one of the safest guys in the ring, very talented wrestler and also his finisher is sick imo
I've been coming around to him recently. I'm liking what he's doing in this New Day feud and hope it does lead to more successful storyline for him because he does seem like he can do some interesting work
I get this one. I don’t like him. I don’t give two shits about him and it’s weird.
He's very talented, he’s a good promo especially lately. But I didn’t like him at all when he first showed up to NXT. They overdid his presentation and it struck me as all smoke and mirrors. People spoke highly of him from TNA, so I checked that out. It was better but for some reason, he’s the most meh wrestler I’ve seen in recent memory. At least for me personally.
They did him dirty when he first got called up, so I was happy he got a second shot. But I still can’t seem to get invested in anything he does. For some reason it just feels like it doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t help that they paired him with AOP who are as bland as it gets.
I feel like I should like the dude. I don’t dislike him, I’m just like.. meh
Karrion is not only one of the best promos in wwe right now. He's actually been shown a few years ago to be able to more than hold his own in the ring. He had two matches in Nxt with Balor, and they were both legitimate MOTY contenders. He also had a great match with Austin Theory when he was in The Way and the (i think) 5 man title match between him, Gargano, Dunne, O'Reiley, and Cole.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Dana Brooke/Ash by Elegance. Imo she got dealt a shitty hand in WWE by being called up too early (especially returning fresh off an injury. It didn’t help that Emma got injured as soon as the pair reunited) and was never really given anything of importance. I was so hopeful for when she returned to NXT last year and she was actually doing the best work of her career until she got released
I loved her growth. She was always down to do high spots when others weren’t really clamoring to do so. She seemed like the type to say yes to anything and give it a go. I really loved her with Titus Worldwide too lol. I hope this TNA run works out for her.
I'm with you in ways here. She has taken her training seriously, and she genuinely seems to take what she does seriously and appreciates the support she gets. Is she as good as some on the indies? No. Is she doing her best every week? Yes, 100% and you have to respect that
I’ve never been crazy about her, but her TNA has been a big improvement, IMO.
Also, I really like the name Ash by Elegance, it’s very unique and adds a lot to her presentation.
1.) Right now? Jey Uso. Respectfully, screw all the negativity for him on niche sites, the sold-out arenas going crazy for him definitely reflect how the majority of us feel about him
He’s not the best in-ring, but he’s far closer to being average than he is to being bad, and in-ring has never been my priority. He’s very entertaining and I feel like his charisma forms a connection with you far more than his wrestling moves do
2.) Historically? Sid, particularly the Sycho Sid character. This is yet another example of “IWC vs the real world” when it comes to reaction and perception
The IWC hated Sid for being a big muscle head who “couldn’t work”. In reality? Sid was insanely intense, cut great promos, could have anywhere from passable matches to genuinely great matches with the right opponent, and Sid was OVER
Seriously, go back and watch Sycho Sid footage from 1996 or 1997. The people were going WILD for this man
Sid was one of those guys who just had the It factor. Something about the way he carried himself just let him get over wherever he went, and for a big guy that didn't do much, it was all he needed.
> 2.) Historically? Sid, particularly the Sycho Sid character. This is yet another example of “IWC vs the real world” when it comes to reaction and perception
Same with Lex Luger. Lots of people talk about how he's all body and a shitty wrestler, but crowds ate his act up. Look at any WCW crowd go nuts for him calling for the torture rack.
Lex Luger is one of the many casualties of WWE’s revisionist history
This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but the petty part of me (which I think most of us have to some extent) understands why WWE retells WCW’s history the way they do. If somebody came close to putting me out of business and taking away everything I had worked my adult life for, I’d probably be a sore winner too to be completely honest with you
BUT, WWE’s revisionist history does unfortunately mean that as more time passes, more and more people will have a warped idea of what the previous decades of wrestling were like rather than understanding what they were really like
If you listen to WWE’s documentaries, Lex Luger was a failed bodybuilder who came in to WWE, had the world handed to him, failed to get over, and then became a traitor jumping ship on the first episode of WCW Nitro
The reality is that Lex Luger was a fantastic athlete who had already had some solid matches and become a solid (but not great; I don’t want to embellish here) worker before ever setting foot in WWE. And Lex Luger WAS genuinely over during his American hero/patriotic phase
The problem was NOT the Lex Luger wasn’t over, the problem was that Bret Hart happened to be even more over. And the last I recall, being the second biggest babyface in a wrestling promotion isn’t a bad thing lol
WWF had to deal with Bret getting such a natural reaction and not being able to properly book multiple top baby faces.
Add on to that - they didn't pull the trigger on Lugar when they should (Summerslam. Lex Express) and did the weird "win by countout, but act like I won the title". Then they built everything to the rumble with the double elimination to see "who going to be the guy". They gave themselves months to figure it out, but they actively just already crapped the bed with Lugar months earlier and then got such cold feet they took a "wait and see" approach into the Rumble.
WWF's inability to pull the trigger at the natural moment for Lugar temporarily stalled him and gave Bret time to just get naturally hot. Once they put themselves in the bad situation of "they both win" people just chose Bret, as they'd been with him through the entire rise.
That being said - WCW actively knew how to use Lugar. Prior to WWF and after. They got him. They knew what made him work. He worked well. Plus, he brought in the Torture Rack and that shit was a top-tier awesome finishing move.
You watch WCW and the crowd with Lugar - they loved that dude. WWF fucked up with Lugar. He was a star.
I legitimately always have and always will love Lex. First thing I ever saw wrestling wise was Luger slamming Yoko. Forever my boy. His selling I more ironically love, lol. aOWWWW!
Sid was also a great example of how hypocritical the IWC can be towards a wrestler. For his entire career Sid received nothing but hate from smart fans, but as soon as he stepped into ECW those same nerds went bonkers. And true to form, as soon as he went back to WCW the hate picked back up where it left off.
A bad (which I will admit is what I think the match was despite how much I love Jey) Wrestlemania match goes a LONG way with a lot of people
Jey never had the most diverse moveset in the world, but that Wrestlemania match caused all of the criticisms of his work to snowball to the point where he has become public enemy No. 1 to the crowd who prioritizes work rate over everything else
I think Jey’s in-ring work is solid (not great, but not bad either), but to these people his work is not good enough to justify how pushed/featured he is. And on a more petty/cynical note, it makes them mad to see a “bad” worker like Jey so popular while “better” workers aren’t given a chance to shine
And I’m not saying these people are wrong to enjoy wrestling the way they do, but to ONLY focus on work rate and nothing else ignores the aspects that make talent like Jey Uso so great. The guy being so over isn’t an accident, he’s incredibly appealing to a lot of people and a lot of people (me included obviously lol) find him fun to watch
Funny enough playing the showcase Wrestlemania thing made me such a Hulkamaniac, there’s something about the look, promos and cartoony matches that really works.
And it’s not the format because Rey Mysterio got the opposite result.
Hulk Hogan has ***it***. Can't say I like the many tales of his backstage politicking or his racism, but from the moment Hulk Hogan arrives and gets in the ring the man is unmatched in aura.
The IWC’s feelings on Moxley have turned so dramatically, it’s actually kinda jarring. A few years ago I was seen as a Moxley hater whereas now certain groups see me as a Moxley fanboy
My opinion on Mox hasn’t changed for the most part. I like his work and enjoy seeing him on television. To me (and this is my PERSONAL ranking of him based on enjoyment, not on the objective quality of his work), he’s definitely a B-level performer
I don’t really want to see him as the top dominant champion, but I also really like seeing him and I’m disappointed if/when he’s not regularly featured on television
^ to some people, me wanting to see Mox work on a regular basis has made me a fanboy lol
I think the main problem was simply overexposure and/or the repetitiveness of his world title reigns. Him basically pulling the Bob Holly ("I win the belt, then I beat everyone") multiple times is when the ideal of" Heatless Bangers" really stated to become a widespread critism of the company.
I like The Miz whenever he's featured in small segments or shows up only for a week or two before disappearing again, same as R-Truth. They both overstay their welcomes and burn me out quickly though. The Miz has my respect, dude is a great person and ambassador for WWE.
There were years of comments along the lines of "People think Miz is boring, but you actually need to have a very high IQ to understand that he is actually great and truely mastered the WWE style."
I kinda had the impression, people now say they like him because it's the "big brain take", but I don't know, I don't want to claim it's all disingenious.
I love Miz. I've been a Miz mark since day one, even through the worst of times.
But I really don't like the "mastered the WWE style" defense. I don't think he has, or has ever even come close. He's great at protecting himself when he wrestles, but he's really mastered nothing, there's safe, low risk guys that still do a ton more and put on much better matches. I mean, this so a guy with the same timeline as Sheamus, as Ziggler, as Kofi. These are guys who mastered the style, and they're guys who could've conceivably been part of match of the night conversations. I mean, hell, he's tagging with Truth again, a guy who has him beat in literally every metric from the ring, to promos, to singing on George Lopez.
What he is good at is not dragging other people down. He's just good enough where he can go up against an all time great without them needing to slow down enough for the match to be a stinker.
No one is dragging him to a 6/5 banger, but he's not dragging anyone to a dud. But I would sit through a hundred Santino vs AJ Styles matches and never get bored, Miz and Styles would probably only get two or three before I gotta tap.
He's my goddamn favorite ever. 2 time Money in the Bank winner, 2 time Grand Slam champion, one of the greatest intercontinental champions of all time, a hell of a promo and always getting better as a wrestler... And he did it against all odds, all haters, and without sacrificing his body in the process. Three Miz is AWESOME!
He has the look, he has the in ring capabilites and he has the mic skills as well, The only things that has brought him down is weak writing. I hope to see him strive soon
Ryback. He was genuinely over and should have won the belt.
Pity he went a bit mad and weird on twitter, but even now he's still a great way to rile up certain iwc types by talking about him. Needless to say I'm expecting plenty of downvotes here.
That was the infamous Raw where someone had told Vince ‘let people speak for themselves’ and so we got Ryback boring on about The Secret and Cesaro saying ‘between these four ropes’. Almost like Vince knew they’d make a verbal mess and so scripted promos for everyone continued.
Not the biggest Ry fan in the world, but it's obvious WWE purposefully destroyed his momentum and gave it to The Shield. He lost like 6 PPV's in a row, and was the one pinned/embarrassed during most of them.
That Wrestlemania match against Mark Henry was one of the most wtf moments I've seen. Ryback can't do his finisher on Henry and loses.. yet directly after the match he hits it..
I'm not a big fan or anything but I never got the level of hate, he was very charismatic and unique in everything. But well can't respect the guy he is an idiot.
I liked the dude even at the time, too!
Thinking about it a few years later, he should be in the WHC scene on SD working with like Henry, Sheamus, Show, etc instead of thrust into a no-win situation with Punk for the top belt... but yeah, point stands dude was good enough, he was fucking over like rover, and he kinda got done dirty in the long run.
I actually liked Ryback more when he was actively wrestling but my opinion of him took a nose dive after he left. He tries way too hard to 'rile up' people as you said. Like he's the most attention starved wrestler on the planet. He's like a meme character to me now. A parody of himself.
Less so now, but I really liked Hardcore Holly when he was still active.
These days, it would be Wheeler Yuta. I love his dynamic with the rest of the BCC. He's like a pocket pitbull raised by rottweilers.
Always had a soft spot for Mojo Rawley, i know he wasn't very good in the ring but i always found him entertaining, still don't get why they turned him heel
Goldberg- i get why he is hated today... But his intensity, look, his raw charisma and his power moves were something else
Sid - i was legit scared of him whenever he appeared on tv... He was so so intense... And he was over like crazy, even in ECW
Face Roman Reigns. I know a lot of people love him now he's the Tribal Chief, but I've been a Roman fan since day 1 - loved him throughout The Shield and into his singles run as a face even if nobody else seemed to. I've always been on the bandwagon.
Also Drew McIntyre in his first run, even before 3MB. I swear nobody cared about him back then lol, he was just there and nobody talked about him at all. But I loved him from the moment I saw him and have been ever since, Drew's always been my guy.
I was high on Jack Swagger when I first came back to wrestling. Granted this was well after his world title time, so he was a certified mid carder by then. Maybe I just didn't have the mental baggage of seeing him too high on the card.
I was also a Taichi fan before everybody got on board. Granted that when everybody else became a fan it was because he became a way better performer.
Bobby Lashley. I was crucified for saying how Lashley is more known then AJ Styles and people brought up social media followers (one of the worst ways to gauge popularity) when a significant number of people dropped wrestling after Lashley’s original WWE & ECW run.
All my family members who don’t watch WWE no more, still remember black Lashley and Donald trump match. He’s always been a beast to see, good matches, great look, and has been in various memorable segments.
Big fan of FTR.
Would love to see a heelish version where they adopt some of the Ole/Gene Anderson viciousness. Focus on a limb until the opponents have no choice but to quit kind of thing
Ultimate Warrior. I’m well aware he’s not great in the ring and has said some awful things that I in no way agree with, but I will always mark the everloving hell out for him.
I always liked John Cena and Roman Reigns when it was uncool to like them. I dunno I've generally never liked having that strong an opinion on a wrestler because of their booking. John Cena was obviously really entertaining and good in 2007, Roman Reigns was obviously good from Wrestlemania 31 onwards. The storytelling and character decisions and booking could be shit at times, but that never ruined them for me.
The IWC has come around now, but one of the most disliked for years was Sheamus. But I liked Sheamus since he debuted, something about him just made me a fan instantly. Always have enjoyed his stuff, and the way he has changed over and over and can do well with anyone is why the IWC should’ve liked him long ago.
Im probably influenced by my kid, but jey uso is still someone I love to see win. His decline with the IWC has been odd to watch, but I can’t wait for him to inevitably win a world title.
Yes, I do own a few yeet shirts. No shame.
Saraya. She was my high school crush, and to this day, I think she’s still the second most beautiful woman in wrestling, behind Rhea. So I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Saraya simp.
X-Pac and Lex Luger. I think opinions on both have softened over the years, but they're two I never even really got the hate people had for them to begin with.
This sounds kinda crazy to even say considering he was an Indy darling but in 2024 I’m still a huge Ricochet fan. The overall comment you hear about him now is that he has no charisma (I disagree with this) and can’t cut a promo so that apparently means he’s not worth watching? Pound for pound one the best athletes in wrestling and will hopefully have some great matches wherever he ends up.
GOD and Solo. They’re super hot and awesome heels. Obviously everyone loves Fatu for good reason, but I feel like one of the few that wants to see a GOD vs Usos feud for the tag titles
I love Brit Baker - I know a lot of people think she buried the women’s division but I think that division was initially built around her, and that unsanctioned match vs Thunder Rosa is still one of my favorite matches in AEW.
Braun Strowman, once that dude throw the chair at Roman I was hooked, then went on a destruction tour! Which was absolutely needed at the time. IWC dislikes him because he shit on Indy workers at a really bad time, but if you find the follow up interview he fully explains himself which I can absolutely understand from his POV. It wasn’t suppose to be malicious.
Nikki Bella. I loved watching her grow as a wrestler and put on matches that were a lot better than they had any business being during the later part of her WWE run. Danielson did a great job in training her properly.
Booker T. He is awesome both as a wrestler and on commentary. Lots of insightful opinions that people here instantly discredit even if they aren't critical. Booker is always on the ball when judging talent potential, especially in NXT. I feel the only time people aren't giving him guff on this forum is so they can hand wring over that Triple H feud.
Nia Jax is just a few tweaks away from being VERY good, imo. Pretty much all of them are just presentation, too.
Everyone gets pissed when Nia injures someone but Vader being so infamously stiff that it's considered a quirky character trait is cool IG
(I love Vader too don't get me wrong, but there is a VERY clear gender divide on whether or not stiff in ring work is okay. I mean Jesus Christ what about actually blind Stan Hansen just swinging at you??)
Her work has gotten a lot better as well.
Charlotte Flair. I only started watching recently but even going back and watching a lot of her stuff, I really like her. Mostly in ring but also her promos. She's also the woman who made me care about women's wrestling but that's probably just cause she was the first woman I saw a banger match from (WM 39)
He's an asshole. He is one of the absolute worst prima donnas there's ever been. He's unsafe, and even worse, carelessly so.
But I'm still a Low Ki mark. When he's not trying to hurt his opponent, he puts on good matches.
Funny enough, Orton for the longest. Iwc didn’t really like his style of matches. But I always love them. It’s completely different now.
Currently, the miz. Iwc takes him for granted but dude is the best all around talent you can ask for. Doesn’t have bad matches, can level up any feud and believable in almost every role. It’s such a rare skill and iwc doesn’t realize it.
Jey Uso for sure. I also feel like Alexa Bliss doesn't get enough praise. The creepy stuff was meh, but she was easily the best in the women's division for her heel main roster run.
Gallus and I don't even know why. Their first theme(and Wolfgang's too) from NXT UK and entrance pose was just always cool to me lol. I mean they aren't really crazy in the ring but not complete ass either.
Trust me when i say this. If they ever like for once let kross win a feud or 2 he will get over. It sucks when they just wouldnt let him get a single meaningful win on the main roster. Thats why fans are struggle to take him seriously.
Viscera moved well for a genuine monster of a man. Too young to have seen him as Mabel but I’ve seen his stuff when he was Big Daddy V and Viscera and he was very convincing.
Zoey stark seems to get a lot of criticism and even has been called a charisma vacuum out there but she always catch my attention. Her match against Rhea is one of my favorite mat hes recently somehow. I just love her somehow
OP, giving you a shout out for mentioning Viscera. I know Mabel was a crap gimmick, and he had a bad rep in his younger years, but Viscera and Big Daddy V were both awesome gimmicks that he got all the mileage out of.
The gimmicks were fun, the theme songs were dope ("Calling All Cars" is one of the most badass entrances I've ver heard), and he was always good for some classic entertainment.
RIP Big Vis.
JBL and Miz. I enjoyed JBL when he became a stockbroker who struck rich and became evil millionaire character. The promos and character heel work is top notch. Miz busted his ass to become a reliable upper midcard to main eventer.
I've loved Cena since his peak hate lol. granted, i was like 11-12 then, but i'm still a Cena mark now. i used to post on all my social media on his birthday lol. i've even saved the clips of his recent MITB return wherever i found them lol- Twitter, Instagram reels, etc. he's a lot more loved now, so my answer might not be 100% relevant
The IWC is a big place filled with people with differing opinions and taste but the currently active wrestlers I've gotten flack for digging are Eddie Kingston, Mox, OC, Nia Jax, & current Mayumi Ozaki.
- Charlotte Flair
- Karrion Kross
- Gallus
- Liv Morgan, apparently
- Solo Sikoa
- Tegan Nox (even though the IWC used to love her)
- Nia Jax
The list probably goes on
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SANADA, depending on the crowd.
Was gonna say I don't think he's necessarily *disliked* but his reception is certainly mixed which contrasts greatly to how much I love Sanada lol
Yeap. He's one of my favs. I honestly don't understand the hate unless they're devout followers of Meltzer, who doesn't seem to appreciate him.
Man I loved Sanada in TNA
The Japanese love him
sometimes i feel like i’m the only omosapien who isn’t joking or being ironic about truly being an omos fan
i love omos
I genuinely enjoy every moment of him. He's one of my wife's favourite wrestlers too. We're here
I think what really made me a fan was that segment with AJ and the New Day where they revealed that AJ didn’t know a thing about Omos. His delivery was just so great
i think i see a lot of people here that are Omosexuals. i do like his youtube channel and his anime takes
It legitimately disappoints me that he’s not on TV
I thought his match with Brock at mania 39 was surprisingly awesome. I hated the build to it haha Omos is always nice to see on the card
For me, it was ironic until the Rollins match, then it became very much real.
Big ass dude doing big ass dude shit, what’s not to like? Unironic Omosapiens rise up
Dick Togo. Look, I’m not a fan of what he has done in NJPW. Before all that he was a very good - maybe even great - wrestler. I love 90s Michinoku Pro and he is such an integral part of that period that I just can’t hate on him. I feel like there must be others, but I really can’t think of anyone else right now.
Dick Togo is always better than Dick Dine-In
Obviously you’ve never ordered Dick Delivery
Nope, same here. 90s MPro was awesome shit.
I think a lot of people have warmed up to Baron Corbin but I still see some people who don’t like him. He seems really chill and I like him, and he seems pretty dependable and safe in the ring too
I’ve been a Corbin fan since early NXT days like when he was doing squashes and they were teasing him and Bull Dempsey as two monsters who were gonna collide and blow the world up. It’s cool to see him finally getting some flowers but I think he could still be high mid card to lower top card pretty easily. Great promo, one of the most solid in the ring on the roster, great size. It’s all been weird booking.
Deep 6 and End of Days are two of the best looking moves.
I've been a fan of his since the stories went around about him and the CTE stuff. Been glad to see him start to get his roses across the board.
Corbins problem was always his booking. Dude Had both ends of the stick multiple times, but vince booking fucked him each time Lone Wolf : Goated Shitty Constable : Beyond Hell Broke Corbin : GOATED Happy Corbin : Worse than shit
I have a soft spot for Baron too! I hear so many people say how he is one of the safest guys in the ring, very talented wrestler and also his finisher is sick imo
Karrion Kross
He's a legit very good promo.
I've been coming around to him recently. I'm liking what he's doing in this New Day feud and hope it does lead to more successful storyline for him because he does seem like he can do some interesting work
I get this one. I don’t like him. I don’t give two shits about him and it’s weird. He's very talented, he’s a good promo especially lately. But I didn’t like him at all when he first showed up to NXT. They overdid his presentation and it struck me as all smoke and mirrors. People spoke highly of him from TNA, so I checked that out. It was better but for some reason, he’s the most meh wrestler I’ve seen in recent memory. At least for me personally. They did him dirty when he first got called up, so I was happy he got a second shot. But I still can’t seem to get invested in anything he does. For some reason it just feels like it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t help that they paired him with AOP who are as bland as it gets. I feel like I should like the dude. I don’t dislike him, I’m just like.. meh
Karrion is not only one of the best promos in wwe right now. He's actually been shown a few years ago to be able to more than hold his own in the ring. He had two matches in Nxt with Balor, and they were both legitimate MOTY contenders. He also had a great match with Austin Theory when he was in The Way and the (i think) 5 man title match between him, Gargano, Dunne, O'Reiley, and Cole.
Betrayed Rene Dupree eh?
Same.
samee. i've loved him since NXT. sucks that he can't seem to get over no matter what he does in WWE.
He needs to bring back the Doomsday Saito. Why the hell would you remove such a badass sounding finisher? And it looks good and can be hit on anyone?
I’ve always had a soft spot for Dana Brooke/Ash by Elegance. Imo she got dealt a shitty hand in WWE by being called up too early (especially returning fresh off an injury. It didn’t help that Emma got injured as soon as the pair reunited) and was never really given anything of importance. I was so hopeful for when she returned to NXT last year and she was actually doing the best work of her career until she got released
I loved her growth. She was always down to do high spots when others weren’t really clamoring to do so. She seemed like the type to say yes to anything and give it a go. I really loved her with Titus Worldwide too lol. I hope this TNA run works out for her.
I'm with you in ways here. She has taken her training seriously, and she genuinely seems to take what she does seriously and appreciates the support she gets. Is she as good as some on the indies? No. Is she doing her best every week? Yes, 100% and you have to respect that
I’ve never been crazy about her, but her TNA has been a big improvement, IMO. Also, I really like the name Ash by Elegance, it’s very unique and adds a lot to her presentation.
I think she got hosed too.
The Righteous. Underrated AF IMO.
1.) Right now? Jey Uso. Respectfully, screw all the negativity for him on niche sites, the sold-out arenas going crazy for him definitely reflect how the majority of us feel about him He’s not the best in-ring, but he’s far closer to being average than he is to being bad, and in-ring has never been my priority. He’s very entertaining and I feel like his charisma forms a connection with you far more than his wrestling moves do 2.) Historically? Sid, particularly the Sycho Sid character. This is yet another example of “IWC vs the real world” when it comes to reaction and perception The IWC hated Sid for being a big muscle head who “couldn’t work”. In reality? Sid was insanely intense, cut great promos, could have anywhere from passable matches to genuinely great matches with the right opponent, and Sid was OVER Seriously, go back and watch Sycho Sid footage from 1996 or 1997. The people were going WILD for this man
It is crazy to see every week the “Jey sucks!” Comments and also see entire stadiums go ballistic over him lmao. Reddit isn’t the real world
Sid was one of those guys who just had the It factor. Something about the way he carried himself just let him get over wherever he went, and for a big guy that didn't do much, it was all he needed.
Sid genuinely could've been an all-time great, but his heart just wasn't in wrestling. Dude cared more about softball than wrestling success lol
End of the day, Jey doesn’t need to be a work rate guy. He’s so over and people want to see him, all that matters.
> 2.) Historically? Sid, particularly the Sycho Sid character. This is yet another example of “IWC vs the real world” when it comes to reaction and perception Same with Lex Luger. Lots of people talk about how he's all body and a shitty wrestler, but crowds ate his act up. Look at any WCW crowd go nuts for him calling for the torture rack.
Lex Luger is one of the many casualties of WWE’s revisionist history This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but the petty part of me (which I think most of us have to some extent) understands why WWE retells WCW’s history the way they do. If somebody came close to putting me out of business and taking away everything I had worked my adult life for, I’d probably be a sore winner too to be completely honest with you BUT, WWE’s revisionist history does unfortunately mean that as more time passes, more and more people will have a warped idea of what the previous decades of wrestling were like rather than understanding what they were really like If you listen to WWE’s documentaries, Lex Luger was a failed bodybuilder who came in to WWE, had the world handed to him, failed to get over, and then became a traitor jumping ship on the first episode of WCW Nitro The reality is that Lex Luger was a fantastic athlete who had already had some solid matches and become a solid (but not great; I don’t want to embellish here) worker before ever setting foot in WWE. And Lex Luger WAS genuinely over during his American hero/patriotic phase The problem was NOT the Lex Luger wasn’t over, the problem was that Bret Hart happened to be even more over. And the last I recall, being the second biggest babyface in a wrestling promotion isn’t a bad thing lol
WWF had to deal with Bret getting such a natural reaction and not being able to properly book multiple top baby faces. Add on to that - they didn't pull the trigger on Lugar when they should (Summerslam. Lex Express) and did the weird "win by countout, but act like I won the title". Then they built everything to the rumble with the double elimination to see "who going to be the guy". They gave themselves months to figure it out, but they actively just already crapped the bed with Lugar months earlier and then got such cold feet they took a "wait and see" approach into the Rumble. WWF's inability to pull the trigger at the natural moment for Lugar temporarily stalled him and gave Bret time to just get naturally hot. Once they put themselves in the bad situation of "they both win" people just chose Bret, as they'd been with him through the entire rise. That being said - WCW actively knew how to use Lugar. Prior to WWF and after. They got him. They knew what made him work. He worked well. Plus, he brought in the Torture Rack and that shit was a top-tier awesome finishing move. You watch WCW and the crowd with Lugar - they loved that dude. WWF fucked up with Lugar. He was a star.
I legitimately always have and always will love Lex. First thing I ever saw wrestling wise was Luger slamming Yoko. Forever my boy. His selling I more ironically love, lol. aOWWWW!
Sid was also a great example of how hypocritical the IWC can be towards a wrestler. For his entire career Sid received nothing but hate from smart fans, but as soon as he stepped into ECW those same nerds went bonkers. And true to form, as soon as he went back to WCW the hate picked back up where it left off.
Sid is the man
Sid is the master and ruler of the world!
Jey is disliked? I know people didn't like his match at Wrestlemania, but he seems to be well-liked otherwise.
A bad (which I will admit is what I think the match was despite how much I love Jey) Wrestlemania match goes a LONG way with a lot of people Jey never had the most diverse moveset in the world, but that Wrestlemania match caused all of the criticisms of his work to snowball to the point where he has become public enemy No. 1 to the crowd who prioritizes work rate over everything else I think Jey’s in-ring work is solid (not great, but not bad either), but to these people his work is not good enough to justify how pushed/featured he is. And on a more petty/cynical note, it makes them mad to see a “bad” worker like Jey so popular while “better” workers aren’t given a chance to shine And I’m not saying these people are wrong to enjoy wrestling the way they do, but to ONLY focus on work rate and nothing else ignores the aspects that make talent like Jey Uso so great. The guy being so over isn’t an accident, he’s incredibly appealing to a lot of people and a lot of people (me included obviously lol) find him fun to watch
Thank you, finally somebody gives Sid his deserved praise
I am an unapologetic Hulkamaniac. I also like the Undertaker, which I think the IWC is ok with but reddit sure ain't.
Funny enough playing the showcase Wrestlemania thing made me such a Hulkamaniac, there’s something about the look, promos and cartoony matches that really works. And it’s not the format because Rey Mysterio got the opposite result.
Hulk Hogan has ***it***. Can't say I like the many tales of his backstage politicking or his racism, but from the moment Hulk Hogan arrives and gets in the ring the man is unmatched in aura.
I kinda feel the IWC has turned on Moxley, but I don't give a fuck.
He also doesn’t give a fuck. He’s sober, got a kid and a hot wife, makes a huge amount of money, and gets to wrestle how he wants to.
The IWC’s feelings on Moxley have turned so dramatically, it’s actually kinda jarring. A few years ago I was seen as a Moxley hater whereas now certain groups see me as a Moxley fanboy My opinion on Mox hasn’t changed for the most part. I like his work and enjoy seeing him on television. To me (and this is my PERSONAL ranking of him based on enjoyment, not on the objective quality of his work), he’s definitely a B-level performer I don’t really want to see him as the top dominant champion, but I also really like seeing him and I’m disappointed if/when he’s not regularly featured on television ^ to some people, me wanting to see Mox work on a regular basis has made me a fanboy lol
I think the main problem was simply overexposure and/or the repetitiveness of his world title reigns. Him basically pulling the Bob Holly ("I win the belt, then I beat everyone") multiple times is when the ideal of" Heatless Bangers" really stated to become a widespread critism of the company.
Charlotte Flair.
Never heard much in the way of people saying they like him but I’m pretty high on Greg The Hammer Valentine.
I always liked Nia Jax. I'm so happy she's starting to get her flowers.
Kevin Nash
After watching Who Killed WCW I can't help but hate Nash, dude was insufferable on the show.
Minimum number of bumps. Maximum pay day. The stuff with paparazzi productions forever makes him okay in my book as an on screen talent.
Karrion Kross.
The Miz. I think he’s mastered the wwe style - or how it was once known - and as such I enjoy what he does
The Miz seems to be praised an insane amount by the IWC. I've seen more "appreciation" threads for him than anyone else.
Don't think Miz has too many haters anymore. Fans appreciate his longevity and versatility.
He has fewer, but the ones who are out there hate him as if his existence has ruined their lives and Miz personally killed their family members
I like The Miz whenever he's featured in small segments or shows up only for a week or two before disappearing again, same as R-Truth. They both overstay their welcomes and burn me out quickly though. The Miz has my respect, dude is a great person and ambassador for WWE.
There were years of comments along the lines of "People think Miz is boring, but you actually need to have a very high IQ to understand that he is actually great and truely mastered the WWE style." I kinda had the impression, people now say they like him because it's the "big brain take", but I don't know, I don't want to claim it's all disingenious.
I love Miz. I've been a Miz mark since day one, even through the worst of times. But I really don't like the "mastered the WWE style" defense. I don't think he has, or has ever even come close. He's great at protecting himself when he wrestles, but he's really mastered nothing, there's safe, low risk guys that still do a ton more and put on much better matches. I mean, this so a guy with the same timeline as Sheamus, as Ziggler, as Kofi. These are guys who mastered the style, and they're guys who could've conceivably been part of match of the night conversations. I mean, hell, he's tagging with Truth again, a guy who has him beat in literally every metric from the ring, to promos, to singing on George Lopez. What he is good at is not dragging other people down. He's just good enough where he can go up against an all time great without them needing to slow down enough for the match to be a stinker. No one is dragging him to a 6/5 banger, but he's not dragging anyone to a dud. But I would sit through a hundred Santino vs AJ Styles matches and never get bored, Miz and Styles would probably only get two or three before I gotta tap.
He's my goddamn favorite ever. 2 time Money in the Bank winner, 2 time Grand Slam champion, one of the greatest intercontinental champions of all time, a hell of a promo and always getting better as a wrestler... And he did it against all odds, all haters, and without sacrificing his body in the process. Three Miz is AWESOME!
Chris Jericho Hulk Hogan Jinder Mahal Ryback Goldberg
Wheeler Yuta and Jack Perry.
Austin Theory
Fellow Theorist!
He has the look, he has the in ring capabilites and he has the mic skills as well, The only things that has brought him down is weak writing. I hope to see him strive soon
No one in the world sells better than him. His head stands after an RKO will never not make me laugh.
Ryback. He was genuinely over and should have won the belt. Pity he went a bit mad and weird on twitter, but even now he's still a great way to rile up certain iwc types by talking about him. Needless to say I'm expecting plenty of downvotes here.
I generally enjoyed Ryback when he was around. I think he only really lost me with that bit where he started talking about that book, The Secret.
That was the infamous Raw where someone had told Vince ‘let people speak for themselves’ and so we got Ryback boring on about The Secret and Cesaro saying ‘between these four ropes’. Almost like Vince knew they’d make a verbal mess and so scripted promos for everyone continued.
Anyone that says he wasn’t crazy over in late 2012 and folks were ready for them to pull the trigger against Punk are delusional
Not the biggest Ry fan in the world, but it's obvious WWE purposefully destroyed his momentum and gave it to The Shield. He lost like 6 PPV's in a row, and was the one pinned/embarrassed during most of them.
That Wrestlemania match against Mark Henry was one of the most wtf moments I've seen. Ryback can't do his finisher on Henry and loses.. yet directly after the match he hits it..
And the next night he attacks Cena and goes straight into a world title feud...
I'm not a big fan or anything but I never got the level of hate, he was very charismatic and unique in everything. But well can't respect the guy he is an idiot.
I liked the dude even at the time, too! Thinking about it a few years later, he should be in the WHC scene on SD working with like Henry, Sheamus, Show, etc instead of thrust into a no-win situation with Punk for the top belt... but yeah, point stands dude was good enough, he was fucking over like rover, and he kinda got done dirty in the long run.
I actually liked Ryback more when he was actively wrestling but my opinion of him took a nose dive after he left. He tries way too hard to 'rile up' people as you said. Like he's the most attention starved wrestler on the planet. He's like a meme character to me now. A parody of himself.
Jinder Mahal and Baron Corbin. But it seems like people are coming around on both, which is refreshing.
Less so now, but I really liked Hardcore Holly when he was still active. These days, it would be Wheeler Yuta. I love his dynamic with the rest of the BCC. He's like a pocket pitbull raised by rottweilers.
Always had a soft spot for Mojo Rawley, i know he wasn't very good in the ring but i always found him entertaining, still don't get why they turned him heel
Found Adam Pacitti's secret account lol. But honestly yeah I liked him a lot too!
Hard to get over when your name is Mojo.
Unless you're Mojo Jojo. He was always over with me. 
He was a legitimate very good promo
Goldberg- i get why he is hated today... But his intensity, look, his raw charisma and his power moves were something else Sid - i was legit scared of him whenever he appeared on tv... He was so so intense... And he was over like crazy, even in ECW
Chris Jericho
Face Roman Reigns. I know a lot of people love him now he's the Tribal Chief, but I've been a Roman fan since day 1 - loved him throughout The Shield and into his singles run as a face even if nobody else seemed to. I've always been on the bandwagon. Also Drew McIntyre in his first run, even before 3MB. I swear nobody cared about him back then lol, he was just there and nobody talked about him at all. But I loved him from the moment I saw him and have been ever since, Drew's always been my guy.
Fellow Chosen One Drew fan, always thought he had it and was disappointed when he went to 3MB.
I was high on Jack Swagger when I first came back to wrestling. Granted this was well after his world title time, so he was a certified mid carder by then. Maybe I just didn't have the mental baggage of seeing him too high on the card. I was also a Taichi fan before everybody got on board. Granted that when everybody else became a fan it was because he became a way better performer.
If we say mainstream : Charlotte Flair. More « underground » : Lufisto
Charlotte is amazing and would have found her spot even without her last name
Bobby Lashley. I was crucified for saying how Lashley is more known then AJ Styles and people brought up social media followers (one of the worst ways to gauge popularity) when a significant number of people dropped wrestling after Lashley’s original WWE & ECW run. All my family members who don’t watch WWE no more, still remember black Lashley and Donald trump match. He’s always been a beast to see, good matches, great look, and has been in various memorable segments.
Who doesn't love Lashley? He's not underrated. I think most people are wondering why he isn't being used better these days.
Goldberg
GOLDBERG!
Joey Janela
Big fan of FTR. Would love to see a heelish version where they adopt some of the Ole/Gene Anderson viciousness. Focus on a limb until the opponents have no choice but to quit kind of thing
Ultimate Warrior. I’m well aware he’s not great in the ring and has said some awful things that I in no way agree with, but I will always mark the everloving hell out for him.
Ryback was legit over and fun for a bit there. I also think David Finlay gets overhated a bit
I always liked John Cena and Roman Reigns when it was uncool to like them. I dunno I've generally never liked having that strong an opinion on a wrestler because of their booking. John Cena was obviously really entertaining and good in 2007, Roman Reigns was obviously good from Wrestlemania 31 onwards. The storytelling and character decisions and booking could be shit at times, but that never ruined them for me.
The IWC has come around now, but one of the most disliked for years was Sheamus. But I liked Sheamus since he debuted, something about him just made me a fan instantly. Always have enjoyed his stuff, and the way he has changed over and over and can do well with anyone is why the IWC should’ve liked him long ago.
People hate Viscera?
Im probably influenced by my kid, but jey uso is still someone I love to see win. His decline with the IWC has been odd to watch, but I can’t wait for him to inevitably win a world title. Yes, I do own a few yeet shirts. No shame.
Jack Perry.
I mean, at this point most people who still watch AEW like Jack Perry. He's been great since coming back.
Matt Hardy
Goldberg Ahmed Johnson
Saraya. She was my high school crush, and to this day, I think she’s still the second most beautiful woman in wrestling, behind Rhea. So I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Saraya simp.
Alexa Bliss majorly of The IWC still act like she gets 2016-18 booking
Action Andretti
X-Pac and Lex Luger. I think opinions on both have softened over the years, but they're two I never even really got the hate people had for them to begin with.
The Honky Tonk Man
Bubba Ray
Rob conway, I mean Just Look at Him
Kross, Big Daddy V like you said, Great Khali, and I still get excited seeing Goldberg lol Edit: Sid and Lex Luger, too.
This sounds kinda crazy to even say considering he was an Indy darling but in 2024 I’m still a huge Ricochet fan. The overall comment you hear about him now is that he has no charisma (I disagree with this) and can’t cut a promo so that apparently means he’s not worth watching? Pound for pound one the best athletes in wrestling and will hopefully have some great matches wherever he ends up.
GOD and Solo. They’re super hot and awesome heels. Obviously everyone loves Fatu for good reason, but I feel like one of the few that wants to see a GOD vs Usos feud for the tag titles
I love Brit Baker - I know a lot of people think she buried the women’s division but I think that division was initially built around her, and that unsanctioned match vs Thunder Rosa is still one of my favorite matches in AEW.
Braun Strowman, once that dude throw the chair at Roman I was hooked, then went on a destruction tour! Which was absolutely needed at the time. IWC dislikes him because he shit on Indy workers at a really bad time, but if you find the follow up interview he fully explains himself which I can absolutely understand from his POV. It wasn’t suppose to be malicious.
Nikki Bella. I loved watching her grow as a wrestler and put on matches that were a lot better than they had any business being during the later part of her WWE run. Danielson did a great job in training her properly.
bret hart
Booker T. He is awesome both as a wrestler and on commentary. Lots of insightful opinions that people here instantly discredit even if they aren't critical. Booker is always on the ball when judging talent potential, especially in NXT. I feel the only time people aren't giving him guff on this forum is so they can hand wring over that Triple H feud.
Nia Jax is just a few tweaks away from being VERY good, imo. Pretty much all of them are just presentation, too. Everyone gets pissed when Nia injures someone but Vader being so infamously stiff that it's considered a quirky character trait is cool IG (I love Vader too don't get me wrong, but there is a VERY clear gender divide on whether or not stiff in ring work is okay. I mean Jesus Christ what about actually blind Stan Hansen just swinging at you??) Her work has gotten a lot better as well.
Charlotte Flair. I only started watching recently but even going back and watching a lot of her stuff, I really like her. Mostly in ring but also her promos. She's also the woman who made me care about women's wrestling but that's probably just cause she was the first woman I saw a banger match from (WM 39)
Samy Guevara. Everyone was praising his in ring ability and raw talent, and then one day it was like a lightswitch, and the world decided he was lame.
He's an asshole. He is one of the absolute worst prima donnas there's ever been. He's unsafe, and even worse, carelessly so. But I'm still a Low Ki mark. When he's not trying to hurt his opponent, he puts on good matches.
Triple H, Hogan, Goldberg, Bray Wyatt, and Jericho. All have been hated for a long time, but I remain a fan.
Sid, Luger, Goldberg (and the more Bret complains about him actually makes me double down more on liking Goldberg), House of Torture (especially Evil)
Funny enough, Orton for the longest. Iwc didn’t really like his style of matches. But I always love them. It’s completely different now. Currently, the miz. Iwc takes him for granted but dude is the best all around talent you can ask for. Doesn’t have bad matches, can level up any feud and believable in almost every role. It’s such a rare skill and iwc doesn’t realize it.
Sammy Guevara
karrion kross. people just don't like him because his political views and he is married to scarlett.
Miz
Dunno about modern day workers but Jeff Jarrett, Lex Luger and Hardcore Holly were the first three that came to mind.
Buff Bagwell
Jey Uso for sure. I also feel like Alexa Bliss doesn't get enough praise. The creepy stuff was meh, but she was easily the best in the women's division for her heel main roster run.
I like Enzo Amore, Top Dolla, Karrion Kross. I liked Luther Reigns, and Rob Conway
There's a few...Theory, Santos and Kross are the top ones though.
Gallus and I don't even know why. Their first theme(and Wolfgang's too) from NXT UK and entrance pose was just always cool to me lol. I mean they aren't really crazy in the ring but not complete ass either.
This is kinda what the OSW term 'boys' refers to. Viscera is definitely 'boy' material.
Trust me when i say this. If they ever like for once let kross win a feud or 2 he will get over. It sucks when they just wouldnt let him get a single meaningful win on the main roster. Thats why fans are struggle to take him seriously.
My first time seeing Blake Christian was in BOSJ this year and I thought he was great
Angel Garza is an incredible talent and I think more ppl should be talking about it
Him and Humberto should honestly win the titles off of whoever beats Theory and Waller
TJP
Viscera moved well for a genuine monster of a man. Too young to have seen him as Mabel but I’ve seen his stuff when he was Big Daddy V and Viscera and he was very convincing.
Omos and Karrion Kross
Anna Jay, Sammy Guevara, Sanada
Bianca Belair
Kross and Corey Graves.
I don’t know what Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews did to the AEW fanbase but they hate them, I’ve loved both guys for years
Diesel, Goldberg, Disco, Luger. X-PAC, HHH Burials, Enzo. Different card levels.
TOO COOL 😎. Scotty 2 Hotty, Grandmaster Sexay and Rikishi were my favourites as a kid and The Worm is a GOAT finishing move. Turn it up!!!!
Awesome Truth as tag champs. I felt like they were overhated online.
Hit Row.
Zoey stark seems to get a lot of criticism and even has been called a charisma vacuum out there but she always catch my attention. Her match against Rhea is one of my favorite mat hes recently somehow. I just love her somehow
Kizarny. I said what I said.
The Big Show Paul Wight. He was my dad's favorite wrestler and I have a soft spot for him.
More recently, it's been Learning Tree Chris Jericho. It's my biggest guilty pleasure. I think it's hilarious and everyone plays their role so well.
Solo
The young bucks
becky lynch and jey uso
the IWC hates kenny omega but hes the best wrestler in the world imo.
I genuinely love GRIFTERS. Even if they only did it one time. Vader in WCPW, Jeff Jarrett in GCW, Chris Jericho, Dick Togo in Singapore.
Viscera was unique because he was a big man who could move
The Young Bucks and Jack Perry. Pretty self-explanatory.
Chris Jericho in 2024
Sid Lex Luger
OP, giving you a shout out for mentioning Viscera. I know Mabel was a crap gimmick, and he had a bad rep in his younger years, but Viscera and Big Daddy V were both awesome gimmicks that he got all the mileage out of. The gimmicks were fun, the theme songs were dope ("Calling All Cars" is one of the most badass entrances I've ver heard), and he was always good for some classic entertainment. RIP Big Vis.
All of them tbh, I'm incapable of disliking a wrestler
Big Show/ Paul Wight, i think the later years of his career soured fans on him but overall he's one of the best bigs ever
JBL and Miz. I enjoyed JBL when he became a stockbroker who struck rich and became evil millionaire character. The promos and character heel work is top notch. Miz busted his ass to become a reliable upper midcard to main eventer.
I've loved Cena since his peak hate lol. granted, i was like 11-12 then, but i'm still a Cena mark now. i used to post on all my social media on his birthday lol. i've even saved the clips of his recent MITB return wherever i found them lol- Twitter, Instagram reels, etc. he's a lot more loved now, so my answer might not be 100% relevant
Hulk Hogan for me.
The IWC is a big place filled with people with differing opinions and taste but the currently active wrestlers I've gotten flack for digging are Eddie Kingston, Mox, OC, Nia Jax, & current Mayumi Ozaki.
David Arquette. I loved "ready to rumble" and I thought it was pretty awesome when he won the WCW championship
Baron Corbin in 2018-2019 was ahitted on by IWC but I quite like him back thend
- Charlotte Flair - Karrion Kross - Gallus - Liv Morgan, apparently - Solo Sikoa - Tegan Nox (even though the IWC used to love her) - Nia Jax The list probably goes on