10 Times WWE Pleasantly Surprised Their Audience

You get a happy ending! You get a happy ending! You get a happy ending! FINN GETS A HAPPY ENDING!

Finn Balor John Cena
WWE.com

Perhaps by fluke rather than force, WWE has cultivated a mutually abusive relationship with its fanbase over the last decade or so. John Cena's crowd-dividing craic may have been well-handled by 'The Champ' himself, but it foreshadowed the opening of a wound between audience and office WWE never managed to heal.

Wrongly assuming every performer could cope under challenging similar circumstances, the company allowed Roman Reigns' own fractured relationship with the "Universe" to descend into the sort of incendiary hatred that could be heard from space. Hopefully 'The Big Dog' kicks out of his current ill health, but it took some scale of mismanagement to reach a point where - without a shred of flippancy - it took his devastating leukemia diagnosis to gain him unanimous love and support from the crowd.

This is a company that once used a Royal Rumble finish as a live litmus test when Vince McMahon couldn't decide between a 'Hitman' and a supposed American hero. An group that presented previously-suspended Superstar Jeff Hardy as a great babyface hope because the fans understood him even if the office didn't. An organisation that - eventually - realised that Daniel Bryan had to be a part of the WrestleMania 30 because it made pro wrestling sense even if it confused Vince McMahon himself.

The undercurrent of nastiness is new, and certainly shouldn't ever be the norm. Sometimes it's simply nice to be nice...

10. Hulk Hogan's 2002

Finn Balor John Cena
WWE

Hulk Hogan's WWE Championship run may not have been the needle-mover Vince McMahon hoped for in 2002, but the version of the man he knew was the one he enjoyed pushing after a New World Order return quickly stalled after a WrestleMania 18 babyface turn.

Reinventing him as a contemporary version of his older self, Hogan's return to red and yellow didn't come with the laboured condescension of WCW's 1999 attempt but a hybrid blend of the 'Hollywood' gimmick that had served him well and the 'Hulkamania' look Vince constructed an empire around.

Though middling figures at the time suggested he wasn't a long term prospect on top, there was clear emotional investment if not financial from a dissilusioned and dissolving fanbase.

Hogan worked beyond expectations as result of the push. Defeating Triple H in an April 2002 clash that was better than it had any right to be, he lost clean(ish) in a stinker against The Undertaker the following month, squeaky clean to Kurt Angle in a fabulous match a month after that, and clean - save for the claret that covered his face - to Brock Lesnar on television to prep 'The Next Big Thing' for a SummerSlam main event against The Rock.

Never since then has he felt quite so welcome on the show.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett