10 Wrestlers That NOBODY Hated

10. Samoa Joe

It's just as well that this AEW run has rejuvenated his career: for a long time, what became of Samoa Joe was a disgrace.

Joe possessed an aura that only a fool could ruin. He wrestled Kenta Kobashi and was received as a contemporary of an all-time great just a few years after he exploded on the North American independent scene. That's how incredible Joe was. Between 2002 and 2006, he had wrestled the best deathmatch ever, the best King's Road-style match ever that wasn't worked between the Five Pillars, and, in his unforgettable series with CM Punk, redefined what a great North American match looked like. It's difficult to convey just how much of a God Joe was at the time.

Put it this way: he received the sort of plaudits most wrestlers only do years after their work stood the test of time, just endless, histrionic praise, and nobody worth listening to tried to be a contrarian about it, which tends to happen in those situations. There was no backlash. Joe was backlash-proof. It was just accepted that Joe, as intimidating as any other wrestler ever, was the absolute man - because he was.

WWE thought he was too fat, and Vince Russo put a penis on his face because he fundamentally never grasped that you don't have to ruin everything with a bad gimmick.