10 Genius Ways Wrestlers Proved The Critics Wrong

Give how universally beloved New Day are now, newer wrestling fans would be stunned to learn just how loathed the stable was for the first year of its existence.

Initially conceived as a happy-clappy cheerleader group, New Day's Power of Positivity schtick was inch-deep, one-dimensional and about as well-received as a skin fungus. Xavier Woods knew the group were dying a death, and that's when he audaciously put his career on the line in a conversation with Vince McMahon.

Per ComicBook, Xavier told Vince that if he couldn't get the fans to boo Kofi Kingston - who'd spent five years as the quintessential WWE babyface - then there were "60 dudes in developmental that deserve this spot more than I do". A bold claim, but fortunately for us (less fortunately for those 60 hopefuls), Xavier accomplished his mission by being his best/worst self.

Xavier worked a masterclass in becoming a Jimmy Hart-style irritating loudmouth whose incessant crowing about his buddies caused the fans to turn on them by default. Not only that, but his addition of playing a trumpet - badly - during matches turned the New Day into WWE's most entertainingly obnoxious heels, paving the way for their face turn and the "New Day Rocks!" chants that continue to this day.

Wrestling is notorious for the cliques (or Kliqs) it develops, but few wrestlers have ever gone to bat as hard as Xavier did for his friends.