10 Most Hated Wrestlers Of All Time

9. Roman Reigns

JBL Wrestling God
WWE.com

Through no fault of his own - Roman Reigns was a banger baron who by several trusted accounts is a very cool man in real life, lumbered with and annihilated by the piss-poor booking - he became the most loathed man in wrestling, and perhaps even wrestling history, between 2015 and 2018.

This sentiment has eased significantly, obviously and thankfully, since the wrestling fandom was forced to confront the real hero underneath the performer through his second leukaemia diagnosis.

But f*cking hell did they hate Roman Reigns.

Reigns was a great-looking power-based wrestler with a penchant for naff comedy and overcoming the odds. This familiarity - of something so vehemently despised - bred a seething and definitive, lasting contempt. Roman Reigns' Royal Rumble 2015 win felt like a parody of how to get a babyface over. He had to overcome not one, but two monsters! Think of how strong and resilient he must have been to do that!

Tater tots baloney fudge mustard beanstalks poopy sufferin' succotash magic beans: all of it was conflated by a fanbase that steadily just gave up, literally halving WWE's audience over the resulting four years.

Is hatred the correct term? Was it ever personal?

It damn sure felt like it.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!