10 Most Hated Wrestlers Of All Time

4. JBL

JBL Wrestling God
WWE.com

JBL killed pro wrestling for a generation of fans, and if that comes off histrionic, you weren't there.

There's a retrospective appreciation for his reign with the WWE Championship - the matches with shortcuts while hardly accomplished were bloody and heated spectacles, the promos while crass were very well-delivered - but JBL was the wrestler pushed so suddenly and so inexplicably that it felt as though he had won a conspiratorial race determined to f*ck Eddie Guerrero over. The opposite was true, as it transpired - Guerrero wasn't mentally ready to carry the burden - but this didn't temper the ire directed towards JBL. It was a canny push - the 'Wrestling God' nickname was exquisitely crafted to draw a "F*ck off, mate" through gnashed teeth - but this didn't matter to a (dwindling) set of fans conditioned to expect a new era of advanced wrestling only to be met with the deranged and spiteful opposite.

JBL is also detested, of course, for the legion horrendous stories concerning his backstage conduct that frame him as a bully, a sycophant and all-round reprehensible individual.

A less offensive Warrior nobody ever liked as children, for the tl;dr version.

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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!