10 Times Wrestling Changed Due To Fan Backlash
6. KofiMania
Less of a backlash than an uprising, Kofi's unexpected pre-WrestleMania push came at the expense of hardcore fan favourite Kevin Owens and injured internet darling Ali, but - as if fueled by The New Day's old "power of positivity" - the will for Kofi's big win was simply too great to ignore.
Ali's knock before a foreshadowed Elimination Chamber hope spot temporarily took him out of The New Daniel Bryan's orbit, whilst Owens' planned 'Show Of Shows' title scrap was instead bumped to the rudderless Fastlane pay-per-view a month earlier. It goosed his everyman reinvention too, but the 'Prizefighter' was yet again made to watch from the sidelines.
Like much of WrestleMania 35's build, the stumbling blocks (in this particular case, endless f*cking gauntlet matches) bordered on intolerable, but the earmarking of the end destination made an otherwise-awkward journey a little more palatable.
It was also, with some significant relief, the first sense from outside WWE's walls that sometimes there is hope and scope for tangible change - even for the "B+ Players". Over a three month period, fans felt the momentus title win, fought for it, and got it.