10 Times WWE Capitalised On Low Expectations
7. The New Day
It is a testament to the phenomenal work of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods that The New Day are well into their sixth(!) year as a group. The trio are matched only by The Shield as the best stable of the 2010s, and they will certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day.
However, it took a long time for things to pick up for the group. In one of the most tone-deaf gimmicks WWE has ever produced, they debuted as a happy-go-lucky group of white-meat faces, who looked to spread positivity everywhere they went. The jaded WWE crowd, unsurprisingly, rejected the trio, and many expected the faction to quickly disband.
Instead, WWE allowed the three men to capitalise on the fan ire, by becoming infuriating heels. Taking the most grating aspects of their gimmick, such as their incessant singing of “New Day rocks” the trio were easily the most entertaining act in WWE for much of 2015.
They turned face in 2016 once they became so popular they could no longer function as heels and have remained that way since. The irony lies in that without the fans’ previously dire expectations for the group as faces, they would never have caught on in the way they have.