10 Wrestlers That Made Fans Change The Channel

6. John Cena (2004/2005)

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In the months leading up to the money-sh*tting WrestleMania 21, it appeared as though Dave Batista would leave the show as the company's number one man thanks to the scale and placement of his long and tantalising programme with Triple H. On retrospective reading, the numbers always supported John Cena's eventual move to Monday Night Raw.

After months of JBL stabilising but failing to increase SmackDown ratings as the show's Champion, Cena's return from a "stabbing" (he was actually filming The Marine) resulted in the blue brand's viewership bringing the 2004 average up, and ensured the run up to the 'Show Of Shows' was seen by thousands more than had been watching the prior summer.

Lows of 2.5/2.6 in August and September were reversed rapidly, with big nights for the future 'Champ' generating 3.5/3.6 and even a 3.7 at various points in December, January and March, with 3s posted in the aftermath of his title victory over Layfield.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett