10 Wrestlers That Pissed Off The Fans

7. Ronda Rousey

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WWE

Ronda Rousey also broke "kayfabe" in early 2019 in a presumed bid to salvage her completely ruined build with Becky Lynch (and Charlotte Flair) ahead of WrestleMania 35.

The canonical storyline was a destructive, unwanted mess; Charlotte Flair's presence was so oppressive that she couldn't even generate go-away heat, The Man character was ruined because she was forced to meekly apologise to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and Ronda was booked as somebody who could barely feign interest in whatever the f*ck it was she had to do week-on-week.

Ronda pulled at that thread on her various social media accounts in order to do what every wrestler should do (albeit in a vaguely postmodern way): make the audience feel like she truly despised her opponent. In a March 2019 vlog, she referred to the Disarm Her as "fake," routinely called Lynch by her real name, and threatened to "beat the f*ck out of her" on RAW.

This pissed a lot of people off - every single last one of whom was born after wrestling was ever considered real. Suspension of disbelief is fluid and subjective. Ronda however was well-positioned to operate in this mode as a "real" fighter.

Making Lynch apologise to the McMahons was far more damaging to the storyline than extraneous vlog content. How many times have you heard a wrestler talk about some prearranged spots they worked on a podcast?

How many times have you heard a woman say it?

 
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Contributor

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!