10 Wrestlers The Fans Did A Complete 180 On
6. Cody Rhodes (AEW)
Given Cody Rhodes' current status as the most beloved WWE champion since the early days of Kofimania, it's surreal how accurately the above picture summarizes his last days in AEW.
It certainly wasn't like that at the beginning. As one of AEW's founding members, Cody was lionized by wrestling fans for offering a genuine alternative to the then-abysmal WWE. Naturally, Cody's ability to deliver excellent promos and matches further stoked fan ardor for the bleached-blonde superstar.
Unfortunately, Cody's much-lauded promo ability deserted him during his feud with Anthony Ogogo. In Cody's own words:
"I thought the content was good. I thought the intentions were good. However, a white guy talking about race relations who has an American flag tattoo on his neck, I can see why people would use the term tone-deaf when it came to that.
Yeah, "tone-deaf" about sums it up. Fans began to turn on their former favourite, booing him relentlessly during his feud with the cartoonishly villainous Malakai Black. Most damingly, when he threw items of clothing into the audience, they began chucking them right back at him. Increasingly disillusioned with both the fans' perception of him and the direction AEW was going, Cody left the company in returned to the WWE in 2022, where he is now arguably the most popular wrestler on the planet.