10 Wrestlers We Had To Love Before We Could Hate

7. Batista

In Evolution, Batista was a heel, yet nobody could accurately create a case for him being anything other than one by association. 'The Animal' didn't find his feet until he turned babyface on Triple H and splintered from the pack to become a star in his own right. That 2005-09 run was marvellous, and it turned big Dave into a firm fan favourite.

Then, in late-2009, he was booked to grow frustrated by his lack of WWE Title wins and turned heel on longtime pal Rey Mysterio. The image of a bitter Batista caving Rey's skull in and saying he'd "rip his head off" was a new dawn for his character, and it worked; WWE's decision to tweak the heel guise as entitlement over aggression and align him with Vince McMahon also helped him thrive.

Suddenly, the once-loved babyface had become a hated villain with an inflated ego.

Fans wouldn't have responded to Batista beating Mysterio so mercilessly had the writers not spent years forging their on-screen relationship. There had to be that context before his newfound Hollywood ego could come out.