10 Wrestlers Who Became Amazing After Heavy Criticism

1. Brock Lesnar

Undertaker Kenny Omega
WWE.com

Brock Lesnar invited the fierce criticism to which he was subjected in 2018 with a nonchalant shrug; he couldn't have given half a f*ck, visibly, and that's what pissed people off to such a drastic extent.

It was very much warranted; Lesnar gave Braun Strowman nothing in matches so underwhelming that they almost in themselves stigmatised the Monster Among Men as a main event bust. Directed to present himself as a one-dimensional hard man, under an idiotic bid to make fans care about Roman Reigns in contrast, Lesnar, always selectively motivated, was clearly happy to stroll through his already rote routine. With the exception of the odd gladiatorial Survivor Series banger, Lesnar's was an obnoxiously counterproductive presence.

Perhaps under the growing creative influence of Paul Heyman, tasked in 2019 with elevating the roster, and not merely his Client, the old, tremendous sports entertainer resurfaced. Lesnar rocked out to an imaginary boom box, appearing at last like a piece of sh*t you didn't want to scrape from your shoe, and did the absolute maximum to put Seth Rollins over. It's testament to his work that on only two occasions did Rollins ever look capable of playing WWE's tippy-top guy, and on both of them, Lesnar was stood, glaring, on the opposite side of the ring.

Covering his brutal annihilation of Dominick, his corpsing at R-Truth, and his impeccable selling of Keith Lee - he shifted from hubristic banter to legit fear in the course of a single GIF - Lesnar is back to 2015 form, where most wanted him to revert to 2011.

Watch Next


Contributor
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!