10 Wrestlers Who Eventually Rewarded Fans For Sticking With Them

Keep The Faith.

Jon Moxley
AEW

The wrestling business is one forever full of peaks and valleys, whether that's for fans of the industry or the stars who find themselves busting their ass on a weekly basis.

As fans, we all latch on to our favourite wrestlers and hope for the best. There are a whole variety of reasons why a wrestler will connect with a fan, but that connection is something that many fans will hold dear as they hope that their guy or gal of choice is finally afforded the chance to showcase their skills on a major level.

Sadly, it's not always the case that a lengthy fandom is rewarded by seeing your favourite superstar manage to climb to the top of the industry or at least see their skills given a fair opportunity to run with the ball. Still, there are some stars who have finally, after years and years of struggles, been given the chance to reward those who have been following them for the long haul.

On that front, then, here are 10 such wrestlers who were eventually afforded the chance to reward those fans who have for so long stuck by them.

10. Kofi Kingston

Jon Moxley
WWE.com

WrestleMania 35 was monumental for the fans of Kofi Kingston. Despite glimpses of main event potential, it seemed as if Kofi was destined to be a midcard singles act or tag team performer for his entire career.

At the 2019 edition of WWE's annual Showcase of the Immortals, Kingston would become the WWE Champion after beating Daniel Bryan.

In terms of those famed 'WrestleMania Moments', few in recent memory can match the sheer emotion of seeing Kofi celebrating in the middle of the ring with his family and his New Day brothers. It was heart-warming, it was goosebumps-inducing, and it was a truly special moment for the people who had spent over a decade backing the Dreadlocked Dynamo to smash through the glass ceiling of WWE's singles ranks.

For the longest time, it seemed as if any chance of Kofi getting a proper main event run was over after WWE dropped him down the card following his brief rivalry with Randy Orton back at the tail end of 2009.

Since forming the New Day, Kofi has obviously gone to have huge success, but that success was taken to a whole other level when Kingston won the biggest prize in the business after a decade of it looking like that would forever remain a pipe dream.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.