10 Wrestlers Who F***ing Doubled Down On Your Hate

It's simply never been easier to unleash a storm of abuse on an in-ring performer you're not exactly the biggest fan of.

With social media becoming a more dominant presence in society by the week, fans now possess a direct line straight to a wrestler's pocket; should said worker feel like choosing violence from the minute they wake up that morning. In truth, though, dealing with a no doubt soul-crushing amount of abuse being fired your way is nothing new for some of the folks putting their bodies on the line for the sake of those all-important POPs.

But finding yourself on the receiving end of a never-ending spell of hate can sometimes offer up a glimmer of opportunity to turn pro-wrestling chicken sh*t into a rather fruitful career/much-needed change in direction.

While many would've no doubt buckled under the pressure of being the go-to punching bag for those dedicating their lives to aggressively pounding their mobile phones or forging provocative cardboard signage, this defiant bunch decided to lean into the criticism and the end results speak for themselves.

From Great Ones opting to make some dollar with their new Hollywood persona, to legitimate badasses turning their frustrations with the fans into a storyline development, this lot took what those watching on despised and decided to emphatically run with it.

Triumphantly forcing their way into the conversation of greatest tag team in professional wrestling history, it's remarkable to think that there was actually a moment in time when the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E were pretty much unanimously rejected by the WWE corner of the wrestling fandom.

Thrown together and into the tag team mix whilst sporting a overwhelmingly positive gospel gimmick branded as "racist" by many, even the first few flickers of audience connection eventually soured as The New Day's now-legendary three-clap was typically met with a "New Day Sucks!" response.

And after clearly sensing that the relentless positivity the group were ordered to unleash on the WWE Universe wasn't going down as well as expected, the wise decision to eventually call a heel-turn audible was made and a New Day was truly born.

Gone was the largely uncomfortable gospel schtick, in its place was a borderline insane and consistently entertaining focus on the "Power of Positivity". And sure enough, when finally given the ridiculous freedom to patronise and preach to the fans as oblivious villains instead of jarring heroes, it wasn't too long before the trio's undeniable chemistry nudged them into permanent fan-favourite territory.