25 Great Wrestlers That EVERYBODY Turned Against

1. Triple H

WWE Unreal Triple H
WWE

If you stick around long enough in pro wrestling, you go through every possible relationship with the pro wrestling audience, and having put 30 years into carefully navigating his way to the top spot in the entire game, Triple H knows all about it.

Indifference best defined how fans felt about 'The Game' in the period before Chyna arrived and his real-life relationship with Shawn Michaels moved on screen, but the love and adoration he gained towards the end of the 1990s and into the year 2000 specifically was something he'd never get back as soon as injuries - and rumours of relentless politicking - piled up.

Never again the wrestler he was at his peak from 2002 through to his retirement, the highs were typically rule-proving exceptions, and his "reign of terror" in the first half of the 2000s in particular left scars with those that endured it. Perceptions shifted somewhat when he booked a golden era of NXT in the mid-2010s as a direct contrast to the main roster product it was supposed to facilitate, but the fruit basket years frittered away when AEW launched as the true alternative to WWE rather than the in-house one.

When he'd never been closer to the outhouse, he was suddenly in the penthouse after Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace, and has done everything - once again to the chagrin of those that loathe him - to let everybody know just how vital he's been to WWE's remarkable rejuvenation

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett