WWE: 10 Wrestlers Loved As Upcomers But Hated Once Popular

The popular Batman line, "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain," could very easily apply itself to the world of professional wrestling. Though wrestling always has heroes and villains, there are some Superstars that through no fault of their own have gone from being regaled during their ascent to the top of the wrestling mountain to being despised for doing the same thing they did during their climb to the top. While all these wrestlers still have more than their share of fans, there are more that are just done with that wrestler.

Honorable Mention X-Pac

Though he didn't reach the staggering heights of the other names on this list, X-Pac did enjoy a good share of popularity and admiration during his stints in WWE. Only to re-introduce the world to what would soon become known as "X-Pac Heat," meaning fans just wanted him gone and off television. To leave that kind of mark deserves at least a mention on this list.

10. CM Punk

Slow down with the pitchforks and torches. While he had two reigns as World Heavyweight Champion and an ECW Championship reign and a comparatively small, but loud, loyal and supportive collective of fans to his credit before 2011, CM Punk had not really caught on with WWE fans. That started to change that year as after memorable performances at Royal Rumble and in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match he became more and more of a viable threat to end John Cena's reign as WWE Champion. While some fans will clamor to whoever is on the opposite end of the ring from John Cena, an even bigger majority of the fans started getting behind Punk in the summer because on top of what he was doing in the ring, they felt he was telling the truth about the state of WWE and wrestling in general. CM Punk could do no wrong leading up to his WWE Championship match against Cena at Money in the Bank in Punk's hometown of Chicago. After winning the match and the WWE Championship, Punk had cemented himself as one of the top names in WWE and had crowds chanting his name everywhere he went. Though he would hit a minor roadblock at SummerSlam, by Survivor Series that fall, Punk was champion again, holding the title longer than any other wrestler not named Hogan since 1984. It was during that reign that cracks started forming in Punk's popularity. The same fans that were praising him for telling the truth were now despising him and labeling him as a whiner, even before his recent sabbatical, legitimate or not, and even before his run with Paul Heyman. Punk has long been vocal against stars like The Rock, Batista and other so called "part-timers," stars who have limited appearances throughout the year or wrestle only a few months at a time, stars that for the most part are very popular with current fans and attract an audience of past fans that are unfamiliar with Punk. Recent events haven't helped him either, as those who believe this time off television is reality have not treated him as well as they did when he pulled similar shenanigans in 2011 after Money in the Bank. In 2011 he was a rebel looking to spoil the establishment's best laid plans. In 2014, he's just spoiled.