Wrestlers or Acts You Hated But Turned The Corner On

[hb2k]

So, for this week's podcast, we're looking to talk about guys, girls, teams, acts, whatever it may be anywhere in the wrestling world at any time, that at one time you held in very low regard, but they somehow managed to make you come around and become a fan of their work.

We'd like your nomination for the ONE act that stands out the most in that sense for you, why you originally disliked them, and what it was that changed your perspective.

As always, the best contributions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly - so what's your vote?

EDIT - The show talking Guys You Turned The Corner On, discussing your nominations, is now available at the following link: https://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/download/zkps4n/SCG_Radio_110_-_Wrestlers_You_Turned_A_Corner_On.mp3

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

edit

[Big Vic]

I always like when a wrestler gets started with an unlikable gimmick and is able to get over in spite. When this certain upstart wrestler started in the WWE with the "I will eat or drink anything" gimmick (including toilet water and tobacco spit) I will admit I thought it was pretty dumb and wanted him off my TV. But through pure grit, talent, charisma, and workrate he was able to get over HUGELY with the fans and win the ECW championship in the twilight of his career.

and that is why Tommy Dreamer deserves a round of applause and is the best fit for this category.

[Bad News Gertner]

Heath Slater. When he was in the Nexus/Corre I thought he was the blandest, most boring wrestler on the roster. Then the matches with the Legends started, and we got to see a whole new side to Slater. Been a huge fan ever since.

[Sepholio]

John Cena. Always found him boring and cliche and was convinced he had a limited arsenal and little wrestling ability. Then he won the US Title and had a number of matches that I consider to be among the best I've ever seen. I am now on board the cena train.

Used to hate ziggler when he first came into wwe. Then I realized that regardless of his gimmick and his acting he is one of the best in ring workers wwe has had in the last 20 years. Don't care what anyone says cuz ziggler can fucking go. I feel like he would have been a huge deal if he came around in the attitude Era and been wrestling guys like hbk and Y2J and Eddie and benoit.

[XL]

Can't quite believe I'm about to say this on the back of a Rumble binge and having watched this individual looking completely lost in the ring just a year ago, when rumours were swirling about a potential one-on-one match with Taker at Mania that I couldn't have been more against but...

I'm totally on board with Braun Strowman.

I'm not even sure what it is; I don't usually like big lumbering oafs, my favourite guys are always the ones that have toiled away on the indie scene for a decade before they make it big against all the odds (see Bryan, Daniel) or been under appreciated within the company before they get there due (see Christian). But I'm enjoying this Braun push, if they want to go with the Rumble win and match versus Roman for the title at Mania I'm all in - as long as it's not THE main event.

Dunno, maybe I just want someone to push Reigns' shit in?

[Simple Fan]

JBL as WWE Champion. Really didn't buy the quick transition they made with him from being a tag team wrestler into the main event. As his reign went on though I thought he was one of the better acts in WWE and he really played that character well.

[Bad News Gertner]

JBL is the greatest thing ever. Ever.

[KIRA]

Slater out of the entire Nexus I felt he didn't belong and I hated everything about him.

I came around mostly thanks to the poster above me and his constant praise of 3MB in addition to relaxing on them being jobbers after seeing how great they were at being the worst.

I went from hating Slater to not understanding why more people can't see how awesome he is.


Also,Ezekiel Jackson after he wrestled for Lucha Underground.

[Ruien]

Daniel Bryan. Hated everything about him until Team Hell No.

[A.J.K]

The Miz.

At first I didn't care about him as he struck me as one of those flash in pan goofy gimmicks and i thought, this guy will never make it.

I started to like Miz when him and Morrison held the Tag Belts, his character really started to get my attention when feuding with DX.

But i became a Fan of Miz when he started his Awesome gimmick, and he is one of the best heels in the business in my view.

[Wishbone]

Quite a few actually.

Dolph Ziggler. I hated his look, his gimmick, hell, I hated everything about him at first. Now I dig pretty much everything he does. Even his current looks is cool in my opinion (I know that's an unpopular opinion these days.)

Dean Ambrose. When he premiered in the Shield I thought he was weird looking and just didn't like him. Fast forward to today and he's one of my favorites on the roster.

The New Day were pretty cringy to me at first, but they've grown on me astronomically over time.

Wasn't a fan of Heath Slater either, but the whole "I got kids" thing actually made me cheer for him to the point that I legit marked out when he won the tag-titles.

Oh, and gotta mention Cesaro as well. When he first premiered I hated everything about him, but during his time as a real American and then leading into his face turn I learned to really like him.

[Ruien]

Wrong thread.

[Maluco]

A few...

Marc Mero - Have said this one before, but thought that both Johnny B Badd and Wildman were awful and couldn't take to him at all. But "Marvellous" Marc Mero was suddenly "him". Loved the music, loved linking it to his real life boxing career, loved the TKO and loved how he heeled it up and created probably the biggest single female star of that (or possibly any) era.

Mark Henry - I thought he was just there in the Nation and cringed at sexual chocolate, but Hall of Pain Henry was money. He looked intimidating and his style has finally clicked. It's just a pity his prior injuries and his age prevented him from becoming a big star. If only it had clicked like that a decade earlier.

Kevin Nash - Thought Diesel was so boring and ruined big matches around that era. Had no idea there was such a big personality in there. Came to love picking him WCW vs NWO revenge and just jacknifing anyone in range.

William Regal - Just saw him as a stereotypical Brit wrestler with Brit gimmick in WCW. I didn't find him memorable or remarkable in any way. But WWE Regal showcased his personality and I ended up really entertained by him in almost every role he had there. I think they could do with him on RAW instead of Stephanie/Foley even today.

The Miz - Annoying reality TV personality who wants to be a wrestler to best heel in the biggest company in the world. Says it all.

[Emperor Smeat]

Orton. Probably wasn't till the Bryan feud and its aftermath when I finally started to turn the corner on liking Orton a lot. Before that it was mostly "meh" outside of a few great moments he had. Part of the reason was him being terrible as a face and WWE repeatedly forcing Orton-Cena feuds to be their new Rock-Austin mega feud but never working.

Been really enjoying the story going on with the Wyatts since the WWE could easily have went the Cena route and telegraphed it badly of Orton faking being bad and taking out the Wyatts in comical fashion.

[Lock Jaw]

A lot of good answers here so far, so I'll go ahead and throw in a name not mentioned yet.....


Daniel Bryan - He came in and everyone on the internet was jerking off to him, but he just seemed so bland and boring. The fact that everyone was slobbering over him made me hate him even more, because I just sat there going "This dude is so uninteresting in every way". Eventually he won me over when he turned heel and got to actually develop and show some personality/character.

[Shisen Kopf]

Sycho Sid. Didn't like him at first but after his match with The Undertaker at WM13 I thought he was "the shit"!

[Ruien]

A lot of good answers here so far, so I'll go ahead and throw in a name not mentioned yet.....


Daniel Bryan - He came in and everyone on the internet was jerking off to him, but he just seemed so bland and boring. The fact that everyone was slobbering over him made me hate him even more, because I just sat there going "This dude is so uninteresting in every way". Eventually he won me over when he turned heel and got to actually develop and show some personality/character.

F you not reading my post.

[Lock Jaw]

Too short for me to pay attention to. :shifty:

However, I started liking him before Team Hell No.

[Bad News Gertner]

Daniel Bryan was so fucking terrible until he started being a dick to AJ

[Mr. Nerfect]

Rusev always got me down in the dumps. Another anachronistic foreign heel. I wasn't a big fan of the push. I know it's classic wrestling booking to send a guy on an undefeated streak, but I just didn't feel he was the guy for that push. It was about the time he came out on a tank at WrestleMania 31 with the graphics displaying "Rusev Crush" that I decided that there was something fun about this act.

He got booked pretty shit after that. I was actually for the US Title change at WrestleMania -- that's the way the story was supposed to be go. I also liked that it was only with one Attitude Adjustment too. I like it when finishers actually end matches. I wasn't particularly stoked on him losing to Cena at the next two PPVs to drive the point home that Cena was absolutely 100% better on any given night though.

The stuff with Dolph Ziggler was awful too. I have a feeling a lot of this was a big reason that Dolph was put into Wrestling Personalities Room 101. A funny thing happened during this horseshit though -- like a blooper in Bulgarian porn, interestingly enough: Rusev was genuinely entertaining in brief moments. Whether it was him informing Summer that the gift he was presenting her was a fish, or just by not being Dolph Ziggler in this feud, Rusev shone like a gem.

The League of Nations was depressing too, but the only memory I have left of it is Rusev running from the back and doing a dramatic jump. That lad really put effort into it. Little things like giving Vince a hug at the Royal Rumble after beating up Roman Reigns helped keep Rusev's head above water and made him look bulletproof.

I now wish he was booked better. Maybe he could go on an undefeated run and capture the US Title, building to a match with John Cena at...oh.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Daniel Bryan was so fucking terrible until he started being a dick to AJ

While I was a mark for Daniel Bryan before hand, based on him entertaining me in NXT, I do agree that this is when I truly started believing that he had a personality. This stretch with Bryan was amazing and I wanted it to keep going at the time, but the squash against Sheamus worked wonders for Bryan, even though it killed Sheamus.

I'm also with you on Heath Slater emerging as a valuable and entertaining talent. I didn't hate him in Nexus either, but I agree that the legends stuff "showed something."

[Mr. Nerfect]

I've been scratching my brains for someone from a little while back to suggest, and I think I'm actually going to submit Christian for this.

When I first started watching, I don't know why, but I always liked Edge better. People told me that Christian was the real talent and I just didn't get it. Edge was hilarious, taller and Christian was always wearing this kinky fishnet thing. What was up with that? He cracked me up with DDP, but I found the Un-Americans a bit boring. It was around the time he split with Chris Jericho and basically played the "bro" to Jericho's "good guy" (Liontamer? More like Pussy-Whipped. Right? Right?) that I started to see him more than the Creepy Little Bastard WWE portrayed him as.

During his alliance with Trish and Tyson Tomko, I became a complete supporter of Christian, and by the time he was getting cheered against Batista in England and getting Ric Flair escorted out of his office, I was ready to set sail with the Captain.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Jeff Hardy was a guy I would have been happy to see get his ass kicked every night by leprechauns attracted by his hair and the promise of hard drugs, but by the time he was doing the stuff with Randy Orton and would eventually win the WWE Title from Triple H, I was ready to concede that he was pretty over. I mean, yes, this is stating the obvious and I probably should have done so in 2000, when he was already really over, but the guy did win over my stubborn heart eventually. Maybe it was just that the sea was drying up around him, but I like to think that Jeff reached a different level during that feud with Orton. I say that because I didn't think he was shit anymore. I was enjoying him and actually rooting for him to win the title. Something must have been clicking. It may have been Jeff's party jaw.

Yeah, sure, there's Immortal, Victory Road 2011 and Brother Nero, but nearly everybody goes to TNA to get paid to go to TNA and fuck around.

Here's a random question: Would you gentlemen around the Fine Oaken Table(TM) prefer to see CM Punk or Jeff Hardy back in the WWE? At this point, I'd take Jeff Hardy. CM Punk can sit in the crowd and squeal when Jeff takes his shirt off like the girls in the early 2000's.

[AirJordanFan93]

CM Punk. Wasn't a fan of him when he first debuted on the main roster through his first main event push. Then he began his 2009 feud with Jeff Hardy and he because in my opinion the most entertaining guy on the roster. He was cutting the best promos in the company and having really good matches on TV each week. Things continued to get better from there with the creation of the Straight Edge Society and his whole "Jesus" persona. Then came the "Shoot Promo" in 2011 and another change in character which I found just as entertaining as the the whole SES period. While my general interest in WWE would begin to decline during 2011-2014 Punk was one of the few guys who I was always invested in due to the high quality of his promos and matches with the likes of Bryan,Cena,Lesnar and Undertaker.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Karl Jones on The Miz is reading from my heart.

[Sixx]

cena. i still think his character is pretty meh, but he seems like a really cool guy in life.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Brock Lesnar destroying Cena at SummerSlam '14 was a cathartic release for John Cena. We got to see him get his ass kicked. That he hasn't touched the belt since there has gone a long way to washing off the stink of Super Cena too.

[hb2k]

Just wanted to thank everybody for the contributions - the show discussing Guys You Turned The Corner On is now available at the following link:

https://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/download/zkps4n/SCG_Radio_110_-_Wrestlers_You_Turned_A_Corner_On.mp3

Join us as we talk about the wrestlers or acts you once loathed but managed to win you over. We discuss how these individuals finally earned your affinity, and break down the career arcs of individuals such as Mark Henry, The Miz, Ronnie Garvin, Chris Masters, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Rusev, Samoa Joe, Umaga, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens and yes, John Cena. And to round out the show, we give our predictions on this year's Royal Rumble this coming Sunday - check it out and enjoy!