I’ve said this one million times before, but sometimes my column inspiration involves me once I’m not even looking for it.
I used to be scrolling through YouTube, searching for something random to observe. A portion of Kayfabe Commentaries’ “Wrestling’s Most Despised” popped up. I’ve seen all the thing before, but I watched this video again because those sorts of things are fun. For those who’ve never heard of it, it was a part of KC’s “Wrestling’s Most…” line. For this episode, they let fans vote on who they feel are essentially the most despised people within the history of wrestling. The votes were tallied, and we got a top (bottom?) ten list. Then, a solid of characters comparable to Bill Apter, The Blue Meanie, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and more would react to the list. You’d hear their raw, unfiltered opinions on the list. Possibly you’d get some personal stories to point out that those on the list are warranted, but possibly the panel would discuss why they felt those included didn’t belong there.
After watching some more YouTube videos, I headed on over to Facebook. While I used to be there, I saw a friend of mine having a discussion with one in all his friends concerning the rivalry between Vince Russo and Jim Cornette. My friend was of the considering that Jim Cornette is within the “right” of their rivalry, and that he’s a “misunderstood” wrestling personality, while his friend felt just about the identical way about Vince Russo.
All of that got me interested by different people within the wrestling business that receive hate from fans. A few of that hate is warranted for one reason or one other, but in my view, there’s loads of hate that isn’t warranted in any respect. That’s life, though, right?
On this column, I’m going to be taking a look at a few of those aforementioned hated-on personalities. I would like to present my thoughts and opinions on that hate, and whether or not I feel it’s warranted. Nonetheless, I would like to make this VERY clear before I start… I’m talking concerning the human beings behind the characters, and never the characters themselves. Someone like Adam Cole does really good work as a heel, but when was the last time you saw or heard a story concerning the man behind the character, Austin Jenkins, being an asshole? It’s really essential to maintain that in mind as you proceed reading on.
Two more things before we start. To begin with, this won’t be in any particular order. Two, for those who don’t see someone listed here, it doesn’t mean I believe they’re a saint or anything. Greater than likely, it means I just didn’t think their case was interesting enough to debate.
Here goes nothing.
Goldberg
Why He’s Hated: There may be quite a lot of reasons that Goldberg receives hate, each from his peers within the business and from fans world wide. Individuals are still upset with him over ending Bret Hart’s profession with a kick to the pinnacle, and Bret himself is included in that group, as evidenced by the indisputable fact that he continues taking shots at Bill Goldberg at any time when he can. Some folks hate on Goldberg because they feel he has at all times taken himself way too seriously, whether it’s considering that his character shouldn’t look “weak” or not with the ability to laugh on the Gillberg parody. There are many books and shoot interviews together with his fellow wrestlers where an image is painted of him being very difficult to work with. You’ll see loads of comments about how he didn’t pay his “dues” and didn’t “deserve” the push he received in 1997 and 1998. There are also individuals who blame him for killing all of the momentum of The Fiend in a single match when he got here out of nowhere to beat him to win at Super ShowDown back in 2020. Like I said, there may be quite a lot of reasons.
Verdict: In relation to the Bret Hart incident, I do think Goldberg has received an unnecessary amount of hate. Was he a tad sloppy? Sure. Nonetheless, let’s not act as if he walked through the curtain that night with the intention of turning Bret’s brain into tapioca pudding. Accidents occur. Unfortunately, when accidents occur in wrestling, the consequence could be very tragic. So far as every little thing else is worried, how are you going to argue with any of it? He absolutely, positively takes himself too seriously, and has admitted to it on multiple occasions. He has been very vocal about hating the Gillberg character, the “Greenberg” cracks from Chris Jericho of their WCW days, and the rest that made fun of him in any way. If wrestler after wrestler mentions that he’s difficult to work with, which means it’s greater than only one person with a vendetta. He gets loads of hate, from all corners of the wrestling world, but there’s an excessive amount of of it for me to say that it’s anything but Warranted.
CM Punk
Why He’s Hated: A number of the hate that Punk gets, for right or for mistaken, boils all the way down to his 2014 exit from WWE. He has received hate for “walking out” on the business, and subsequently, “walking out” on the fans who’ve supported him through the years. After he left, he selected to distance himself from the business almost completely, and that seems to mean he cut off loads of the friendships he had with other wrestlers. There have been loads of stories about wrestlers who viewed him as a friend while he was with WWE, only to say that he stopped responding to their calls/texts after leaving, or that they got into some form of friendship-ending argument within the immediate aftermath of his departure. Punk also spent a big portion of time between his WWE departure and AEW arrival bashing loads of WWE-related things, and a few (or most, depending in your point-of-view) of it got here across as sour grapes.
Verdict: Unless you’re completely blinded by some silly loyalty to WWE, you may’t deny that loads of Punk’s criticisms concerning the company were valid. Did he sound bitter in making those criticisms? Yeah, but that goes with the territory. Anyone who leaves a job, for any reason, and has something negative to say about their time there may be going to return across as bitter to some people. Obviously, it’s pretty difficult to speak concerning the stories of his lost friendships. Punk himself hasn’t exactly been open about it, and the others involved have principally dropped little breadcrumbs and have said little greater than “he knows what he did” without going into any detail publicly. After all, there’s also the entire “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” line of considering, too. If it was only one person saying it about Punk, you might chalk it as much as loads of things. The indisputable fact that it has happened time and time and time again, though, seems to color a more vivid picture of what Punk was going through after he left WWE. The whole lot boils all the way down to Punk’s feelings. As he said in his promo when he debuted for WWE, he was sick and he didn’t feel it might be possible to recover if he stayed within the place that made him sick in the primary place. A number of you reading this, to an obviously lesser extent, can understand and relate to that. Possibly it was a job, a member of the family, or a relationship with a better half… but irrespective of what it was, it affected you to such some extent that you simply needed to get away, or else it might do nothing but proceed to harm you. I don’t think I can truly fault him for that. I’m not going to have fun all of his decisions, either. He just looks like a person who happens to have a little bit of a prickly personality. I’m going to say his hate, overall, is Unwarranted, even with a few of those personality traits that won’t make him essentially the most fun person to be around sometimes.
Eric Bischoff
Why He’s Hated: One other individual that receives hate for a mess of reasons. Some feel he’s too conceited. Others hate him due to stunts he pulled in the course of the Monday Night War comparable to directing Tony Schiavone to spoil Mick Foley’s WWF Title victory on-air or call Vince McMahon out for a fight when he knew Vince would never respond. Many long-time wrestling fans think the one reason Bischoff was ever successful in the primary place was because he had access to Ted Turner’s never-ending financials, and nothing related to skills or knowledge. Lately, he has developed some latest hate due to his 83 Weeks podcast, where he constantly puts down “smart” fans, “dirt sheet” writers and readers, and anyone along those lines.
Verdict: While you look back at WCW, its meteoric rise in the course of the Monday Night War, after which its incredibly disastrous fall into going out of business, one thing stands out… Eric Bischoff. He was there for the best of the highs, and he was around for loads of the bottom lows. Those that feel Bischoff’s success is wholly as a consequence of being financially backed by Ted Turner make one point to “prove” their argument, and that’s… have a look at Bischoff’s level of success without Ted Turner. WCW fell into the bathroom. He and Hulk Hogan seemingly tried to do the identical thing to TNA. That’s pretty damning evidence, and no “liked” tweets by Elon Musk goes to alter that. For my part, the 83 Weeks podcast is sort of unlistenable/unwatchable due to his constant “FUCK DAVE MELTZER FUCK DIRT SHEETS FUCK SMART FANS FUCK YOU IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME” rants. He’s someone who’s hanging on to that glory from 25 years ago, and that’s an enormous a part of the negativity surrounding him. Warranted.
Hulk Hogan
Why He’s Hated: In a sport that has been DOMINATED by backstage politics from the start, Hulk is the largest politician to ever step foot within a wrestling ring, principally getting to choose and select when he would lose matches and having the ability to alter plans on a dime, often on the last minute. Outside of the ring, he was caught on multiple recordings using racist and homophobic language, even going to date as to confess being a racist on one in all the tapes.
Verdict: Everybody knows about Hulk’s backstage politics. Whether you like him otherwise you hate him, you understand the seemingly infinite stories of him doing things like that. One thing says all of it relating to his backstage antics… “That doesn’t work for me, brother.” The thing is… that isn’t Hulk’s fault. In any respect. If he has any form of “Creative Control” in his contract, that’s on the corporate that has given him that contract. Even when Hulk says he won’t sign with you unless he gets that sort of power, it still must be given to him. There’s no way I can fault Hulk for that, as he was smart enough to reap the benefits of something that each wrestler, especially in his era, would slap their moms for. Unfortunately for him, that isn’t the tip of his story. Those recordings derailed his profession, causing him to be released by WWE and where no one wanted to the touch him. His comments were bad enough, but every little thing that happened after the comments made it even worse. He chalked it as much as the “it’s how we grew up in my neighborhood” excuse, only to have several of his childhood friends and neighbors deny that. There was a backstage apology to the WWE roster that he said went very well, but then word began coming out that the people he was REALLY purported to be apologizing to were unhappy with various elements of that apology. He took a extremely bad situation and looked as if it would make it worse at every turn, as a substitute of just manning up and going out with authentic apologies and attempts at reconciliation with people who he needed to do this with. Look… do I believe Terry Bollea is the subsequent Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan? No, I don’t. Do I believe he has some prejudices deep down inside like A LOT of individuals born within the early 1950’s do? Yes, I do. He said some really silly things while he was pissed off at his daughter. I heard her debut album, Undiscovered, in 2006, and I said some really silly things while I used to be pissed off at her, too. The lies and excuses that followed Hulk’s comments are what have me going with Warranted, though. Things might… MIGHT… be different if he just got here out and apologized, with none excuses, and kept his nose clean, so to talk.
The Undertaker
Why He’s Hated: This one is a HUGE surprise for a few of you, and also you’re scratching your heads as you are trying to work out why he’s on the list. The Undertaker is someone that I don’t think I’ve ever heard a fellow wrestler speak negatively about. When WWE says Taker is, perhaps, essentially the most universally respected wrestler within the history of the business, it really is likely to be true. As an alternative, all of the hate he receives comes from a portion of wrestling fans. You may have a percentage of fans who feel like Taker stuck around for too long as an in-ring performer, they usually feel like his ego got in the best way of keeping his legacy strong over the previous couple of years. Then you have got the more vocal group of fans who’re upset over Mark Calaway wearing loads of pro-police attire in the varied interviews and documentary appearances he has revamped the previous couple of years. His use of “thin blue line” clothing is what has really driven the detest. The “thin blue line” has principally turn into the unofficial symbol of the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, which was a response to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Due to that, he has been called, at worst, a racist, and at best, tone deaf to what’s been occurring in america as tensions have grown through the years.
Verdict: As I said, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone within the business say a foul word concerning the man. Not in shoot interviews, books, or anywhere else you’ll witness shots taken. That makes his inclusion on this list pretty unique. While I understand the purpose of the “Blue Lives Matter” and “Black Lives Matter” arguments, but I even have a really difficult time believing that Mark Calaway is a racist. Make all of the “redneck from Texas” jokes you would like, but have a look at a few of his best possible friends within the wrestling business. The Godfather, Rikishi, Yokozuna, Ron Simmons, Booker T, Savio Vega… all minorities. While it has been shown that he made financial donations to the political campaign of Donald Trump in 2020, he has also said he would support Dwayne Johnson if Johnson does resolve to run for the Presidency of america, as has long been rumored, calling Johnson the sort of “uniter” that may bring this incredibly divided country together. Does that sound like something a racist would say? I’ve known some racists through the years. Not a single rattling one in all them goes to say anything about wanting the “divided” country to be “united” soon. This one goes to be listed as Unwarranted. I just don’t see it going THAT far with the guy. I do know actual cops who own “Black Lives Matter” clothing, who don’t like guns all that much, and who’re overall really good people. I’m not going to have a fucking conversation that claims EVERYONE who supports the police in any way is a raging racist. Grow up.
Ric Flair
Why He’s Hated: To start out, there have been quite a few stories of him being incredibly inappropriate with women, with the “Plane Ride From Hell” having several stories all by itself, including exposing himself to a flight attendant and sexually assaulting her behind the plane. A number of those inappropriate actions have happened time and again, with stories of Flair being banned from various bars and clubs world wide due to how he would act once he had some drinks flowing through his system. Many individuals also feel that he’s something of a whore for money, willing to do or say absolutely anything so long as a check is attached to it, and him stepping back into the ring for his “final match” on the age of 73 is proof of that. Teddy Long has told a story about Flair calling him racial slurs within the old NWA days and that Flair, to at the present time, has never apologized for it. For somebody who has been all concerning the big money lifestyle for a long time, there are tons of stories of him being unable to pay for bar tabs that he runs up, which ends up in those bars having to contact whatever wrestling company he was working for on the time in order that THEY could pay his bills. Lately, he has received a latest level of hate for still acting, at 73 years old, the identical way he did when he was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his 30’s. The people in that group feel that it’s gross to observe a septuagenarian with liver spots and thinning hair strut around as if he were God’s gift to women, picturing your grandfather trying to choose up women at a nightclub right away.
Verdict: I even have made it very clear on several occasions that Ric Flair is the very first skilled wrestler I ever saw. Without him, I might not be typing this column right away. Deep down, it hurts me to see the individual that Ric Fliehr is, in spite of everything those years of watching the performer that Ric Flair is. With a billion accusations, all corroborated by infinite witnesses, it’s hard to say the hate here is anything but Warranted. He’s a grimy old man that was a grimy middle-aged man, and he appears to be the just one who doesn’t see an issue with that.
Triple H
Why He’s Hated: “Buried” is likely to be the one most incorrectly used term in all of wrestling vernacular relating to fans. You’ll see someone lose a 20-minute match that saw outside interference and weapon usage be the fundamental reasons the match ended, and inevitably, someone will say they were “buried” because they lost. The term was definitely used before Triple H’s in-ring profession, nevertheless it sure looks like it was popularized while he was on top of the business. Once he got romantically involved with Stephanie McMahon behind-the-scenes, he won and won after which won some more, and the fan complaints took off. His relationship with Steph alone has brought him loads of hate. All these years later, there are still individuals who feel that he used that relationship together with her as an influence play to turn into one in all the largest stars in the corporate. The identical could be said about his “Kliq” affiliation, letting the backstage power that Shawn Michaels had offer him one other probability to do and say whatever he wants. Hulk Hogan used who he’s to construct a status as a backstage politician. Triple H, then again, used who he knows to construct that sort of status. He also gets hate due to how he handled the tip of his relationship with Chyna, and the best way Chyna was principally blackballed from the corporate upon her departure. Him talking about Chyna’s “past” being a reason to not make her a WWE Hall Of Fame inductee, with ALL the shit other Hall Of Famers have of their past, didn’t sit right with loads of people. Then, in fact, there’s the “people such as you” promo during his feud with Booker T leading as much as WrestleMania 19.
Verdict: Not a single one in all us can truly speak on whether or not Triple H starting a relationship with Stephanie McMahon was for legitimate reasons to start with. What seems pretty clear to me now, though, is that those two seem to really love one another. You possibly can see it of their eyes when they give the impression of being at one another, as mushy as that sounds. With every little thing else, that’s slightly easier to know, as that’s all stuff that has been told, ad nauseam, by many people. It looks like there hasn’t been a shoot interview featuring someone who has been employed by WWE over the past 25 years that didn’t have a minimum of one negative story about Triple H. When that many persons are talking about what a dick he could be, it’s tough to not consider it. Triple H himself has admitted to loads of the shit that has been said about him within the early Kliq and DX days, and who am I to argue with Triple H about Triple H? His hate is Warranted. Not all the best way across the board, but good enough for me to feel comfortable with this result.
Vince Russo
Why He’s Hated: For those who’re Jim Cornette, you hate Vince Russo for simply being alive and respiration. For everybody else, he gets hated due to what he did (and more specifically, didn’t do) in WCW and TNA. He was involved within the WWF’s rise in the course of the Attitude Era, and was then delivered to WCW with the hopes that he would help rebuild the corporate’s momentum. When that didn’t occur, folks out and in of the industry began to call him a fraud because his ideas in WCW failed on such a spectacular level. Those accusations only increased when Russo joined NWA-TNA and his string of piss poor ideas continued throughout multiple start-stop-start-stop runs with the corporate. His “in-ring motion isn’t essential, storylines are” line of considering has at all times angered a portion of wrestling fans.
Verdict: This can be a weird one for me. In loads of cases, I believe people can be very quick to say he deserves just about all the hate he’s ever received. I’m not so sure about that. Here’s what we all know… Russo’s only real success was when he was writing for the WWF. The plain “answer” there may be because he had Vince McMahon had the ultimate say and was probably sending most of Russo’s garbage ideas out the window and we only got to see the most effective of the most effective ideas on television. That might paint an image of Vince McMahon being a creative genius. Is he? After Russo jumped to WCW, the WWF continued using ideas and booking styles heavily attributed to Russo. One in all the largest storylines within the immediate aftermath of Russo’s departure was “Stone Cold” Steve Austin being run over by a automobile driven by a mystery person, later revealed to be The Rock. That was bad. Really bad. At the subsequent pay-per-view, Miss Kitty showed the world her Kitty Titties. That was someone desperately attempting to BE Vince Russo. We got some good things between Triple H and Cactus Jack to start out 2000, but as you understand, a LOT of Mick Foley’s (and Triple H’s at that time) stuff was things that he pitched and created for himself. There was loads of great in-ring work on this era, but this wasn’t precisely the creative peak. Let’s also not forget that right before Russo was writing for the WWF, it was the era of Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Kwang, Mantaur, Aldo Montoya, Adam Bomb, Mabel as King Of The Ring, Rad Radford, Isaac Yankem, Bastion Booger, and the list goes on and on. Lord knows that Vince McMahon hasn’t been labeled a “creative genius” by anyone aside from the largest of the largest WWE marks in a protracted, very long time. My point is that it isn’t quite so black and white with the 2 Vinces. Perhaps Vince McMahon isn’t the genius people think he’s, and maybe Vince Russo isn’t the drooling moron people think he’s. Unwarranted. Largely. I believe loads of Vince Russo’s post-WWF failures are as a consequence of him trying too hard. He wasn’t in a position to just sit back and write shows and storylines. There was an excessive amount of of an “I’LL SHOW YOU, MCMAHON” on his mind and he was at all times chasing the WWF success, trying to point out Vince McMahon and the remainder of the wrestling world that he was in a position to step out of shadows and succeeding on his own.
Jim Cornette
Why He’s Hated: For those who were to ask wrestling fans to explain “stuck up to now” to someone, there’s a very good probability they’d immediately mention Cornette. He’s old fashioned, through and thru, and isn’t ashamed of that. Which means he comes across as someone that hates any and each little thing concerning the modern-day pro wrestling scene. Not only is he quick to go on rants about various topics in today’s scene, but he gets hate for the extent that his rants reach. He’ll start yelling and cussing and getting red within the face. Even when he isn’t ranting, he receives hate from those that feel he’s racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or any form of combination of those things.
Verdict: There may not be a more encyclopedic mind concerning the history of the game in all of wrestling, whether you want Jim Cornette or not. For those who’ve seen his memorabilia collection, it’s jaw-dropping, and he knows about every little little bit of it. You would ask him questions on what happened on this NWA show back within the day, or what territory this wrestler worked for in 1976, and I bet you he would know the reply and have some stories to inform about it. For those who were to step beyond that time, though, the waters get slightly murky. I’ll fully and freely admit to being entertained by a few of Corny’s rants. He has at all times had the gift of gab, and he gets those rants out, rapid fire, effortlessly. He just doesn’t know when to stop. To cite the nice philosopher, Charles Quinton Murphy, he’s a habitual line stepper. That looks like it is going to be his issue so long as he graces this planet. For that, I’m going to go along with Warranted here. It just gets really exhausting after long enough.
Brock Lesnar
Why He’s Hated: There have been loads of stories about fans meeting Brock out in the true world and having less-than-positive things to say about him. Those stories often mention Brock as being something of an ornery person, and even for those who’ve never met him, it’s something you may picture in your head. Brock also gets hated on due to the best way he has been booked over the past several years. Fairly or unfairly, he’s viewed as someone who has principally robbed WWE at gunpoint, using their desperation against them in an effort to compete in fundamental events, win World Titles, and make insane amounts of cash for an equally insane light schedule.
Verdict: Truthfully, this one is pretty easy for me. Unwarranted. He has been very open about how insular, private, and introverted he’s. I, for one, can understand that completely. Once I was younger, I used to be sociable and enjoyed being the lifetime of the party. Because the years went on, though, I started to seek out myself having fun with my privacy increasingly more. Now, a quiet day or night with my wife and daughter is my biggest goal. I’ve seen loads of “reviews” from individuals who have met him that mentioned Brock being somewhat aloof, but that it was clearly more as a consequence of being that introvert and never because he’s a douchebag or anything along those lines. So far as the opposite stuff I discussed, it goes back to what I said about Hulk Hogan earlier. I don’t care if Brock walks into Vince McMahon’s office and demands that, for his next contract, he will likely be booked to wrestle one match a 12 months, and that said match will last now not than 90 seconds, and that he have to be a World Champion for all the duration of the deal, AND that it have to be the richest contract in skilled wrestling history. He could make all of the contractual demands he wants, but when Vince doesn’t comply with it, nothing gets signed. That’s a Vince problem, not a Brock problem.
Joey Ryan
Why He’s Hated: Oh, boy. When Joey Ryan was becoming some of the talked-about wrestlers on the independent scene, his penis-based offense either made you laugh or pissed you off to no end. The latter group absolutely hated him, and each promotion who was giving him money to book him, for the “damage” he was doing to the wrestling business. Suspending your disbelief is one thing, but watching a grown man grab one other grown man’s dick and said dick is so strong that it could perform wrestling moves by itself? Then, the accusations got here pouring in. One woman after one other got here forth with accusations of harassment, sexual assault, and various things along those lines. Several men within the business who’ve either worked or lived with Ryan would also come out and speak negatively about him and the things he has done up to now. Ryan would essentially get blackballed from the business, losing booking after booking. His response to the accusations was as strong as anyone in the course of the “Speaking Out” movement, as he began filing lawsuits, each against a few of his accusers and against Impact Wrestling for what he claimed was a breach of contract after they fired him within the wake of the accusations. He would then resurface on social media as a God-fearing man, using bible verses to talk out against the hate and the backlash that he was receiving, further pissing people off.
Verdict: Look… I do know what lots of you might be already stretching your fingers out to start typing as a response. Accusations don’t equal proof. I get that. We’ve all heard stories of people that were accused of something heinous, only to have the reality come out and allow them to off the hook. If Joey Ryan were accused by one person for something that happened one time, we wouldn’t be discussing him right away. There have been tons of wrestling personalities that were accused once during “Speaking Out” that aren’t being mentioned here. The accusations against him kept rolling out, though. Again and many times and many times. Smoke, fire, blah blah blah. To me, him hiding behind religion is absolutely what lands him on the Warranted side of things. It’s such transparent bullshit, and also you see that so often with people. TOO often. They’ll rarely, if ever, mention anything about religion of their life, but as soon as they’re facing some real trouble, then it’s God this and Jesus that, Bible this and Heaven that.
JBL
Why He’s Hated: Bullying. More bullying. Much more bullying. Shooting on The Blue Meanie at ECW One Night Stand 2005. Repeatedly telling Justin Roberts to kill himself. Forcing multiple employees to go away the corporate. Always calling Rene Dupree homophobic slurs. Multiple stories about touching fellow wrestlers inappropriately during showers, in an attempt to seek out out who would have an “attitude” about it, referring to the complainers as “prima donnas” in the event that they had any form of negative response. The list goes on and on.
Verdict: I’ll say it again… accusations are only that. They’re accusations. That doesn’t routinely equal proof. There are WAY too many accusations floating around, though, to your eyebrows to not go up immediately when the discussion is about JBL. We’ve heard stories from big-name wrestlers like Edge and The Miz, in addition to stories from “lesser” names like Rene Dupree and Steve Blackman, and even stories from non-wrestlers like Joey Styles. That makes JBL an equal opportunity bully. This is totally Warranted.
Bret Hart
Why He’s Hated: Even for those who love “The Hitman” as an in-ring performer, you have got to confess that he has complained an awful lot through the years. It’s whether or not you’re thinking that his complaints have merit to them that determines your level of hate for him. He has been very vocal on how he feels concerning the likes of Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Triple H, Goldberg, The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, Ric Flair, Honky Tonk Man, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, The Fabulous Freebirds, Seth Rollins… you get the purpose. He has never been shy about sharing his opinions on each the fashionable wrestling scene and its performers, in addition to those from his time within the ring. One other thing that individuals have said they dislike about Bret is his opinion of himself. Those people mention his book, Hitman: My Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling, in addition to the “shrine” he needed to himself (pictures, memorabilia, magazine covers, etc.) at his home in Canada. Scott Hall famously told a story about when Bret invited a bunch of wrestlers to his house once they were wrestling in Calgary, and that Bret had an enormous photo of himself above his bed.
Verdict: Return to what I said about whether or not you’re feeling his complaints have merit. Do you’re feeling that way? How often has Bret complained about something that blew your mind? For me, he wasn’t saying anything that you simply haven’t heard one million other people say up to now. Bret just happened to say it A LOT. After all he’s going to be upset with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Vince McMahon over the Montreal Screwjob. Who wasn’t upset with Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo over what happened in, and to, WCW? You couldn’t blink without one other story about how people hated Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior for his or her backstage politics, poor in-ring performances, and backstabbing natures. Would I even have liked to see him be less bitter in his retirement years? Absolutely. I’m still going to go along with Unwarranted here, though, because behind the “here he goes again” considering, there was almost at all times substance behind what he was saying.
Stephanie McMahon
Why She’s Hated: For being like her father relating to business, ruthlessness, and the mentality for the game. She also gets a ton of hate for always being an on-screen character that’s allowed to “bury” (OH NO, TRIPLE H AGAIN) wrestlers with no repercussions. There’s also the indisputable fact that she has been positioned on the very forefront of the “women’s evolution” from the start, though most individuals don’t feel she had lots, if anything, to do with it. Then, in fact, there’s the entire situation with Triple H and Chyna, and stepping into a relationship with someone that’s already involved with another person. I’ve seen people go to date as to say that Steph and Triple H are chargeable for Chyna’s death due to what they did to her.
Verdict: In relation to her on-screen character and the way it’s presented, I’m all for the extent of hate she gets. I’ve written about that up to now. She gets to emasculate male wrestlers by slapping them time and time again when it’s pretty obvious those wrestlers aren’t going to have the option to hit her back. In relation to the feminine wrestlers, watch Steph’s segments with them very rigorously. Notice how often she busts out the larger and more elaborate high heeled shoes when she’s within the ring with them, taking her already tall 5’8″ frame and making it look even greater when standing next to the likes of AJ Lee, Brie Bella, and almost every other woman she has stood next to. All that stuff is ridiculous, and it isn’t mandatory. Steph has done interviews where she downplays the negative reactions she gets from fans, saying that each story needs an over-the-top heel to assist make the face value cheering for. That’s true usually, but again, when the heel gets to do whatever they need with no comeuppance, that’s not telling a very good story. So far as the “women’s evolution” is worried, I understand why she gets hated for that, but I don’t really have much of an opinion on it. Sure, you’d moderately have the wrestlers themselves placed on the forefront relating to the changes in women’s wrestling over the past several years, but when Stephanie has been championing the cause backstage and truly is one in all the explanation why we’ve evolved from Bra & Panties Matches to women within the WrestleMania fundamental event, kudos to her, and she or he ought to be praised for it. All in all, I believe there are elements where she gets an excessive amount of hate for things, but I’m going to go along with Warranted as a complete.
Dave Meltzer
Why He’s Hated: His detractors feel that his “reporting” is flawed for several reasons. They feel that Dave can sometimes outright make things up, only to show around and report them as fact. Those people feel that if Dave isn’t making things up, he’s either being gullible enough to fall for purposely bad information that’s fed to him, or that he’s reckless enough to report on things without fully following through on them first. He also gets a ton of hate for what people feel is a blatant bias relating to wrestling in Japan and the way he rates matches. Speaking of those match rankings, Meltzer also gets hate for the rankings system itself. He didn’t create it, but he made it popular, and because the years have passed by, the industry has modified. Now, it looks like too many wrestlers are performing to get extra stars on Meltzer’s scale than the rest. He also has loads of very strange interactions with people on Twitter. The sort of interactions which have made many individuals query if he legitimately has something mistaken together with his brain.
Verdict: Let’s be completely and totally honest with one another right away. Dave Meltzer isn’t correct on a regular basis, that’s obviously, but you’re a fucking idiot for those who think he’s gotten to where he’s right away by never being right. People treat him like he hasn’t broken a single story within the 40-something years he’s been doing this. For those who can reach whatever level of fortune and fame that Meltzer has reached by completely making things up 100% of the time, then why haven’t you done it for yourself? Dave probably has extra money than you’ll ever see in your checking account, so why not step your game up and work out the option to con yourself right into a higher life and financial situation? Exactly. Again, I’m thoroughly aware that he gets loads of stories mistaken, and that he can spiral uncontrolled relating to his speculating and conclusion jumping. I’m also of the idea that he has had some people inside promotions which have fed him bad intel, perhaps on purpose in a “Ron Burgundy will read anything you place on the teleprompter” sort of deal. With all that said, though, I believe that it has turn into “cool” to hate on him lately for whatever reason. Unwarranted.
Well, there you have got it. I probably could’ve added one other 50 names to this list, but I’ve taken up far more of my very own time than I originally planned to. What say you, ReaderLand? Do you agree with my selections here? As at all times, hit me up within the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s in your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
- Jon Moxley vs Konosuke Takeshita: One other week, one other great performance by Takeshita against one in all AEW’s top names. I’m going to maintain saying this until it happens, though… can we get the guy some fucking wins on television already?!? This loss brings his record on Dynamite and Rampage to 0-6. “Yeah, but he’s still working with AEW’s best.” Yes, in losses. It isn’t exactly difficult to have him face some great in-ring employees that occur to be lower on the proverbial ladder, pick up some wins in impressive performances, and THEN step into the ring with the highest talents.
- Jonathan Gresham vs Lee Moriarty: If Gresham were six inches taller, he can be one in all the highest names in wrestling today. He’s that good. Though Gresham has a big-time RoH World Title defense against Claudio Castagnoli this weekend at Death Before Dishonor, this match still allowed the very underrated Moriarty to shine, too. Very good things here.
- The Young Bucks vs Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs: Every bit the hectic match that all of us thought it might be. I’m slightly surprised to see the Bucks drop the AEW Tag Team Titles here, because it sure as hell seemed as if the corporate was constructing to Bucks vs FTR with all of the Tag Team Infinity Stones on the road, but I’m not complaining. Lee and Strickland have put in some really good work since their partnership began, and there’s loads of potential in them being the champions.
- Cameron Grimes vs JD McDonagh: As at all times, when Cameron Grimes is mentioned, I’m legally and contractually obligated to say the indisputable fact that he nearly broke my leg at an independent wrestling show a couple of years ago. Though the results of this match was never in query, I enjoyed this lots. I’m still unsure that anybody really buys McDonagh as a legit threat to Bron Breakker and the NXT Title, but that’s where we are actually.
- Claudio Castagnoli vs Jake Hager: These two have good chemistry together after spending loads of time in WWE working together, each as a tag team and as opponents. It’s crazy that Hager made his AEW debut on the very first episode of Dynamite on October 2nd, 2019, and yet, this was only his thirty fourth match on television or pay-per-view for the corporate. For the sake of reference, Jimmy Uso has wrestled on television or pay-per-view 28 times in 2022 alone. If you must dig even further, this was only the tenth singles match on television or pay-per-view that Hager has wrestled for AEW. To proceed the comparison, Jimmy Uso… a tag team wrestler… has wrestled seven singles matches on television in 2022. It has been a weird AEW run for the previous Jack Swagger.
- Roderick Strong: He had a pleasant win over fellow Diamond Mine member Damon Kemp, but that’s not likely why he’s here. It’d only be something that interested me, but I laughed a very good laugh at Roddy’s post-match backstage segment. He arrives on the scene after seeing that The Creed Brothers have been attacked, and he’s already yelling. Then, Damon Kemp shows up a couple of seconds later and Roddy’s all “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!?” as if he didn’t just knock Kemp out in a match two minutes ago. Roddy yells some more to fireplace up the troops, saying that the Diamond Mine are going to complete their war with Tony D’Angelo and his cronies, after which he storms off, but not before yelling out “DAMN IT!” within the background randomly. Roderick Strong has never been known for his character work, so this was loads of fun to see. He’s really getting silly with this latest leadership role, nevertheless it’s working for him to date.
- Ezekiel vs Seth Rollins: Based on crowd reactions, it sure looks like this Ezekiel thing is dying a slow death after a comparatively hot start, doesn’t it? A superb match here, but crowds really aren’t buying into this story anymore. That is smart, considering all the thing is a one-note character, and that one note has been played time and time and time again for the previous couple of months. It is likely to be time to maneuver on.
- Wardlow vs Orange Cassidy: Possibly Wardlow should’ve been in a position to beat the dog shit out of somebody in a dominant title defense, but this was fun. Orange Cassidy continues to appear like someone who is likely to be in line for one more push, as I’ve mentioned. Even in a loss, he took it to Wardlow, who has looked unstoppable for thus long.
- Cora Jade: In her first heel promo after turning her back on her best buddy, Roxanne Perez, she looked comfortable and delivered a very good promo. It even made sense, as she played up the indisputable fact that Perez was seemingly more focused on winning the NXT Women’s Title than she was on defending the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles with Jade. Color me intrigued.
- People Who Enjoy Watching The Elderly Bleed: For those who’re someone who enjoys that sort of thing, you sure did enjoy watching Ric Flair get beaten to a bloody pulp by Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal to establish Flair’s last match on the cleverly titled show, Ric Flair’s Last Match, at Starrcast V on July thirty first. Jarrett and Lethal will team as much as tackle Flair and his latest son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, within the match. Hooray? I assume?
This Week’s Playlist: “Stay With Me” by Calvin Harris, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams & Halsey… “Zipcodes” by Joey Bada$$… “Terrible 2’s” by DJ Premier & Run The Jewels… “The Root Of All” by DJ Premier, Slick Rick & Lil Wayne… “Beethoven fifth” by Apocalyptica… “Within the Eye of the Storm” by Arch Enemy… “Dreams of Nowhere” by Soilwork… “Soul Revolution” by Fire From The Gods… “Ded to Me” by Vended… “Impact” by Lloyd Banks… “No Reward” by Lloyd Banks… “Menace” by Lloyd Banks & Conway The Machine… “Living Proof” by Lloyd Banks & Benny The Butcher… “Fell In Love” by Lloyd Banks… “Traffic” by Lloyd Banks, Dave East & Vado… “To Make You Feel My Love” by Jon Peter Lewis… “Ride” by SoMo… “Everlong” by Foo Fighters… “Would?” by Alice In Chains… “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus… “Save Tonight” by Eagle-Eye Cherry… “Buddy Holly” by Weezer… “Undone – The Sweater Song” by Weezer… “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer… “Holiday” by Weezer… “Here’s to the Night” by Eve 6… “Often” by The Weeknd… “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)” by Billy Ocean… “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler… “Prelude 12/21” by AFI
