3 hostile fan reactions that forced WWE to change their plans
This past week, WWE has seen fans whip themselves into a frenzy after The Rock seemingly replaced Cody Rhodes as Roman Reigns' opponent for the main event of WrestleMania 40 in April.
While The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is certainly a match that fans have wanted to see for quite some time, many are not happy given that The Great One, who is now part of WWE's parent company TKO's board, has seemingly taken away Rhodes' spot.
However, given the vitriolic response from the wrestling fanbase since The Rock came back on SmackDown last week, WWE has yet to confirm if Rocky has indeed replaced Cody for 'Mania, as the fans are desperate to see The American Nightmare finish the story.
In this listicle, we are going to take a look at three times WWE fans changed the creative plans of a feud due to their hostile response to the company's original idea.
#3. Kofi-Mania runs wild in WWE
In early 2019, Kofi Kingston was inserted into the WWE Title Elimination Chamber match after Mustafa Ali picked up an unfortunate injury.
What followed was an organic well of support that the company had not seen for many years, as fans willed the New Day member to become World Champion for the first time in his career.
While the fans wanted to see Kofi finally reach the top of the card, company higher-ups did not feel the same way, with many expecting Kingston not to be given his title match at WrestleMania.
However, after weeks of jumping over fence after fence, fans' wishes came true as Kofi was set to face Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 for the WWE Title.
Speaking to Bleacher Report, Kofi Kingston looked back on winning the world title as well as how the build to the match was completely organically built thanks to the fans.
"I don’t think that anything will ever have the same level of energy as that first championship title run that I had Just the whole story going into it was something really special, really unique. Daniel Bryan, the perfect opponent, being in the same shoes a year or two earlier. You really couldn’t have written it any better than it happened, and the fact is that it was organic. The unfortunate thing is that it came at Ali’s expense because he ended up getting injured and if he doesn’t get injured, I’m not even in that spot at all. I’m still thankful that it all happened the way it did because, again, it was organic."
#2. The Man comes around
Another superstar who had a career-defining night at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 was Becky Lynch. After years of being the bridesmaid to top stars like Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, the Irishwoman finally became the star she was born to be.
However, while the fans were ready to cheer for her, company higher-ups saw her in a different light. At SummerSlam 2018, after failing to win the SmackDown Women's Title, Lynch attacked the then-champion Charlotte after the match, with WWE management looking to turn her heel.
Although the fans had different ideas, they instantly began to cheer for Becky Lynch while she was beating down The Queen, with many feeling that Flair had received far too many title shots already. Her popularity rose in the coming months and peaked during the 2019 Road to WrestleMania as she returned from a injury that she suffered at the hands of Nia Jax.
Speaking to WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on his Broken Skull Sessions podcast, Lynch said that the fans' reaction to her attacking Flair enabled her to become an anti-hero similar to Austin himself during the Attitude Era.
"The company thought that she was going to be the babyface in this and by me turning on my friend over a championship, that I would be the bad guy but of course, anybody who knew was like, 'Well, you’re going to be a badass who just doesn’t care anymore, and you’re going to come and kick the crap out of people, you’re going to be like Stone Cold' – for lack of a better term – is what people thought."
#1. The Yes Movement takes over WWE
In 2014, WWE appeared to have tunnel vision in regards to who they wanted to see in the main event of WrestleMania 30, with the Royal Rumble winner Batista and the World Champion Randy Orton facing off in the show's finale.
However, during this time, Daniel Bryan began to ride a wave of popularity that had not been seen in World Wrestling Entertainment since arguably the Attitude Era.
The Yes Movement was born, with fans demanding that Bryan become part of the world title picture at WrestleMania 30. The fans would end up getting their wish as Daniel ended up defeating Triple H in the show's opener and then defeated Orton and Batista in the main event to become champion.
Despite finishing the show at the top of the card, Bryan revealed many years later in an interview with Uproxx that the company still did not see him as a potential face of WWE.
"I literally just main evented WrestleMania, and you’re already telling me directly — and I actually appreciated that — that you don’t see me as the guy," he continues. "That’s good for me because [I knew] this is what I have to overcome if I want to be that. I never got there in WWE as far as being the company’s guy."
While the company did not see star potential in Bryan before or after 'Mania, the fans certainly did, with his victory in New Orleans becoming one of the greatest moments in WWE history.