Wrestlers you grew to like and vice versa

[PHX]

Who are some wrestlers growing up that you liked but then you got older and didn't like them as much if at all? As well as wrestlers you disliked growing up but grew to like them.

Ultimate Warrior was a guy as a kid I was a fan of but then looked back at as an adult didn't like him as much. Goldberg, Glacier (lol guess cause I was a MK fan and he reminded me of sub zero), Al Snow, The Dude Love persona & Nasty Boys are some others.

As for the other side of it of wrestlers I didn't like as a kid but grew up to like Big Show/Giant is one of them. Didn't grow to like him/tolerate him until his ECW run. Not a wrestler but Jim Cornette is someone I didn't appreciate until I got older. Will add more if I think of any.

 

[Chris]

Bully freakin' Ray, never thought I'd be any kind of fan of his, much less one this big.

As for the other side, definitely Jeff Hardy. He was my favorite wrestler up until just a few years ago, I was a huge mark for the guy, but now I look back and just can't see why I was. Must have been the flipz, I was a mark for the flipz.

 

[PHX]

I would have added Jeff Hardy to mine as I was a huge Hardy Boyz fan and looking back still loved that stuff just don't like him anywhere near as much as I did.

 

[AZUCAR!]

One person that stands out for me is Jeff Jarrett. I started to watch TNA when we had our own Wrestling channel here years ago, and they would always show the weekly TNA shows from Nashville. And for whatever reason (probably because he had the NWA title a lot of the time), I never really liked Jeff Jarrett and that continued on for a few more years, even when they moved to Orlando.

Then I saw him as Double J in the WWF in clips and whatnot, and loved the gimmick. And I grew to love him in WCW later on when he was 'The Chosen One' and when I watched more of WCW from 1999-2000.

 

[John McHenry]

I was a Hardy fan but fortunately I grew out of them before they grew too big for themselves. Rico grew on my not because of his character or anthing but because of an encounter out of the ring.

I've grown to appreciate DB I just felt he was far too overhyped by the IWC when he started (still is sometimes)

I think Ziggler is probably on everyone's list cause he wasn't much in the Spirit Squad or with Kerwin White.

 

[WhatAboutBigBob]

Currently, the biggest one is Ziggler.

I've learned that it wasn't actually him that I disliked though, it was his association with Vickie.

I can't think of one that I liked and grew into not liking though.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

I fucking mark out for Spirit Squad yo! I loved that shit!

Ziggler is one of them. Mark Henry is another, wouldn't call myself a huge fan. But at the time, I was never truly impressed with him since his debut and shit. But when he was finally given the ball with the WHC he really impressed me.

No one that I really grew to dislike.

 

[Chris]

Henry's another one, I didn't care for him at all for the better part of 15 years, thought he was a waste of space, but the dude impressed the hell out of me last year, and this year too, he's had some damn good matches. Thought of a few more as well. Kidd & McGillicutty were two guys I was never really so high on until the last year or so. Started becoming a Kidd fan after his stuff with Yoshi last year, those were some damn good matches, and I became a McGillicutty fan during his feud with Kidd towards the beginning of this year.

Another that I grew to dislike was Batista, loved him 05-07, especially the stuff with Trips and 'Taker, but after that I couldn't have cared less for the guy.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

This will show my age...

Guys I grew to like: Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Haku, & Ted DiBiase Sr. Its not that I was against all heels, its just as a kid these characters never really did anything for me, by the time they were all in WCW I had a much better appreciation for their specific skills. Honorable mention to Triple H, that blue blood character was complete shit.

Guys I grew to hate: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Terry Funk, & Jim Duggan. Each of these guys just kept going for way too long, I just dont like seeing the people remembered so vividly tarnish a great legacy.

 

[Mick Donalds]

Guy I absolutely worshipped but cannot stand the sight of now: Mick "Legacy Tarnishing" Foley. I liked him back when he was Cactus Jack in WCW, and marked like crazy through his initial run as psychotic, deranged Mankind, then even harder through his Mankind face days in the Attitude Era.

Another wrestler I used to get up off the couch and cheer out loud for was Bret Hart. I cringe when I have to watch him shamble on out to RAW, looking like he was just picked up out of an alley and a pan of bacon grease was dumped on those 7 strands of hair left on his scalp. He looks frail and weak, and it's depressing and just embarassing to listen to him talk tough and then watch him duck a kayfabe punch because his health dictates that he can't take one fake punch before he strokes out.

 

[Embrace Thou Maryse]

Dolph Ziggler was someone I didn't care about when he first redubted as Ziggler but the guys proven how good he is since then.

Randy Orton I never liked him until the Undertaker feud (though I cant stand Orton anymore, he's overpushed, undertalented and has no charisma especially as a face).

CM Punk, I wasn't much of a fan when he first debuted in ECW but once he got the opportunity to really work the mic and wrestle I became a fan, though his recent face run and they way he tries to act cool in and out of the ring has turned me off him a bit.

Batista was someone I grew to hate. He was perfect as Evolution's muscle but he was in over his head as a solo Main Eventer, they guy had the look but that's it, no mic skills, bugger all wrestling talent, just a lot of roids.

Ted DiBiase jnr I'd never thought much of him, but watching over some old Ted-Maryse segments on youtube, when he's given the chance he can be very good.

This one might shock a few people but I've come to really dislike Stone Cold Steve Austin. Watching him at the time I was a big fan but looking back, the guy was a douchebag away from the ring. Beat his wife, complained and even noshowed when he wasn't happy with the booking. In the ring his matches were average, the last few years of his promos were him just saying "What" 1000 times, his returns consist of the exact same thing each time:
-heel mocks him
-Austin says What. then hell yeah
-Austin stunners Heel
-Austin pours beer on himself
-Austin stunners Face
-Austin pours more beer on himself

And people complained about the Rock doing the same old thing when every single one of Austins returns since he retired have followed that exact same formula.

 

[TKK]

Thos didn't really come from growing up or anything but, I hated The Miz before he teamed up with Morrison. I became a fan of him from that point. Then again, I'm not really a fan anymore so he went through both cycles for me. I also wasn't fond of MVP when he started but, was won over quickly.
Cody Rhodes will probably be on most people's lists. I remember he cut the original "Dashing" promo I wasn't impessed at all. I always thought he would be Legacy's Marty Janetty. Oh, how wrong I was.

People who I liked and then, stopped liking are both Hardys ( I was a huge mark for Matt Hardy V1), Hulk Hogan, Mr. Anderson and Randy Orton (in 04 & 05 I thought he was awesome).

 

[Gimmick]

I loved The Hardys when I was a kid. When they went solo I was on and off with Jeff Hardy, sometimes I liked him (2007-2008) and other times I didn't like him at all. I was always a fan of Matt Hardy, right up until he started acting like complete idiot and followed in his brothers footsteps. Now, I can't stand either of them.

I was also quite a big fan of Randy Orton, but over the past couple of years I grew to strongly dislike him.

In terms of liking people as I got older, it took my a while to realise how good Edge and Christian were. Didn't like them as a kid because of their heel antics, but gradually became a fan of both of them as the years went on. I don't know how I didn't at least like their comedy segments in 2000...

 

[Heisenberg]

DANIEL BRYAN EASILY.

 

[Pete]

Edge and Dolph Ziggler I grew to like more over time. Never was an Edge mark when I used to watch the product, but then eventually started to like him.

Hogan I grew to like less, mostly because of all the behind-the-scenes shit I learned about him.