Pro wrestling has a history that goes back at least as far as the start of the 20th century. It came into its own with the dawn of television. Wrestlers like Killer Kowalski became popular in the late 1950s. By the 1960s, the popularity of contestants was not even linked to real names. The Destroyer and Dick the Bruiser climbed up the ladder of the highest-ranked wrestlers.
The popularity of the sports grew even larger. Hulk Hogan began to wrestle in 1977 and became one of the most widely known “athletes” in America. The World Wrestling Federation was part of a public company officially called World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The company has revenue of nearly $1 billion.
Contestants are usually divided into good guys and bad guys, which likely makes public spectacles more attractive to viewers. To determine the most hated wrestler ever, 24/7 Tempo ranked all wrestlers to ever win the Most Hated Wrestler of the Year award from Pro Wrestling Illustrated, an international magazine dedicated to professional wrestling, since the award was first given in 1972. Wrestlers were ranked according to a point system based on first place, runner-up, second runner-up and third runner-up awards.
Some of the people on the finalist list are household names for pro wrestling fans and nonfans alike. They have done more than just affect pro wrestling and have transcended into pop culture icons. In wrestling lingo, a “face” is the good guy and a “heel” is a bad guy. Many wrestlers often go through “turns,” switching between the two categories throughout their careers. Some people we considered helped to build the WWE empire and continue to see it prosper. Like any business, it has seen plenty of ups and downs over the years on its way to the top.
The most hated wrestler of all time was Triple H. Here are the details:
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year awards: eight
- First award win: 1999
- Latest award win: 2014
- Daily average Wikipedia page views: 5,604
In determining the most hated wrestler, points related to awards given to a faction were divided among the wrestlers in the faction at the time of the award. In the case of a tie, the wrestler with more first-place award wins was favored. Where a tie persisted, the wrestler with more daily average Wikipedia pageviews between November 12, 2018, and November 11, 2021, was favored.