5 times WWE listened to the fans in 2019

Does WWE Creative listen to their fans?

Although some of the more cynical fans in the WWE Universe will say no to that question, there is actually a lot of proof that shows that the company is listening. Of course, that doesn't mean they listen to every single thing that the fans want, but it is pretty safe to say that a lot of the year's biggest moments wouldn't have happened without their prompting.

With that being said and 2019 almost in the history books, here are five times when WWE actually listened to the fans this year. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to tell us other ways that they listened to the fans.

---

#5 NXT winning at Survivor Series

WWE delivered to the fans and gave NXT a big win at Survivor Series

NXT! NXT! NXT!

While the Black and Gold brand started out as a reality show to find the next big Superstar, it slowly metamorphized into one of the company's most popular entities. Maybe that had to do with the talent from all over the world that WWE was able to bring in, or how different it was from Raw and SmackDown. In any case, it resulted in a dedicated fanbase.

And that dedicated fanbase wasn't going to accept anything less than a win for NXT at the 2019 edition of Survivor Series, which had high stakes. In fact, between SmackDown just moving to Fox Sports and NXT finally getting put on USA Network, many wondered which brand will come out on top.

Shockingly enough, WWE chose to have NXT win at Survivor Series and that too, in dominating fashion. They topped it off by giving Shayna Baszler a win over Bayley and Becky Lynch. If nothing else, WWE knew there was only one outcome fans would accept at the fall classic and they seemed more than happy to oblige.

#4 Becky Lynch versus Ronda Rousey

The WWE Universe outright demanded Ronda Rousey versus Becky Lynch.

Becky Lynch versus Ronda Rousey. Who wins?

That was the question fans asked in the build-up to the 2018 edition of Survivor Series, but a last-second concussion injury sidelined Becky Lynch and halted the dream match. Of course, the WWE Universe was absolutely furious over the decision to cancel the match and some were even wondering if the two would ever cross paths.

Now that might seem a little pessimistic, especially given how highly touted the dream match was, but one has to remember that WWE saw Lynch as an afterthought at the time. In fact, WWE even tried to turn her heel at that year's SummerSlam to get fans to turn against her, but that never happened.

Interestingly enough, the botched heel turn seemed to get the WWE Universe more behind her than ever and eventually helped her come into 'The Man' character. The final straw, however, was when Nia Jax hit her with an errant punch to the face during the invasion angle, which sidelined Lynch with a concussion and seemingly ruined the dream match.

With that being said, the backlash from fans seemed to show WWE how special of a dream match they had on their hands and propelled them to finally make it happen. They match was the main event WrestleMania 35, which was the first all women's main event in the pay-per-view's history.

Needless to say, WWE wouldn't have had their WrestleMania main event if they didn't listen to the fans!

#3 Kofimania

the fans were behind Kofi Kingston every step of the way!

It's no secret that Kofi Kingston never really got the opportunities he deserved throughout his WWE career. But all that seemed to change in 2019. In fact, Kofi Kingston went from just a member of The New Day to one of the biggest rising Superstars of the year and the company capped it all off with him winning the WWE Title from Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.

Think about it this way. Ten years ago, this kind of storyline wouldn't have been possible and they would have never considered Kingston to be a top talent. Now that doesn't mean he wasn't a great athlete and an excellent performer, but his shoddy microphone skills and his overall look kept him out of the main title picture.

All that changed however a few years later when Kingston joined forces with Big E Langston and Xavier Woods to form The New Day. While the group was originally pegged as a family-friendly jobber gimmick, the three Superstars quickly used their outrageous antics, great work on the microphone, and the power of positivity to win fans over.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for the fans staying behind him, but it was the company that finally capitalized on that momentum. In the end, the result was a polarizing vortex of positivity that captivated the WWE, gave a Superstar the nod he deserved years ago, and served as the ultimate underdog story.

#2 Turning Seth Rollins heel

Fans wanted Seth Rollins to turn heel and that's exactly what WWE did.

Seth Rollins had a hell of a year in 2019 and a lot of that had to do with his surprise victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35. Not only did the match launch Rollins back to the top of WWE's mountain, but it also birthed his run as The Beastslayer, which was fun to watch.

And then WWE went a step further by making him by a fighting champion and having him compete weekly. This helped a lot in keeping the Universal Title relevant at each pay-per-view and allowed Rollins to accumulate a considerable victim count during his title reign.

WWE even had Rollins face Lesnar a second time for the Universal Champion, which only seemed to cement his legacy as The Beastslayer after he won again. With that being said, this also marked the beginning of the end for Rollins's run on top, as it was the first time that fans had started to turn on him.

Maybe that had to do with how dominantly he was booked throughout his title reign, or it could just be how many Superstars he held back in the process, but the result was still resentment. Unfortunately for Rollins, all that resentment was evident at Hell in a Cell when he retained The Universal Title against The Fiend after the referee was forced to stop the match

If nothing else, this angered the WWE Universe more than anything else could and they let the company know about it. In fact, that singular moment, along with the backlash that it caused, could be single-handedly responsible for WWE finally turning Rollins heel at the tail end of the year.

#1 Putting the Universal Title on The Fiend

It didn't take long for WWE to put the Universal title on The Fiend.

WWE introduced fans to The Fiend in 2019 and while the character has absolutely set the world on fire since then, it didn't start out all that great. Now that's not to say that the vignettes weren't cool to watch or that his surprise attacks weren't scary to witness, but his Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins almost killed all that momentum.

Of course, a lot of that had to do with how badly the WWE Universe wanted The Fiend to win the Universal Title and the fact that they ended the match by referee stoppage, but it was clear that the fans weren't happy. Interestingly enough, WWE quickly reworked on their decision and had The Fiend win the belt the very next month.

Maybe it was because of the backlash from the fans, or maybe it was WWE's plan all along, but the company finally put the belt on The Fiend was a firm sign that the company was indeed listening. It also showed that WWE was willing to do whatever is needed to make sure that fans are happy.