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Fans may not realize it, but they hold immense power in WWE. Their reactions to a match, a segment, or even a particular superstar could change the direction of a storyline. From the Yes! Movement to KofiMania, the WWE Universe has been a vital part of several key moments throughout wrestling history.
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However, with the rise in popularity of social media, WWE fans have been more vocal than ever. They are quick to appreciate or criticize anything at any time. And it goes without saying that the performers take notice of what different people have to say about them.
Numerous times, WWE Superstars have taken offense to fans' critical comments about their big moments, such as a title win. And in light of this offense, wrestlers have, at times, issued responses either to a specific fan, a group, or the WWE Universe in general.
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So, without any further ado, let's list down five instances of WWE Superstars who have hit back at people criticizing their title win.
#5 The New Day (After winning their eleventh WWE Tag Team Championship)
There's no doubt that The New Day have solidified a spot for themselves in a list of the greatest WWE tag teams of all time. But that doesn't exempt them from fan criticism.
On March 15, 2021, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods defeated Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to become the RAW Tag Team Champions.
Before leaving the venue, both Kingston and Woods commented on people critical of the title change. The duo straight-up blamed the opposition for not living up to fans' expectations.
"We told a lot of people what's going to happen. A lot of people are upset. 'Oh! We are tired of seeing the New Day as the champions!' Don't be mad at us. Be mad at Cedric. Be mad at Shelton for not being able to keep the tag team championships. Be mad at all your favorite tag teams for not being able to step up against your boys."
"Be mad at them, don't be mad at us for doing our job. All we do is go out there, we entertain, and we win championships. That's it. Don't be mad at us, be mad at your favorites."
Luckily for the critics, The New Day didn't get to hold the titles for long. They would lose it to AJ Styles and Omos less than a month later at WrestleMania 37.
#4 Braun Strowman (After winning his first WWE Universal Championship)
Back in 2017, the WWE Universe was clamoring for Braun Strowman to become the Universal Champion. This wish was fulfilled two and a half years later at WrestleMania 36. At the Show of Shows, the Monster Among Men defeated Goldberg to capture his first World Championship.
However, Strowman felt that the fans had turned on him by the time he won the big one. He explained it to Bleacher Report’s Graham Matthews:
“I was in the title picture all of last year,” Strowman said. “Sometimes fans are fickle, and it's hard to keep them happy. One minute, they wanted you to be champ. And the next minute, they hate you and don't want you to be champ. I was thinking of something: 'How can I stay relevant and do something to better our show and help our product without being in the title picture?'”
Between Wrestlemania 36 and WWE Wrestlemania Backlash 2021, Strowman has remained an integral part of the SmackDown roster. His feud with Bray Wyatt was among the most talked about storylines of the Performance Center era.
#3 Charlotte Flair (Criticized for her multiple short title reigns in WWE)
In less than seven years, Charlotte Flair has become a 12-time Women's Champion in WWE. But the fact that most of her title runs have been incredibly short has resulted in fan criticism. And the Queen has issued a response to justify her championship reigns.
While speaking to talkSport journalist Alex McCarthy in 2019, Charlotte Flair addressed the aforementioned section of the WWE Universe. She said:
"My Title wins this year have been for bigger picture moments. Unfortunately, people don't see that."
The 2020 Women's Royal Rumble winner touted her beating Asuka before WWE WrestleMania 35 just so that Becky Lynch could win both the RAW & SmackDown Women's Championships on the same night.
Moreover, Charlotte's win over Bayley at WWE Hell in a Cell served as a catalyst for the latter's now-acclaimed heel turn.
In short, the Queen fully believes that each of her title runs (no matter the length) served a purpose.
Charlotte Flair is now just 4 title wins short of tying her father's historic record.
#2 Goldberg (After winning the WWE Universal Championship in 2020)
This one's a bit different because the WWE fan Goldberg wasn't happy with wasn't just somebody. Goldberg's main critic after his 2nd Universal Championship win was Home Alone star, Macaulay Culkin.
After the WCW legend handed The Fiend his first loss at WWE Super ShowDown, he encountered severe backlash from the WWE Universe. Among those was Culkin, who revealed that he bought tickets for WrestleMania 36 but canceled them after what went down at the Saudi Arabia PPV.
Goldberg took offense to the actor's statement and tweeted out the following:
A few months later, Goldberg issued a detailed response to WWE fans booing him. During an interview on the American Monster Productions, he said:
“If I go out and a crowd boos me, I don’t take it personally and feel as if I’m not worthy of doing anything. No offense, guys, there’s a lot of a$$hole fans out there. There’s a different generation of fans now, they want to be that guy who started that chant and that guy who made Goldberg spit at him or do whatever, and I’m not here to give them the time to do that, and the reality is they are paying me to put on a show for them, they’re not paying for them to be part of the show, although people may refute that. Yeah, they’re part of the show because they interact but interacting in a negative, malicious way is very disrespectful.” (h/t 411mania.com)
Even if Culkin hadn't canceled his WrestleMania tickets, he wouldn't have been able to attend owing to the pandemic. Moreover, Goldberg would drop the WWE Universal Championship at the Show of Shows that year.
#1 Roman Reigns (After Turning Heel and Winning the WWE Universal Championship)
One of the best things to happen in WWE in the past few years is the emergence of a heel Roman Reigns. While the five-time World Champion has been the company's top star for nearly seven years now, it wasn't until recently that fans started accepting him as such.
After a lengthy absence of nearly five months, Reigns returned to WWE at SummerSlam 2020 as a heel and laid out The Fiend and Braun Strowman. A week later at WWE Payback, he defeated both of the above-mentioned Superstars to become the Universal Champion.
However, not all WWE fans were happy with The Fiend losing the title so quickly. One fan went as far as calling The Tribal Chief "overrated" and stated that the rapid title changes had impacted the belt's prestige. This comment caught Reigns' attention and he hit back with a fiery response.
Roman Reigns went on to defend the Universal Championship against Edge and Daniel Bryan in his fifth WWE WrestleMania main event.
