5 WWE Superstars who got over on their own

In WWE, winning the support of the crowd is one of the most important things to do and by no means, it is an easy task to accomplish. What makes this a daunting task is a fact that a wrestler is not often in control of his character. As a wrestler, you have to give your best with whatever you are given to work with.

While there have been cases of superstars failing to win the support of the crowd despite being given ample opportunities, there are a select few who won the fans over with little or nothing to work with. These superstars either garnered attention by the usage of social media or were just simply too good in the ring to be ignored. Here are 5 superstars who won the fans over, all on their own.

---

#5 Damien Sandow

Damien Sandow excelled in every gimmick he had to portray in WWE.

Damien Sandow's career went downhill after failing to cash in on his Money in the Bank briefcase against John Cena. Despite being an exceptionally good on the mic and decent enough skills in the ring, Sandow was never pushed to the main event scene.

He was in fact stuck in the mid-card with one of the most bizarre gimmicks. From impersonating characters like Magneto and Sherlock Holmes to wrestlers like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, Sandow was doing all the things he wasn't supposed to.

Despite being just a comedic figure, the Intellectual Savior of the Masses struck gold as a stunt double of the Miz. As ridiculous as the gimmick sounds, Sandow outshone most of the wrestlers by just mimicking the A-Lister. However, his run as one of the hottest wrestlers on the roster was over after he split up with the Miz.

#4 Cesaro

Cesaro section was one of the most common signs that could be seen in any arena during 2015.

It is still hard to believe how gracefully WWE messed up to push Cesaro considering his immense popularity during 2014-16. Cesaro has always caught everyone's attention due to his continuous strong performances over the years. The turning point of Cesaro's career came at Wrestlemania 30 when he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The very next night on Raw he was paired with Paul Heyman as the next 'Paul Heyman Guy'.

However, the pairing did nothing for the Swiss Cyborg as he was constantly overlooked in Heyman's promos as he continuously praised his client, Brock Lesnar. Cesaro's popularity peaked again in 2015 but with much greater force. Fans started bringing their own signs of Cesaro section to the arena. However, just like the last time, WWE failed to do anything significant with him and the popularity slowly faded away.

#3 Rusev

Rusev Day's merchandise outsold every other merchandise during late 2017.

Rusev's story as one of the biggest self-made star is like a fantasy story. After struggling as mid-carder ever since losing his United States championship to John Cena, Rusev was paired with Aiden English. The odd pairing of English and Rusev, however, turned out to be a once in a lifetime pairing as the duo started a revolution.

What started as just any other normal promo, the concept of Rusev Day quickly got the attention of the fans. The chants for Rusev Day quickly became one of the most commonly heard chants in almost every arena. You can imagine the popularity of Rusev Day when the fans in Ring of Honor chanted for it during one of their shows.

The success of Rusev Day wasn't just limited to arenas and social media. Rusev Day merchandise quickly became as the number 1 selling merchandise for WWE Shop. The massive popularity eventually earned Rusev a shot AJ Styles' WWE Championship at Extreme Rules 2018. However, just like every other entry in this list so far, Rusev failed to win the big one.

#2 Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder proclaimed himself as WWE's Internet Champion.

Zack Ryder certainly stands out amongst every other wrestler on this list. Unlike others, the Ryder Revolution started with his youtube web-series, Z! True Long Island Story. Despite being barely used on the television, Ryder amassed a great fan following on social media.

The popularity of social media was quickly visible in the arenas as well. "We want Ryder" chants were part of almost every show even if Ryder was not scheduled to wrestle at the show. Accepting the immense popularity, WWE finally offered Ryder a United States championship match against the then champion, Dolph Ziggler.

The Long Island Iced Z finally won his first ever singles championship in WWE when he defeated Dolph Ziggler for his United States championship at 2011 TLC PPV. However, his run as a champ could not even last a month as he lost the title to Jack Swagger. The Ryder Revolution came to a halt as Ryder was blamed for the low ratings of the show.

#1 Daniel Bryan

Yes! Movement is arguably the most successful campaign by the fans to help a superstar reach the main event.

Daniel Bryan's Cinderella story is perhaps the only tale on this list with a happy ending. The first shade of Bryan's popularity was observed after Wrestlemania 28 when he lost his World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in mere 18 seconds. The chants for Bryan at Raw post-Wrestlemania were so loud that even the Rock had to acknowledge them.

However, Yes! Momement came into full force in 2013. The American Dragon's popularity won him a WWE championship match against John Cena which he went on to win. While Bryan lost the title on the very same night, the movement was nowhere near its end. After Bryan was removed from the main event scene, it seemed evident that he won't be in the contention as the Wrestlemania season came around. At the 2014 Royal Rumble, Bryan was quickly eliminated which caused a severe backlash, notably against the eventual Royal Rumble winner, Batista.

The backlash was so severe that the Yes! Man was eventually added back in the main event scene. While some could say that CM Punk's abrupt departure played a huge role in Bryan's push, it does not take any credit away from the support the fans showed for Daniel Bryan.