#WeWantCody: 4 times the WWE Universe rejected a legend in favor of a younger superstar

Like John Cena always says, the WWE Universe is WWE's greatest superstar. Fan support has always been integral to the success of the company's product, with most superstars' greatness measured primarily on their ability to connect with the audience. On the flip side, the wrong reaction (or none at all) from the fans has buried many a career or forced drastic changes in their direction.

Over the years, the promotion has tended to depend on tried and tested past star power over current stars the office wasn't sure of in times of turbulence. This approach has seen mixed results, with those legends sometimes saving the day with a well-executed nostalgia trip and other times being bombarded with overwhelming instant feedback that often forced the company to change course.

Given the current climate in the company (more on that later), let's look at five instances when WWE fans rejected a legend in favor of a younger star

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#5 & #4: Goldberg defeating The Fiend and Kevin Owens for the Universal Title didn't go down well with the WWE Universe

Goldberg is one of the greatest superstars in the history of the business. The 57-year old was one of the spearheads of WCW's charge in the Attitude Era, helping the company nearly win the Monday Night Wars. He had a brief WWE run in 2003-04 before returning in 2016 with an iconic squash of Brock Lesnar.

Fans were extremely excited to see Da Man have dream matches with the powerhouses of the current era, but the dream quickly turned into a nightmare in no time. His acclaimed feud against The Beast Incarnate involved a detour at Fastlane 2017, where he dethroned Kevin Owens, much to the dismay of the fans.

The audience's outrage clearly didn't register with the company, as history repeated itself two years later when The Icon dethroned the incredibly popular Fiend on The Road to WrestleMania 36. Fans were irate with these decisions, and it can be argued that Goldberg's popularity has never fully recovered to this day.

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#3: Hulk Hogan 'stealing' Bret Hart's main event spot at WrestleMania IX is one of the most infamous moments in WWE history

If you thought fans rejecting the past for the future was a phenomenon that started with the age of social media, think again. As far back as 1993, without all the inside knowledge that is public in this day and age, fans were able to voice their displeasure with a legend taking the spotlight off a rising main event star. The legend in question? None other than Hulk Hogan himself!

Just after Bret Hart had lost the WWE Championship to Yokozuna, The Immortal One inserted himself into the story, presumably to 'defend The Hitman's honor.' Hogan defeated the monster heel in just 22 seconds, making Hart look weak, and inadvertently turning a significant portion of fans away from himself in the process.

The Canadian star would recover to become an all-time great, while The Hulkster would be gone from the company within a year.

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#2: Batista's epic 2014 return was overshadowed by the WWE Universe's vocal support for Daniel Bryan

Batista was one of WWE's leading lights throughout the 2000s, building a Hall of Fame career with Evolution and as a singles star. He left the company in 2010, returning four years later as a bonafide Hollywood star and winning the 2014 Royal Rumble. However, despite pulling off this triumphant win as a babyface, he was heavily booed by the fans.

The reason for this reaction was the fact that fan favorite Daniel Bryan was not involved in the match. So passionate was the fan support for Bryan that even Rey Mysterio was booed when he entered the iconic battle royal at #30. Batista was eventually forced to turn heel due to vocal fan opposition, subsequently putting Bryan over in the main event of WrestleMania XXX to an all-time pop.

A decade later, we could be in for some serious deja vu!

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#1: The Rock's return to face Roman Reigns has met fierce opposition from the WWE Universe in favor of Cody Rhodes

The Rock made his blockbuster return to WWE on the post-Royal Rumble 2024 episode of WWE SmackDown to confront Roman Reigns. The duo had an epic history-making faceoff after nearly a decade of teasing and fantasy booking from the fans, garnering over 80,000,000 views on social media within 48 hours. There was just one problem: it came at the expense of Cody Rhodes 'finishing his story.'

The 'Internet Wrestling Community' was incensed by the timing and execution of the move, given that Rhodes had won his second consecutive Rumble only to 'give away' his spot to The Great One. Despite The Brahma Bull's popularity, fan backlash was massive, with the YouTube clip of the segment on the company's official channel garnering almost 1 million dislikes in 48 hours.

Furthermore, the hashtag #WeWantCody trended on X/Twitter with over 300,000 posts, receiving support from the likes of Ricochet, Logan Paul and Mustafa Ali. The dueling hashtag #WeWantRocky also trended with over 70,000 posts, and The Great One's merchandise was #1 on WWEShop.com.

It remains to be seen how vocal the backlash from live crowds will be, if the company will adjust its direction as a result, or if Rock vs. Reigns will eventually win fans over.

Are you team #WeWantCody or team #WeWantRocky?