 What's good, Joshua boros back again with another video. So we're going to check out self made wrestlers that got themselves over by wrestle with Andy. It is always a beautiful sight to see when a wrestler is able to go against Vince McMahon and his ideas of who should be at the top and creative and everyone else in the back that, you know, doesn't see this particular talent as a star when they're able to get over organically by themselves without WWE actually actively trying to push them. It's beautiful because then the fans get the voice what they want to see who they want to see at the top. And it's just a it's a good feel story to see when a wrestler that you know they don't have any plans for they finally somehow get over somehow they are able to rise above Vince McMahon's bad booking and in the WWE creatives bad ideas. They still find a way to get over to the point where WWE has to acknowledge them Vince at some point has to be like, all right, let's do something with this guy because the people are eating it up. It's always a good time. So we're going to check out some of these instances where wrestlers were able to just get themselves organically over. Appreciate all love and support, man. Let's get right into this one, bro. Usually when a wrestler gets pushed to the top of the card, it's because management has specifically chosen them for the role as can be seen with performers such as John Cena or Roman Reigns. Sometimes though, a wrestler will get themselves over with crowds and earn themselves a main event position through sheer force of will. But who are the biggest examples of wrestlers getting themselves over with fans? Well, that's exactly what we're going to be looking at today. And where better to start than with perhaps the most historically significant one of all the gold and that's Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yeah. Yes. Well, he might be remembered as the biggest baby face the industry has ever seen at this point back in the mid 90s. Steve Austin was supposed to be the ultimate villain. Someone who would jump you from behind spit in your face, then give you the finger as he was leaving. Yeah. The only problem with this though was pretty quickly after he debuted in WWF in 1996, fans realized that Austin's antics were just about the coolest thing going and so because of that then a few I'm sorry, I don't I don't know if y'all just saw what I just did. I don't I just took a drink from the bottle to put the cap back on and then try to drink from it again. I don't know what's happening. I don't know what I'm sorry. I'm gonna put the bottle down and I'm so sorry. I know someone's going to mention it. I what the fuck was that? Merry Christmas, y'all. Pockets of fans here and there began cheering him and over time those pockets grew to the point. It felt like a majority of people in any given crowd were supporting the rattlesnake. Of course. It didn't matter how he was. He'd still be beloved anyway. Yeah. Hell, when he cheated to win the Royal Rumble in January of 1997, he was given a hero's response. Yeah. And so at this point, WWF were forced to listen to the growing movement and turn him baby face at WrestleMania 13. Of course, you all know what happened after that. Stone Cold became arguably the biggest star the wrestling industry has ever seen and was probably the person most responsible for rescuing WWF from the brink of bankruptcy. Would this have happened if he hadn't gotten over with fans in such a natural way? It's highly unlikely as part of the appeal of Austin was always that he was a man of the people. And so the fact he was the people's choice and not the companies only added to his aura. But Steve Austin isn't the only person who's gotten himself over with fans over the years. No, there are plenty of other examples of this, too, such as our next subject, the man whose chance of yes, took over WWE and it's so good. He he started off with Stone Cold and he backdoor with Daniel Bryan. I will always stand by this. That yes movement reminded me something from the Stone Cold era of how over this guy was everywhere. Every city they went to yes, chance was over. And it wasn't supposed to be like this. This was not part of Vince McMahon and Management's playing. They did not think he was going to get this over and he did and that's what makes his story so great, man. 2013 and 2014, it's time to talk about Bryan Danielson. That's right. The yes movement was probably the biggest incidence of audience rebellion in modern wrestling history. Yep. Sure. Bryan Danielson had always been beloved by fans as far back as his days in Ring of Honor, where he was widely considered to be the best in the world. But once he got to WWE in 2009 and those same fans saw the way he was treated by Vince McMahon, things reached a whole new level altogether. Yeah. Not immediately, of course. No, it took a while for things to build up to critical levels as WWE fans that had never seen the American Dragon over on the Indies got a chance to become familiar with his work. And once they did and were added to the pile of increasingly frustrated viewers, then things were allowed to reach a boiling point when at WrestleMania 28 on April 1st, 2012, Danielson was beaten by Sheamus in just 18 seconds. Yep. That's right. In what was taken at the time as a huge burial of a generational talent, the Washington native ate a pin and lost his World Heavyweight title before his opponent could even break a sweat. So angry over this, fans took to drawing out the shows with yes chance to an increasingly loud level over the next two years, with things eventually reaching a point that it was disrupting WWE's ability to put on a show. Yeah. Not that anyone should feel bad for WWE here, though. No, all they had to do to stop this was push Daniel Bryan to the moon. That's it. But with this being late period Vince McMahon, we're talking about, he buried his head in the sand and fought such a decision for as long as humanly possible. Like I said at the beginning of the video, it's always great when they have no other choice but to listen. It had gotten to that point where if he wasn't in the main event of WrestleMania at WrestleMania 30 that year, it didn't matter who was out there. The only people that was going to work was either Stone Cold or The Rock and they were there at the show at the beginning of the show, but they would have to be in that main event for people to not shit on it. No one wanted to see Randy Orton versus Batista. No one. And we love these guys, but we knew it was only him. He was the chosen one. Vince in management had no other choice, bro, but to listen. I mean, I'll take it back. They didn't have to listen, but they didn't want the product to get shit on like that. So it was good that they actually just finally listened to the end, though. Even he had to give in to the power of the Yes movement. And so that was why at WrestleMania 30 in one of the most cathartic moments ever seen inside of a wrestling ring, Brian was booked to overcome Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton all in the same night to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Really, if we're talking about iconic moments of the PG era, this has to rank up there with the best of them facts. In fact, the only one you could argue was even better came a few years earlier. Yeah, involved our next subject, which is crazy because, you know, without him walking out, we probably we may not even get that match. It was really a him leaving right before WrestleMania kind of set things in motion. Him walking out actually helped in a sense to get the match that we wanted. So be talking about here like CM Punk, of course. Now, like with Brian Danielson, CM Punk had long been a hero of hardcore wrestling fans back in the early 2000s with his run in Ring of Honor solidifying him as one of the top prospects out there on the Indies. But once he joined WWE in 2005, the fact that he didn't have the height or bodybuilder physique, WWE were looking for in a superstar at the time, quickly threatened to hold him back in the company. That said, even if WWE were far from all in on the Second City Saint during those early years, fans certainly were, as they saw him for what he was, a great wrestler who was also one of the best Mike workers of his generation. And so it was then that live crowds increasingly got behind Punk and Drow then throughout the rest of the decade with him at one point, even getting audibly cheered over the likes of D-Generation X in the number 2006 and Survivor Series. And all this would lead to things reaching their peak when on the June 27th, 2011 episode of Raw, he cut a workshoot promo, which has since become legendary for breathing new life into a stale WWE product and rocketing him towards the main event scene further after. Yes, if there were people who weren't all in on Punk before, after his pipe bomb was over, they certainly were. And this directly led to him gaining a 434 day reign with the WWE title and the endless love of a fan base who continued to follow him wherever he went. Hell, this could be seen live and in living color during his debut with All Elite Wrestling in 2021 and then again during his return to WWE at 2023's Survivor Series. But Punk's not the only person who's been so crazy with crowds over the past couple of years because also in WWE, Sami Zayn would create a groundswell of support for himself during his part in the Bloodline story. We love you, Sami, man. That's right. For as loved as the entire Bloodline angle as been, it was arguably at his very best when Sami Zayn was involved in it. There's no denying once Sami Zayn really got intercooled into the Bloodline stuff, it brought new life because it started to get stale. But Sami Zayn being this groupie for the longest time. At first, I just thought it was hokey and it wasn't even supposed to last that long, but then it started. You started being like endeared to Sammy's plate. Like you actually wanted him to be a part of the Bloodline. Like, you know what? These guys are some heels, but you know what? We want Sami to be a part of the Bloodline. We're here for it. It was working. We cared more about Sami being with these guys that we all know are heels, but we wanted him to fit in and be a part of something and he was doing everything he could. We empathize with him. It was so good. So damn good. Because we knew at some point he's going to want to leave. He's going to want. He's going to realize they don't care about him. And this is fantastic, bro. But how did he get to such a level of popularity? Well, while he had always been over with hardcore fans, whether it be during his days on the Indies or as part of the NXT roster, his time on the main roster was a different situation, at least initially. Not because he wasn't just as good there as he had been elsewhere, of course. No, Sami was great wherever he was. But once on Raw and SmackDown, it felt very much like his booking wasn't doing him any favors. Nope, it wasn't. That said, once Triple H took over as head of creative in 2022 and started allowing Zayn to interact with Roman Reigns on screen, something magic was created and things reached the next level. Yes, this was the era of Sami Uso, the Quebec native's eternally lovable attempts to become a fully fledged member of the Bloodline. And so good was causing Roman and everybody in these segments to break. That's how good he was, bro. That Oossi Chan. It's not very Oossi of you. He's not being very Oossi, right? Legendary segment, bro. But would he be in this role? It lifted the company itself to levels of popularity it hadn't seen in decades with his eventual turn on the Chief in January 28th, 2023's Royal Rumble. Being one of the most heated moments in recent memory. So good. In fact, arguably the only moment which felt bigger than that came one month later when in front of a rabid Montreal audience, the French-Canadian returned home to challenge Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal title. And sure, the fact that he lost this one did put somewhat of a damper on the night before it was over. That didn't change the fact that for a period in late 2022 and early 2023, Sami Zayn was the most over-person in the entire wrestling industry. Yeah, he was the top baby face in all of wrestling. At one point, Sami Zayn was the top baby face in a heel faction. And once he left, he became even more of a top baby face. There were people really campaigning to see this guy dethrone Roman Reigns. Dead Ash over Cody. Dead Ash. People wanted it. I wouldn't have even tripped. I knew it wasn't going to be him. I knew that the match they were going to set up obviously was going to be Cody and Roman. But people wanted it that much, bro. That's heat. And he's still at the top of the card and one of the top baby faces in WWE. By a country mile. Yes, it was a sign that WWE could still make stars like they had back in the old days. But then it wasn't like they never made stars during the latter days of Vince McMahon to be fair, because just a few years prior to this, Becky Lynch successfully turned herself into the modern day megastar with her meteoric rise in popularity with fans. That's right, while 2022 heading into 2023 may have been the time of Sami Zayn, 2018 heading into 2019 was most certainly the time of the man. And that's because despite always being popular with fans, her levels of overness reached another level entirely when at the former year's Summer Slam after weeks and months of slowly building herself up towards a number one contendership spot for the SmackDown women's title, she was seemingly thrown aside so that Charlotte Flair could win the belt instead. Yup. Needless to say, this caused Becky to snap and turn on her fellow horsewoman, a woman that was initially supposed to see her become a heel. Yes. And so fans were having none of this as they quickly- It didn't work. Once she showed that aggressiveness, I was like, yes. And they tried to turn heel, fans didn't care. Nope, we like this version of Becky. You don't have to always turn someone heel, give them some aggressiveness, give them some frustration. We can buy into that. And it worked so good. Saw her for the wronged hero she truly was. But to WWE's credit, they did quickly recognize this- Yeah, they did. And changed course with the Irish woman accordingly so that instead of being portrayed as a heel now, she was being portrayed as an anti-hero. And you all know what happened next after an errant punch from Walking Danger Zone, Nia Jackson to Ricochet into the Wrestle- And they caught her Walking Danger Zone. That was funny. She is kind of a Walking Danger Zone, for sure. Mania main event, Becky Lynch became the first woman to ever win in a women's version of such a bout. Hell, she wouldn't just win this one. She'd become the first person to pin Ronda Rousey and in the process would become the undisputed WWE women's champion. Clearly then, this is an accolade she'll always be able to hang her hat on. For sure. This is the fact that for a while at least, she was the bona fide face of the company. Yes, she was. And none of it would have happened had it not been for fans taking to her in such a big way back in the summer of 2018. But this period didn't just see Becky rise in prominence. No, WrestleMania 35 also saw another person get over in such a way that they hit a career high right in time for the showcase of the Immortals. So far. That said, the story of this one doesn't begin at Summerslam 2018. Rather, it began in early 2019 when Kofi Kingston found himself getting a last minute spot in the elimination chamber match for the WWE title. Why was he subbed in so late? Well, the original entrant, Mustafa Ali, got injured at the last minute and so a replacement was needed at the 11th hour. And luckily for WWE, Kofi Kingston was more than willing to pick up the ball at this point. Of course, he didn't just pick up the ball though. No, he ran with it all the way into the end zone as over the course of that bout, he put on such a star-making performance that fans began getting behind him to such a large degree. The phenomenon would soon be given the name Kofi Mania. Oh, this is so fun to see. And Kofi Mania didn't end what's elimination chamber was over either. As now, with a bigger wave of momentum behind him than ever, Kingston began setting his sights on challenging Daniel Bryan for the WWE title at WrestleMania just two months later. Sure, he and his new day stablemates would have to jump through some hoops in order to get to this goal, but with audiences going crazy for them every step of the way, they were motivated that much more. And as a result, once it came time for the granddaddy of them all on April 7th, Kofi would not only get his shot at the American dragon, but he beat him to win the gold. Bro, I'm not gonna lie to you. I gotta give Vince credit here, even though I'm gonna have to take the credit towards the end, but he gave, they actually pulled the trigger here. They pulled the trigger. They called an audible and they was like, you know what, we're gonna go with this. And they actually went with it. Literally, everybody was behind Kofi. We wanted to see it and we got it. And it was such a beautiful moment. They actually pulled the trigger. So I'll give him credit for that. But then they shit the bed on how he lost it. And his title reign wasn't that memorable, but they definitely shit the bed on how he lost it, bro. He should have never lost it like that. That was sucks. But I can't say we were least able to see him have that moment that he always deserved. It was a scene so emotional, so satisfying for longtime fans. It has to rank up there with the likes of Mick Foley, Eddie Guerrero, and even Daniel Bryan himself's big wins. After all, this was just as much fans getting their moment as it was Kofi getting his. And because it was such a shared experience, it felt all the more powerful as a result. Really, you could argue that as Sami Zayn never reached the mountaintop, nothing since has ever been able to match this one. Could someone get to that point again one day? Maybe. Hopefully it's Sami. Hopefully he can get to that point one day. And who knows, maybe it'll even be our next subject as he's already gotten himself over with fans in a major way. Yes, sir. Who are we talking about this time? Who else but L, A, Knight? Yeah. Sure, he may have already gotten a shot at Roman Reigns himself recently and come up short, but that doesn't mean everyone's favorite current cult WWE hit won't get another opportunity again before all is said and done. For sure. After all, in the space of just two years, he's gone from the bottom of the barrel as Max Dupree, the manager of the awesome, but going nowhere except the undercard maximum male models, all the way to the top of the card as L, A, Knight. Why has he gotten so popular so quickly? Maybe it's the nostalgic itchy scratches as he's pretty much what would happen if you mix the characters of Steve Austin and The Rock and place them in modern day WWE. That's literally what it is. And then there's no slight to him. Not even gonna slight him. I know some people try to make that as a slight, oh, he's just a rock and stone cold ripoff. Stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it. L, A, Knight is still himself, but he brings that old school nostalgia promo delivery that people love. And it's working. Simple as that. He gives that old school style, that nostalgia attitude era style that works. Cause if everyone can do it, everyone would do it. And let's not sit up here and act like wrestlers don't take from yesteryear, don't take from wrestlers from the past. It's a revolving door. Stop it. Or maybe it's the fact that he's been so undervalued for so long once audiences realized how good he was, they wanted to make up for lost time. Either way, the fact remains that as it stands as of the time of this video's recording, L, A, Knight is one of the top babyfaces in all of WWE. And when you consider the fact, this is a roster which includes Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Main Event Jey Uso and CM Punk, that's saying a lot. And on top of this, he's become one of the top merchandise sellers in all of WWE, further proving his true star power and potential to be a real top guy in the company. Yes, L, A, Knight truly has everything it takes to be a main eventer in WWE and has earned it over his 20 plus year career. That's right, Knight looks poised to reach the next level any day now. With the current speculation being he'll be the one to end everyone's misery and take the United States title off of Logan Paul at WrestleMania 3. And after that, who knows. Maybe he'll get that second shot at the world title and win it this time. Anything's possible. Hell, if you need any evidence of this statement being true, just look at how quickly the fortunes of our next subject, Damien Mizdow, changed when he started getting over with fans in 2014. Is this true? And what makes this one even more impressive is it wasn't as if Damien Sandow had a reputation for being an overwhelming favorite of hardcore fans prior to that. Nope. No, well, he was recognized as being a good performer. He never had the level of support someone like Bryan Danielson or Sami Zayn did. But this would change in the summer of 2014. As at this point, he'd begin playing the role of the Miz's stunt double and in doing so, he'd become arguably the most entertaining part of all of WWE. Bro, it was literally a bullshit as character. They just gave this guy, hey, you're gonna basically be a stunt double for the Miz. Obviously, they don't expect it to go anywhere than what it is. And he got so over because he made the best of a horrible gimmick. He made it. He became more popular than the guy that he was supposed to be a stunt double for. It's crazy. We for a while. Seriously, in the space of just a few months, Mizdow's comedic mimicking of every action Mike Mazzannon made got so popular with live audiences, it turned him into an absolute superstar in record time. So over did it get in fact, after a while, he was clearly overshadowing the man who was in kayfabe supposed to be his employer. Obviously then this upset the Miz and led to him taking every opportunity he could to put his opponent down over the months that followed with this only serving to get fans behind the underdog even more as they wanted to see him finally step out from under the former WWE Champion's shadow. And that all led to things climaxing on the pre-show of WrestleMania 31 as it was here that during the Andrei, the giant Memorial Battle Royal, the Massachusetts native did what everyone was hoping he would when he eliminated the Miz and in the process turned baby face at last. Would this lead to a big time run on top for Sandow? Not exactly, because soon after, he'd be right back where he started in the undercard. But that shouldn't take away from the fact that he got so over for a short period of time. And it's not like he's the only person who became a major hit with fans who never got to the levels he should have. After all, Rusev was also hugely beloved by fans during the late 2010s when he developed the gimmick of Rusev Day. What exactly was Rusev Day? Well, it was his way of getting himself over in 2017. Sure, he had been given a push right out of the gate back in 2014 when he won the United States title, but after that point, it felt very much like WWE had lost faith in the Bulgarian despite the fact he was still one of the best performers on the roster. So feeling the need to prove he still had plenty of value then, the man then known as Rusev began a gimmick where every day on the calendar was his day. And while this could have been stupid in the wrong hands, it was brilliant in his words. So it's no surprise that fans quickly got behind this one and started chanting Rusev Day en masse every time he was on screen then. Sadly though, for whatever reason, Vince McMahon just didn't see anything in this one. And on that particular occasion, no amount of fan revolt was going to change his decision to keep Rusev in the mid-card. So little did he see in him despite the fact audiences were massively into this new gimmick everywhere they went, he'd even be released from his contract in 2020 with him then moving over to all-elite wrestling. They dropped the ball. I don't know what Vince was thinking. He ex, I don't know. Don't know why. The sign is there, the money is there. But with it being rumored as the AEW contract is coming up in the next year or so, there's every possibility he'll return to WWE at that point as with Triple H now in control of the main roster of Destiny, something like Rusev Day would be far more well received backstage today. And Rusev isn't the only one who'd likely be better received for his creativity in getting over with fans in modern-day WWE as our next subject, Zack Ryder, would no doubt be treated similarly. After all, this is the man who turned himself into an absolute phenomenon in 2011. And the way he did that was to utilize the internet in a way no other wrestler before him had. Seriously, years before the Young Bucks were making waves with being the elite, the man currently known as Matt Cardona was beating them to the punch by starting his own YouTube series entitled Zee, True Long Island Story. Obviously then, this appealed to a younger demographic than WWE were used to appealing to at the time and led to a whole wave of fan interest for Ryder which hadn't been there before. Hell, so over did he get that during one promo segment with The Rock later that year, fans drowned out the great one with chance of We Want Ryder. Unfortunately for Long Island Ice Zee though, Vince McMahon wouldn't capitalize on this moment. Didn't. Rather, he'd outright bury the performer for daring to get over on his own. Which was so stupid. It's a true shame because as it was never really taken to the level it could have gone to, some fans have since forgotten just how over Zack Ryder truly was back in 2011. But it's not like it's been all bad for him since because the fan-supporting game back then has remained strong enough that even in his post-WWE career he's been able to carve out a nice spot for himself as the King of the Indies, a man now more likely to be found having a chaotic death match with Nick Gage over in GCW than going three minutes with Baron Corbin on an episode of RAW. So good is he in this role currently in fact, if he ever does go back to WWE, he'd have to be placed in a bigger role at this point. As with the support of audiences willing him on, he's proven he can be far more than he ever was allowed to be in the major leagues during his first run there. And that just goes to show you the importance of fans taking to someone organically and getting them over then because if a performer can do this, they'll have a connection with them which will last for the rest of their careers and beyond. Keeping them strong and in work forevermore, no matter where else life takes them. Facts, bro, I don't know why Vince punished him for getting over, bro. He got over by himself and they punished him. Yeah, they gave him a mid-car championship, but then after that, they just started screwing him over. Once they put this thing in a neck brace, John Cena ended up taking his girl at the time and Kane pushed them off the stage so that way John could embrace the hate. He was just a side piece to a John Cena and Kane match, bro. They didn't give a fuck about him, bro. That was a great travesty, bro. I remember him on YouTube getting over and then seeing it happen live on television only for him to get punished for grabbing the brass rings fucking wild to me, but he's doing good for himself. He has made a name for himself. And if he ever does come back to WWE, it'd be very interesting to see how Triple H would utilize him. I think they would utilize him a lot better than what Vince did when he was around. So comment down below. Let me know your favorite self-made wrestler of all time. They weren't listed in this video, or if they were listed in this video, let me know your favorite. But I appreciate all the love and support. Roll to 150K and I'm still young. Speedy YouTube wrestling champion. We appreciate you all kicking in with me. See y'all next one. Peace.