WWE and WCW each created some of the most important factions in wrestling history. Fans loved the idea of wrestlers merging to create groups with a common bond. Each stable will have its own level of hierarchy in terms of how fans view them. The biggest groups typically had a wrestler to receive more hate than the others in the faction.
There were different booking styles from WWE and WCW when it came to the presentation of the wrestlers. WCW liked to put their factions above any one performer while WWE seemed to like the branding of one Superstar with others working around the leader. Without further ado, let's find out which wrestlers were the most hated from the noteworthy factions in WCW and WWE respectively.
10 WCW: Hulk Hogan (New World Order)
The rise of the New World Order would not have found the same success if Hulk Hogan wasn’t the leader. Hogan was the biggest name in wrestling even though fans started to rebel against his face character.
The heat for the nWo peaked with Hogan’s promos and matches causing fans to throw garbage in the ring. Hogan wasn’t afraid to be hated as he went all-in with the villain role after thriving as an all-time great face for WWE before the turn.
9 WWE: Steve Austin (The Alliance)
The booking of the Invasion angle saw the company dropping the ball in the bigger picture. Fans wanted to see WCW and ECW wrestlers in the war against WWE. However, it was mostly WWE stars turning heel to join WCW and ECW’s group known as The Alliance.
Steve Austin was the biggest name to jump ship when feeling disrespected by Vince McMahon. The heelwork of Austin made him hated in his feuds against Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and The Rock.
8 WCW: J.J. Dillon (Four Horsemen)
The Four Horsemen had a few different incarnations, but the best featured J.J. Dillon as a manager. Dillon had the mic skills and presence to become a hated part of the act. Managers need to both stand out without overshadowing their wrestlers and Dillon did that.
Many would argue Ric Flair or Arn Anderson were the most hated, but they sometimes received cheers as heels for their great in-ring work. Dillon playing a cowardly heel provided the kind of entertainment that gave them heat.
7 WWE: Owen Hart (The Hart Foundation)
WWE turning Bret Hart heel allowed him to work together in a faction with his brother Owen Hart along with other relatives and family friends. The Hart Foundation became the most-hated faction in 1997 to take over the WWE landscape.
Bret received hate, but he was a face for so long that fans on the East Coast sometimes rooted for him. Owen was the most consistent at getting heat since he was among the most hated characters for many years and added more to it in The Hart Foundation.
6 WCW: Lance Storm (Team Canada)
The heelwork of Lance Storm was a rare positive towards the end of WCW. Storm came over from ECW and received more microphone time when leading the Team Canada faction. Vince Russo found inspiration from The Hart Foundation in WWE with Storm's promos running down the United States.
Members like Jim Duggan, Mike Awesome, and Elix Skipper all jumped ship to unite with Storm. The promos and matches featured Storm always taking the easy way out and getting heat as a final top heel character.
5 WWE: Ron Simmons (Nation Of Domination)
WWE designed the Nation of Domination to be a heel act despite having some valid points when talking about race issues in pro wrestling. Ron Simmons was the reason they got heat since he knew how to push the buttons of the audience in an effective heel manner.
The Rock joining the group to eventually pass him as a leader led to fans falling in love with his charisma. Simmons was a more traditional heel who wasn’t afraid of getting heat or crossing lines if it led to more success in the faction.
4 WCW: Vince Russo (New Blood)
The final year of WCW featured Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff being forced to work together. Their big idea was the rebranding of WCW by vacating all titles with their heel characters also joining forces to start the New Blood Era.
Russo became a more hated character than Bischoff for both scripted and real reasons. WCW fans respected Bischoff for his entertainment value in the New World Order and backstage success. Russo was genuinely hated by fans more than any other wrestler or personnel in The New Blood.
3 WWE: Vince McMahon (The Corporation)
Vince McMahon becoming an authority figure made him the top rival to Steve Austin. The fan base loved Austin and already had issues with McMahon due to his prior controversy with The Montreal Screwjob.
A big step in Vince’s character getting more heat was forming The Corporation faction. Members like Triple H, The Rock, and Kane couldn’t get more hate than McMahon at the time. Vince used his heat to introduce Shane as another hated McMahon in the faction.
2 WCW: Paul Heyman (The Dangerous Alliance)
The magic of Paul Heyman is usually referencing his ECW time running the show or his WWE time managing Brock Lesnar and now Roman Reigns. However, it was WCW to have Heyman first showcase his brilliance in wrestling.
The Dangerous Alliance was the faction led by Heyman featuring top-tier names in wrestling history like Steve Austin, Rick Rude, and Arn Anderson. Heyman managed to help them all as his heel character was what made WCW fans despite the wrestlers in the faction.
1 WWE: Triple H (Evolution)
WWE did a tremendous job coming up with the unique concept of Evolution to feature the past, present, and future of wrestling. Triple H was the glue to keep it all together as a heel act since fans loved Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista at different points.
Even though fans appreciated Evolution, Triple H stayed true to his heel ways to keep the heat going. Batista and Orton eventually turning face worked when Triple H was the heel using his heat to add to the new stars’ face momentum.