Man, you're bringing back some old school memories!
For me, my "loved to hate" list was:
Nikolai Volkoff - OK, OK, he's a Yugoslavian, but he portrayed the part of the evil Soviet with good conviction, even claiming that he will donate his salary to the USSR, so they can make more missiles. In reality, he was one of the most fervent anti-Communist people you could ever find, and these days, is a US Citizen.
I loved the crowd reactions when he'd sing the Soviet National Anthem before each match during the Cold War era. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more angry crowd.
I met him at one of the independent wrestling shows around here. After the show, he even stuck around to sign autographs, and chat for a while. Really nice guy.
Sergeant Slaughter - Yes, he was a good guy for virtually all of his career, but for those few months that he allied himself with Colonel Mustafa (the Shiek) and started denouncing the USA during the 90's, there were people making legitimate death threats against him.
Hulk Hogan - Not really for the wrestling, or the acting, but simply for the shock value. Let's face it; his wrestling abilities were limited, but when he turned heel and joined the nWo, I had never seen so much garbage being thrown into the ring. Maybe some of those projectiles were thrown by plants, but when people start hurling drinks with ice in them, along with all sorts of food, well, that tells you the impact he had.
