History AndYouThoughtItWouldFail / OtherMedia

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': [[invoked]] Happens in universe with the new show "Bolt," in "The Pilot." Despite poor reviews and production values that leave something to be desired, the first episode is a massive runaway hit, described as becoming "a cultural icon of sorts."

* ''Anime/KemonoFriends'': Based on a dead mobile game about animal girls with only ten people working on it for five hundred days, NoBudget and full of incredibly obvious [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects 3D mixed with 2D]], even the creators expected it to flop terribly. Yet the generally decent writing, solid character designs and surprisingly compelling OntologicalMystery made for a solid watch, and it ultimately became ''extremely'' popular through [[MemeticMutation internet word-of-mouth]]. Its first episode became the most-watched anime episode on Website/NicoNicoDouga; disc sets and merchandise quickly sold out, and the DoItYourselfThemeTune reached #3 on Japan's iTunes rankings.

* On paper, [[Wrestling/DefiantWrestling WhatCulture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling]] should have never worked. A Website/YouTube [[WebVideo/WhatCultureWrestling channel-backed]] wrestling promotion originally centered around its cast with many unknown faces alongside some of the best indie talent in the world. Yet, it ended up [[GatewaySeries introducing]] many wrestling fans to the british wrestling scene, managed to produce many memorable matches, storylines and events, and became itself the launching pad for many other wrestlers. And it managed to pull off a big world tournament which went mostly without any big hitches. At its peak, it was considered one of the (if not THE) best promotions of the UK wrestling scene. Too bad that Website/YouTube's demonetization of anything wrestling-related, the departure of the WebVideo/WhatCultureWrestling cast and the eventual launching of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT UK]]'' happened.

* The DVD commentary of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review had Rob mocking anti-clipless people by saying the episode was the second highest viewed on the Website/YouTube page, and that all the other clipless reviews have done really well regarding hits too.

* Before the English release of ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'', anime based on {{eroge}} with the porn [[BleachedUnderpants removed from the adaptation]] were not commonly licensed, with rumors flying around that MoralGuardians would throw a fit if they ended up on store shelves. When Creator/{{Funimation}} licensed the series, nearly every blog and forum was raising its collective eyebrows and wondering why the distributor obviously hated making money. The first volume of ''SHUFFLE!'' came out and sold ''tons'' of copies, and Funi decided to give the final volume a special edition art box release (which had been common a few years earlier, but in the wake of Creator/{{Geneon}}'s fall, not so much) if the second volume sold as well. It did. Now you can't walk into a video store without tripping over eroge adaptations, whether or not they actually have a plot.

* Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s Tod Gordon originally dismissed Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys and Wrestling/TheBlueMeanie as "drunken Wrestling/{{Raven}} ideas."[[note]]From watching ''Film/SlapShot'' and ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'', respectively.[[/note]] While it took a while for the Dudleys to find the right combination (Buh Buh Ray and D-Von), they ''did'' eventually get over and became ''very'' successful, and are now known as one of the most prolific tag teams in the history of the business. The Blue Meanie couldn't match the Dudley Boys' career achievements, but, the fans did come to love him.

* Any North American expansion team is bound to be a terrible squad, being players the other teams considered expendable and maybe a few rookies. And so it was assumed that the UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague's Vegas Golden Knights would be no different in the 2017-18 season, with the location (UsefulNotes/LasVegas never had a major league franchise, and its climate is nowhere near optimal for ice hockey) only making it more laughable. So what a surprise when the Knights won their first game... and eight of their first nine... and 51 total in the regular season, finishing fourth overall in the league! The playoffs were even more successful, as Vegas won the conference losing only three games in those three rounds. Only in UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup did Vegas' luck run out, as they took the first game against the Washington Capitals, only for the [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut perpetual underachievers]] to win the next four and become champions. And it wasn't exactly a one-time case of beginner's luck, as it took until year 5 for Vegas to miss the postseason, only for them to come back with a vengeance and win in their sixth season becoming the second youngest franchise to win the Cup and fulfilling the owner's bet of winning the Cup in Six!

* Any North American expansion team is bound to be a terrible squad, being players the other teams considered expendable and maybe a few rookies. And so it was assumed that the UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague's Vegas Golden Knights would be no different in the 2017-18 season, with the location (UsefulNotes/LasVegas never had a major league franchise, and its climate is nowhere near optimal for ice hockey) only making it more laughable. So what a surprise when the Knights won their first game... and eight of their first nine... and 51 total in the regular season, finishing fourth overall in the league! The playoffs were even more successful, as Vegas won the conference losing only three games in those three rounds. Only in UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup did Vegas' luck run out, as they took the first game against the Washington Capitals, only for the [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut perpetual underachievers]] to win the next four and become champions. And it wasn't exactly a one-time case of beginner's luck, as it took until year 5 for Vegas to miss the postseason.

** And who would overtake him? Harry Kane, who was dismissed as a one season wonder after scoring 21 goals in the 2014/15 season, making him the second highest scorer in the Premier League that season, and another ten in the EFL Cup and Europa League. He kept on scoring - his lowest return was 24 in all competitions in two separate seasons - and, by 2023, had not only become the top scorer for England and become the highest-scoring one club player in the Premier League, he had also win the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot before singing for German giants Bayern Munich for ''€100 million''.

* Matt Mercer was apparently shocked when ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' took off; he said that he expected it to last for maybe six episodes, after which he and his friends could move their weekly game back to his house.

* Theatre producer Michael Todd was overheard during the intermission of Rogers and Hammerstein's 1943 musical ''Away We Go!'' claiming "No jokes, no tits, no chance!" The musical, later renamed ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'', would go on to run for a then-unprecedented 2,212 performances on its original Broadway run, and popularized the "book musical" style of interweaving songs and story together. Ironically, Mike Todd would later have his name on the 1955 film version of ''Oklahoma!'' thanks to naming the widescreen film process it used, Todd-AO, after himself.

* A lot of people laughed at Creator/LinManuelMiranda when he told them the premise of the new musical he was writing—[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} the story of Alexander Hamilton told through rap and hip-hop]]. The reaction he got when announcing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_ARd4oKiI the opening song]] at the Obama White House prompted him to say "You laugh but it's true"...