I really wish SOHH threads were accessible still. Wayne’s rapping skill and status all time was always questioned and debated in real time during his peak in the hip hop space
This.
I saw that first hand too. Wayne was shytted on heavily on rap forums and super divisive with one side claiming he was the "best rapper alive" and saving hip hop and the other side saying he was WOAT and destroying rap.
And there were memes about him that were negative too, albeit a good portion of them were posted by racist Eminem stans.
Wayne getting screwed over by Baby and going on that hiatus before dropping C5 arguably saved his reputation. Prior to that situation, Wayne was experiencing tons of hate akin to Drake today. People were saying he was falling off, dropping trash, oversaturating himself, and he ticked people off with that "Emmitt Till" bar.
The Baby situation gave him more sympathy, C5 kept him relevant for a bit after the break, and his 2020's feature run reminded people that can still spit at a very high level.
But 2009-2013 era Wayne was one of the most polarizing rappers ever not named Drake.