In the world of pro wrestling, a heel turn means when a wrestler chooses to embrace their dark side and transitions into a bad guy sometimes to the dismay and even delight of the fans. The fans have witnessed all-time greats in the history of WWE choosing to go down the dark pathways either due to ulterior motives or the fan backlash pushing them into that space.
Moreover, turning heel can also be one of the best directions for a performer in the wrestling world to establish themselves in the company. Furthermore, as a heel, a wrestler gets more freedom to express themselves and build a unique connection with the WWE Universe that could be a remarkable push for their careers.
Let us take a look at four heel turns that established some of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time:
1. When The Best in the World had enough
The Best in the World, CM Punk sent shockwaves to the entire wrestling world when he made his return to the global juggernaut WWE after an absence of over a decade at WWE Survivor Series 2023. Now, CM Punk comes under the pantheon in the sports entertainment world, but Punk has worked hard and established himself as a headliner and one of the key moments in the process was when The Best in the World turned to his dark sides amidst his meteoric rise.
For more than a decade at that point, Punk tried to become “The Best in the World” for the fans, even after working so hard for the spotlight and the main event. But in 2012, The Rock appeared on WWE television programming and took it away from him, which made The Best in the World to snap and turn heel, displaying a much darker side to the fans and making his 434 reign as WWE Champion even more credible.
2. The Scottish Warrior on his path of revenge
Drew McIntyre is doing the best character work of his WWE career nowadays. The Scottish Warrior has made fans root for him despite being portrayed as a bad guy. Moreover, McIntyre is on a rampage where he is actively seeking revenge after being wronged by others for years and it all started with Jey Uso’s arrival on Monday Night RAW.
Jey Uso made life hell for so many WWE Superstars when he was aligned with Roman Reigns, costing many their opportunities to win the gold, also including Drew McIntyre. Now, Jey Uso had a change of heart after he chose to turn on Reigns. The likes of Cody Rhodes were able to accept Jey but Drew was not one of them and chose to beat the hell out of the leader of the YEET movement, calling it his Karma, and turned heel in the process which established him as a bonafide Superstar and alongside his menacing antics on social media.
3. The Big Dog turned into The Tribal Chief
For years, Roman Reigns worked hard to prove his worth to the WWE Univers. The former Big Dog did everything possible to make the WWE fans root for him only to come to a chorus of boos from the crowds every time he stepped inside a WWE ring.
However, following a hiatus in 2020, Roman Reigns returned as a heel for the first time in his WWE career, donning the armor of the Tribal Chief and taking the Universal Championship from The Fiend. This would mark the beginning of one of the most historic runs in the history of WWE that would cement Roman Reigns as one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time.
4. The birth of The Man in WWE
Becky Lynch is one of the most beloved WWE superstars of all time who came from humble beginnings as the Irish Lass Kicker in NXT. Becky then established herself as one of the biggest superstars of this era, male or female, bar none but that was not always the case until she slapped the taste out of Charlotte Flair at WWE SummerSlam 2018, marking the beginning of the most remarkable heel runs of all time.
Sometime after, she was punched in the punch by Nia Jax which was always remembered as an iconic moment in the WWE and also credited as the true beginning of The Man’s rise in the company as one of the biggest female WWE superstars of all time.
What do you think of these heel turns that established the biggest WWE Superstars of all time? Share your thoughts in the comments!
