10 Heel Turns That Vitally Saved A WWE Wrestler's Career 

An honorable mention is definitely Shawn Michaels. When he turned heel after betraying Marty Jannetty, breaking up The Rockers, and then becoming "The Heartbreak Kid" in 1991, his career was elevated to the next level and as they say, the rest is history.

The greatest heel turn was Vince McMahon the commentator to “Mr. McMahon” 💯

John cena’s heel turn made him relevant and got him out of that jobber situation he was in.

Didn't see Daniel Bryan's last heel turn coming, was unexpectedly good leading to Kofimania

Most recently Dominik Mysterio. His heel turn saved his career.

Andre the Giant did all he could as a mega babyface, and his declining health meant he didn’t have much time left. That heel turn was monumental.

John Cena goes from "The Prototype" to "The Doctor Of Thuganomics" as a Smackdown! Halloween Party turned Cena into a Heel without even realizing it. 2003 - Early 2005, Peak Cena US Champion. A Heel Run turn Face Run that was well received and remembered.

Batista's 2009-2010 was honestly amazing and quite possibly the best way Batista could've gone out of WWE for 4 years

If Wrestlelamia made a "10 Face Turns That Immensely Saved A Wrestler's Career" list, Steve Austin would be in the top 3.

Hot Take: Not only did JBL's Heel Turn SAVE his Career, One could argue it COMPLETELY changed his Values and Viewpoints as an Individual. While his Career will be mired by Controversy and Questionable Booking, To Me, He's one of the Best Examples of a Heel the WWE has ever Created.

Bret Hart's gradual heel turn in his feud with Austin refreshed his character as well.

WWE can't live without Heel turns.

Bret "Hitman" Hart 1997 was easily the best Heel in the entire World Wrestling Federation. His work as a Duel Character was Gold.

Rock's Nation of Domination run was memorable . This faction is the one that even made him a legend

Honorable mention Dominik Mysterio , gone from being just the son of the biggest babyface to being the most hated guy in all of wrestling .

The Rock's, Roman Reigns's and Bayley's heel turn was the best decision ever!

Imo Becky’s heel turn from 2018 should be on the list because prior to the heel turn, she was slowly getting overshadowed Ronda, Charlotte, Asuka, and Carmella at the time. Since then she basically became one of the top draws of the woman’s division.

Edge is indeed the ultimate opportunist

Honorable mentions: -Randy Orton in 2005 -Booker T in 2006 -CM Punk in 2009 and in 2012 -Bret Hart in 1997 -Triple H in 1999, 2002 and in 2013 -Brock Lesnar in 2003

I think Hogan should be number 1. It changed the industry. I might not be the biggest Hogan fan but I can recognize that was too legendary.

Edge is by far one of the most dynamic Heels we’ve ever seen

Hulk Hogan had a good heel run in the 70's with "Classy" Freddie Blassie as his manager. His first match with Andre the Giant was at the final "Showdown at Shea" in 1980, where Hogan was the heel and Andre was the babyface. When he signed with the WWF under Vince Sr., it wasn't long before "Hulkamania" was born.

Hulk Hogan's turn took him from arguably the most beloved superstar to being the most despised villain. I remember watching him come down the ramp that night and hearing Heenan shout, "But whose side is he on?!" It was absolutely unthinkable that Hogan would be anything but a hero and a good guy - his turn was the spark that lit the flame of the NWO and set the wrestling world ablaze!

Roman reigns and Bayleys are best heels turns of PG era

I'm going to mention Maryse here. When she debuted she was actually a congenial face welcoming fans to Canadian arenas in French and promoting music videos and being really outgoing. Then she shifted into a heel and literally it changed the entire trajectory of her career. In fact I don't think she's been a face again ever since she first became a heel.

Neville's heel cought me off guard when first watch 205 live

Batista mic skill is way better when it comes to being heel

I loved Bailey's Hugger gimmick. Colorful, happy, and fun. I hope she one days pulls it out of the mothballs.

The heels that get you to hate them in real life are truly legendary. The only two performers that got me to hate them were Edge and Bradshaw lol. The two were very convincing and legendary in their craft. Now as an adult I appreciate their efforts and dedication in story telling.

From "Blue Chipper" to "Black Chipper". Rocky Maivia returns to the World Wrestling Federation from his knee injury and repaid Faarooq's act of sympathy by "Embracing His Destiny" and joined the Nation Of Domination. August 11, 1997. August 18, 1997 - September 5, 1998 - The Rock's Nation Heel Run 🖤💜💛

The transformation from Hulk Hogan to “Hollywood Hogan” was iconic!

Honorable Mention Kane turning heel after unmasking in 2003 that was perfectly done and JBL's Heel turn in 2004 was awesome his WWE Title Reign is 10X Better than Triple H's Reign Of Terror.

The guy you call Chris Jericho is just seriously talented.....👏🏻👏

Bryan may have been a but crazy with that gimmick. But it fit him and he made it work

Definitely an honorable mention to Rock's 2003 heel turn. Just an honorable mention because obviously Rock's career wasn't remotely in need of saving, but he was getting pretty stale at that point and his smug Hollywood persona capitalized on the resentment of the fans perfectly and really brought new life to him.

the only supriseing thing about Hogan's heel turn was Bobby Heenen still hated him , Heenen normally likes babyfaces who turn heel but he didn't side with Hogan when he was a heel.

- Paul Bearer turning on Undertaker in 1996 to align with Mankind and 1997 to align with Kane - Scott Steiner turning on Rick to pursue a world championship - Stevie Ray turning on Booker T - Can’t forget Kevin Nash and the finger of doom match after he defeated Goldberg

I loved Chris Jericho as a heel with the suits

Roman and edge are the heels with cheers than boos 🤣

Heels are more interesting in Wrestling because unlike Babyfaces their characters get more Detail, while a Babyfaces only job is to be a Crowd Pleaser. 👨🏿‍🏫

Edge & Batista were my favorite heel characters in wrestling. This is awesome content!!!

Want, want and want... Can't wait for part 3. This is one of the best animation works I have seen

Dirty Dom for sure. Being able to step out of his dad's shadow has helped his character work grow immensely.

Let's also add a few more honorable mentions. I'd like to add Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Bobby Lashley and Becky Lynch. Seth because even though he was part of one of the most dominant factions in WWE history in The Shield, alongside Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, I don't even like to admit it, but him betraying Ambrose and Reigns from outta nowhere and eventually aligning himself with The Authority was extremely beneficial to his career. His solo run led him to becoming Mr. Money in the Bank and having the greatest cash-in in history and becoming WWE Champion. The first to do it between him, Reigns and Ambrose. He had memorable feuds with the likes of Orton, Reigns, John Cena, Sting and Ambrose, just to name a few. He eventually became not only a grand slam champion, but a triple crown winner. Becky Lynch, she knew she needed to level up, and when plans for Bianca Belair's scheduled title defense for the SmackDown Women's Championship at last year's SummerSlam was changed, Bianca always wanted to face Becky and she indeed got her wish but not in the fashion she expected by catching Belair off-guard and making short work of her 4 month reign as champion in just 26 seconds, ultimately resulting in the fans booing Becky Lynch for her capitalizing tactics and giving her her official first long-term heel run. I only say this because even though she snapped after being screwed outta the title at SummerSlam a few years back, some may consider that to be her first heel run but unless the fans treated her the same way they do now back then, I'd consider it a heel turn but I don't. We were all still behind her and she was more than justified for her actions back then. Bobby Lashley, I felt like it was inevitable. His work with MVP and forming The Hurt Business along with Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin was great. I wasn't feeling the idea that it had to split the way it did because the faction was great imo. But the end result led to him finally becoming WWE Champion. He had all the tools to become champion early in his first run but WWE didn't wanna capitalize on it.

What about Seth Rollin with his heel turn? Not only it pushed all 3 members of The Shield to a whole new level, it also created chances for all of them to perfect their character , and gave birth to one of the most shocking title win in WM when he succesfully cashed in the MITB contract

You forgot Usos. Their heel turn made them carry 2016 and 2017 Smackdown on a weekly basis. Cold gimmick, great promos and they had interesting feuds with every tag team at the time

Love the hard work keep up and like Cena always said Never Give Up

make Dominik here

An underrated heel turn was Shawn Michaels in 2005. I mean the heat he had for that month (especially when they were in Canada) man that was such a good heel run!

Best heeler of all time Randy Orton & Brock Lesnar ,JBL , Baylee & Undertaker .. . Best baby face of all time Rey Mysterio ,RVD & Jeff Hardy

fantastic video

I think Bayley is better off being a heel. I found it a little creepy that she loved to go around hugging people.

The Rock ‘03 heel turn was gold also 😭😭

Hogan turning heel was the best move WCW ever made. His Hulkamania gimmick got so old and his two moved of doom. Same with Reigns and Bayley. Both their gimmicks got stale and old and turning them heel was the best move made during the Covid era.

Seth Rollins too. He's such a silly villain. And I love how he dresses

There's definitely gonna be a part 2 to this list, given how many other superstars were saved with a heel turn.

Daniel Bryan, The planet’s champion was awesome!!!

As well as Dominick Mysterio for becoming the most hated heel in WWE!!

The Usos when ever it happened they was so good at it

Bayley’s turn without a doubt is top 10 heel turns

What about Mandy Rose? She should be strongly considered in this list at least as an honorable mention because she started out on the main roster alongside Paige and Sonya DeVille in Absolution. When that died out and Fire and Desire was formed just with her and Sonya, even her babyface run alongside Dana Brooke didn't really do much good for her, even though I liked that team and her short solo stint with Otis, Dolph Ziggler and Sonya DeVille was as good as it was gonna get which wasn't that good. But, let's be real, her going back to NXT, changing her look, forming possibly the best (if not one of the best) women's factions in pro-wrestling, Toxic Attraction alongside Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne was the best move in her career. You can tell Mandy Rose is having the best run of her career, especially as NXT Women's Champion. She surpassed Charlotte Flair's reign as the 5th longest reign. Even without the title, she was still killing it in NXT

good video.

Our beloved villain " Roman Reings" -the best hell turn

The greatest heel turn Is from the tribal chief cause he did what every superstar failed to do making the universal championship feel like a real world title

John Cena's Last Heel Match on Smackdown! was November 4, 2003 against Rey Mysterio. Cena afterwards was offered a spot on Team Lesnar at Survivor Series but refused and was jumped by "The A-Train", making Cena a Babyface and A-Train the 5th member of Team Lesnar.

Roman heel turn changed him perfect example of - from the most hated hero to the most beloved villian 🔥🔥🔥

One that should have been mentioned was Michelle McCool turning heel.. after getting the divas title + teaming up with Layla and being “Flawless”+ aggressive fighting style. That heel turn made her the first woman to have carried both titles and she unified the titles, personally I feel she also carried the woman’s division in her run as heel.

Even Mandy Rose heel turn in NXT 2.0 helped her character to reach new levels

Bayley for sure saved her 🔥

For a lot of the great heels, the best part is when they turn face again, yet keep some part of their heel edge. For example Orton and Riddle were a baby face team, but Randy was certainly still "dangerous" when pushed to far. Despite being a face he "heard occasional voices" that gave him a sadistic streak.

Loved Edge’s heel turn. Dude snapped!

Bradshaw's heel turn was a decent evolution of his character but there's no way he should've been WWE Champion so long. If they weren't so short on stars at the time he wouldn't have got near it, he was an upper-midcarder at best, not someone to carry a company for a year.

“Why did WWE wait so long to turn Roman Reigns heel?” Because Vince McMahon is a nutty old man who doesn’t know what he’s doing and hasn’t for some time.

This was uploaded on my B-day

Chris Jericho is always way better as a heel in its first place

Reigns heel turn is the best I have seen in years. Great move.

The jbl is a great example when I started watchinh wwe it was in the early 2000s right away my favorite wrestler was eddie guerrero and we began fueding with jbl I was instantly hooked because the jbl actually made me hate him so much when I was a kid I remember I would watch smackdown every week just to see if he would finally lose the wwe title looking back it now I realize how good of job he did being a heel

Roman Reigns Michelle McCool Bayley Edge JBL Some of my favorite heel turns. Honorable mention to hulk since I met hulk as NWO hulk. Jerichos “list” work was great too.

I still have goodbumps when Stone Cold went heel. He transitioned it so well that he came back on the other side a face flawlessly.

Dominik's change as heel is going to be phenomenal too. I hope so because he can grow much as a heel.

Roman's heel has produced different aura. Always produced a godly presence whenever he step in and off the ring. That's the Final Boss right there. Even CV Punk said, "The one thing WWE has done right in a decade. Now, what can you say bad about Roman."

It’s a bit of a power tag to say that Bayley’s turn saved her career. She was still cheered heavily when she turned which made the turn itself so good.

Future video should definitely be face turns that saved a career too 👍

honorable mention: alexa bliss; if she didn’t leave the glitter fairy gimmick and turn heel back in nxt, she probably would’ve been released.

Just from the title of the video I knew Roman would be number 1

I miss that 205 Neville. AEW PAC should’ve at least been in major stories by now

I honestly wish Bayley would go back to her Hugger Face gimmick. I really liked her in that role.

Bayley is good at both heel and face looking forward to her return soon see what she comes back as heel or face there's a very good chance she'll be back at Summerslam

When Hulk Hogan turn heel all the world shocked

Honorary mention to The New Day. Their first round as babyfaces was met with NEW! DAY SUCKS! chants straight into their heel turn! But still, it got them over enough they could be accepted as babyfaces again.

I'm surprised Mark Henry wasn't on here the Hall of pain

From hated heroes to loved villains...

What abt Shawn Michaels? That heel turn changed his career immensely. Without it, he probably would have been mostly forgotten like Janetty. Once he turned heel, he became The Man

I'm still trying to recover from Larry Zbyszko turning heel on Bruno Sammartino in 1980.

The ridiculous selling of the stone cold stunner by the rock will always make me chuckle. Any ridiculous selling in general will always make me smile. I'm referring to the clip shown in the rocks heel turn if anyone was curious.

Maybe Bayley can bring Sasha back, if they are still friends

I still remember Batista turning heel.

Hulk Hogan heel turn completely changed the wrestling business forever . It should've been no 1 in this list

That 'fan' attacking Jericho back during his '08 heel run was in my hometown

The Usos should be here in my opinion.