A Face/Heel Turn That Didn't Work Out

[CalciferBoheme]

I think the tatanka one was good, he was never going to be a top guy and it got him his biggest feud in his time there. I'd call that a success.


But I would say pretty much any time Sting has turned heel. The WCW one is the biggest, because it only last 2 weeks before they realized it wouldn't work. But in his TNA ones too. Even when they're done well (which is rare), nobody wants to cheer against Sting. I don't know why people are obsessed with making him heel. Though it may not be all his fault, I'll blame Russo for this.

 

[mrwilliams061088]

I'm going to go with the present, Ezekeiel Jackson. Sure he's the i.c. champ, but this run as a face is just awful. He's one of those wrestlers that just works way better as a heel. If the corre was going to exile anyone it clearly should've been Justin Gabriel. Big Zeke is just not over at all, when he loses the ic title (notice I said when) to Cody Rhodes hopefully he'll go back heel.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Surprised no one has mentioned MVP. He was over as a heel and definitely someone I saw being a legit main eventer in time, but his face turn totally flopped and he never really recovered.

Most would say that it was the booking, but I don't buy that at all. They did everything they could to get him over, the fans just didn't buy him as a good guy.

So yeah, I'd say he failed.

 

[hello_im_average_23]

I know this isn't exactly the point of the Thread, but I think Orton as a current Face does not work! He is called 'The Viper', 'The Legend Killer', yet he's playing the Silver-Spoon, 3rd Generation, Kiss-Ass, Children Market guy that basiclly will end up in a stale way! JUST LIKE CENA!

Anyway 'The Great Khali' never get's anywhere as a Face, he went from World Champion to dancing with that kid from Modern Family! Now he's doing a heel pitch with Jinder I think it's still getting him nowhere!

 

[Nate DaMac]

I know this isn't exactly the point of the Thread, but I think Orton as a current Face does not work!

You're right. I guess that's why he always arrives to a silent crowd who never gives a shit about him.

He is called 'The Viper', 'The Legend Killer', yet he's playing the Silver-Spoon, 3rd Generation, Kiss-Ass, Children Market guy that basiclly will end up in a stale way! JUST LIKE CENA!

What the FUCK are you talking about? Have you even watched in the past few months? He is far from anything you have just described. He doesn't pander to the crowd or anything, he's still an unstable guy who loses his temper. The only real difference between his heel character and his face character is that he wins matches clean and he goes up against heels.

You're so far off here, it's not even funny. Orton is definitely someone whose turn worked out for the best.

 

[GodCompleX]

The absolute worst face turn has got to be KARMA! Spending weeks with dark vignettes and coming out and destroying random divas, she comes out to a ring full of divas, drops to her knees, CRIES and says she just wanted to belong?! Utter BS!!!

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that one heel turn that did not work out too well was the Alliance heel turn in 2001. I understand that WWF was always going to win that feud and that it would have been a stupid thing to make your own company look as heels but it would have helped matters a lot if some of the wrestlers that were a part of the Alliance had been heels much before the angle started off. Austin was a heel but the fans had decided by then that they would cheer for him no matter what. Booker T was loved by the WCW fans and the only time I remember the fans booing him was when he went up against The Rock. RVD was very popular among the fans and his style inside the ring wasn't suited to that of a heel at any rate. Angle joined the Alliance not long after his highly emotional title victory at Unforgiven and so people found it difficult to boo him. Even DDP who didn't even make it to the team at Survivor Series recieved a huge pop when he showed up on WWF television. When he did turn heel the crowd got confused and did not react to his matches much. Looking back, I would be hardpressed to find a single heel in that entire Alliance roster.

Like most other people, I feel that the WWF should have waited with the Invasion angle till they got the nWo whom the crowd had grown accustomed to seeing as heels. Maybe that also would not have worked looking at the reaction Hogan got when he returned to the WWF. But I would have certainly taken that route.

 

[prophet60]

I"m surprised that no one has mentioned The NWO debut in the WWF. With Hogan being the heel in the Hogan/Rock match. There was that huge biuld up, including the Rock's car being destroyed with him in it. Then in the match, Hogan got the huge pops and Rock got booed. So much for the Hogan heel turn. Hmm, I guess just all was forgive and forget at RAW that next night for Rock almost being killed in his car. That in itself, spelled the doom of the NWO in the WWF. We won"t even speak about The Heartbreak Kids short term in the NWO. I'm also sure that there could have been a better way of closing the NWO chapter in the WWF.

 

[leemurf]

did anyone mention mark henry's face turn a few years ago? this man went from being a monster and destroying the likes of undertaker, kane, edge and pretty much everyone to being drafted to raw wearing goofy red attire and teaming with evan bourne, and then he would lose to cody rhodes and ted dibiase CLEANLY! so he went from destroying the likes of the undertaker and kane to losing to mid carders cleanly. I just never understood how wwe would expect us to believe a 300pound "worlds strongest man" could lose to a young cody rhodes (no disrespect to him).
anyway im glad he's heel again even though im not a massive fan

 

[ultimateherts]

Here's another horrible one. Back in the end of WCW when Jim Duggan turned and joined Team Canada. That was rediculous because his whole career to this day is waving the AMERICAN flag. HHHHHHHOOOOO!!!

 

[D-Man]

Surprised no one has mentioned MVP. He was over as a heel and definitely someone I saw being a legit main eventer in time, but his face turn totally flopped and he never really recovered.

Most would say that it was the booking, but I don't buy that at all. They did everything they could to get him over, the fans just didn't buy him as a good guy.

So yeah, I'd say he failed.

Whenever I think about the subject of a failed face/heel turn, this is EXACTLY who I think of, first. I think it was an absolute TRAVESTY for the WWE to ever have attempted at turning MVP into a babyface.

After his magnificent run as the United States champion and his feud with Matt Hardy, he was white hot as a heel champion. He had the high-profile, pyro-included entrance, the look, the attitude, the mic skills... he had EVERYTHING that it took to be a main event heel. But the WWE thought it be better to turn him into an "underdog" and give him a losing streak, take away his pyro, and basically try and force the audience to get behind him. What a dumb fucking idea. Way to go, WWE... you killed his career.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I agree with those who mentioned MVP. His first run on Smackdown as a heel showed so much potential. He had a great entrance and his arrogance got him loads of heel heat. MVP didn't need to turn face. They put him through that awful losing streak angle, and he never got back his tunnel entrance which had really helped him stand out. His ring attire was replaced with a really cheesy one, and his face promos were hard to listen to without getting frustrated. Then there was the moment where he had just gotten drafted to Raw and immediately challenged then-WWE Champion Orton to a match and feud that never took place. Perhaps WWE realized at the last second that they screwed up big time. MVP was then booked horribly for the rest of his career with bad angles and cheesy promos. Whoever decided to put him through that losing streak angle should be fired because that face turn was his downfall in the end.