Greatest FACE Turn of all time

[Doomsday Device]

This might be a bit more challenging for some because for some reason its easier to remember heel turns than face turns, perhaps because of the shock factor that heel turns bring.

But when it comes to face turns, I dont think the Macho Man face turn with Elizabeth after Wrestlemania 7 in his career ending match with Warrior, even after almost 20 years, has been outperformed. This to me, is the one.

Macho had been a very despised and hated heel from 89' to 91', and from the conclusion of his match with Warrior, it was like a before and after that moment, in his career. He was seen as a possessive, jealous, insecure creep in the eyes of the fans, and with this moment, of Liz coming down the ring and him coming to his senses, it was special, he redeemed himself that night. He walked in as the most hated, and left the ring being one of the most loved.

What in your opinion, is the Greatest Face turn of all time.

 

[axl626]

This is a lot harder and I was thinking about it in the heel thread. Now this is just mine and I'm sure there are better ones but here it goes.

The Undertaker after the ladder match with Jeff Hardy. Now to refesh for those who may not remember, Taker was in the biker gimmick and turned heel when he forced JR to join the "Kiss McMahon's Ass" club. He started slamming peoples throats into chairs and being a bastard and he won the title off Hogan. Jeff Hardy started attacking him and got a ladder match for the championship. Jeff came close but lost and then Taker beat him up two or three times after the match and then came back and shook Jeff's hand and turned face. It was a pretty weird turn all around but it worked and is still one of my favorite matches for it.

 

[boozinjedi]

This one might seem lame,But let me explain the reasoning behind it,

Andre's "face" turn at WM6,
After a stunning "heel" turn to set up WM3 w/Hogan..he played the heel part rather well.
After the loss to Demolition,a match he barely participated in..Hennan laid the blame on him big time!!
Even slapping him,even Ventura said bad move,he paintbrushed Heenan..blocked Haku's kick.....THEN kicked them BOTH off the mini-ring/cart..left to thunderous ovation.....

MY reasoning,Deep down you had that feeling....this was his swan song...he wanted to go out as a good guy!

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Interesting. I couldn't nail down a top one, but here are a couple that jump to mind:

Macho Man at Wrestlemania VII-Very emotional, you see Sensational Sherri whaling on a beaten Savage, and who should run out but the forgotten Miss Elizabeth! Savage was instanty a face again, and the pop was huge.

Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania XVIII-Wow, talk about following the crowd! Hogan entered as a heel, but the crowd pretty much forced him to be a face, and he certainly didn't fight it. THis is one of the most electric nights in wrestling history, and one of the great face turns. To make it more impressive, he did against either the #1 or #2 most over guy in the industry who was IMMENSELY popular.

Mick Foley/Mankind at Survivor Series 1998-Mankind was a demented character who was all of a sudden hugely popular. That's all you need to know about this face turn.

These three just jump immediately to mind, there are more.

 

[Samoanleprechaun]

The Rock turning face in 1999 after being kicked out of The Corporation. He went from being one of the most successful heels to one of the most successful faces.

Stone Cold at WrestleMania XIII

Batista during his contract signing when he decided whether he would be going to Smackdown or facing Triple H at Mania. Regardless of anyone's opinion on the guy you have to admit that was a great face turn. After Powerbombing Triple H through the table.

Triple H's return after his injury in 2002

 

[mikeyboy]

hogan. remember he was a heel early in his carrer as soon as mcmahon decided to turn him face it gave birth to hulkamania, probably the single greatest thing to happen to the wrestling buisness as far as mainstream recognition.

 

[hurmon7]

In July of 2000, when the attitude era was going down. EVERYONE hated Triple H at the time. When Kurt Angle got involved, hugging and hovering all over Stephanie. Triple H got pops in the crowd. When all he heard for 18 months as "asshole, asshole, asshole".

I know there may be some 12 year olds on hear that don't remember that, but that's one of the biggest face turns.

Hell, the guy was hated again when teaming with Austin as tag champs and tearing his quad muscle the first time. Coming back and winning the Rumble. Winning the title at Wrestlemania 18...

...thoughts...

 

[THE SWAG]

i have to also agree the hogan face turn when he faced the rock was just awesome, it really came out of no where and he just had to go with it, til this day i always watch that match and it always gives me chills

 

[Reddannihilation]

Stone Cold's turn at WM13. Especially when you consider that it was arguably the best double-turn in history with Bret Hart going heel at the exact time. Austin's face turn was the greatest of all time.

 

[miedzinski12]

Again Hamler?"you got goosebumps when orton ran into the ring"...there are chat rooms in yahoo for guys like you to "chat" about that kind of stuff and discuss that sort of thing, really first the prepubescent whining about the rock and now a suspect comment about orton......Oh this is posted in old school wrestling....unless your 5 orton (randy) is not old school, and I don't recall cowboy bob orton ever being a face. Sorry WZ, this hamler guy is really coming off as annoying.

anyway, I have to agree with the original post. Elizabeth coming to aide of Savage after the retirement match was a great moment in heels turning face. I was a fan of savage the entire time people were booing him, but it was nice to hear the crowd cheer again. It's a shame we haven't heard pomp and circumstance play in a wwe arena followed by OHHHHH YEAAAA! It's long overdue and way to late.

 

[Theo Mays]

When I saw this on the side of the main page the first thing that popped into my head was Savage's face turn at Wrestlemania VII. Nothing else has really come to mind that would top that. Savage was a great heel and it seemed like the crowd was behind him and Warrior the whole match. After Savage lost you couldn't help but feel for him. And then with Liz coming to his aid at the end made it so much better. It made us feel for Macho Man and made the fans side with him once again. It was truly one of the best feel good moment wrestling has seen.

 

[Drew McIntyre]

The Big Bossman after a long heel run he later became a fan favorite in early 1990's on The Brother Love Show after refusing to give Ted DiBiase his Million Dollar Championship belt back after DiBiase had paid Slick off for Bossman to retrieve the belt from Jake "The Snake" Roberts' bag that also held Jake's python. Bossman refused to take a payoff and returned the bag with the belt and snake to Jake Roberts.

After this change he feuded with former tag team partner Akeem, defeating him in less than two minutes at WrestleMania VI; he also stopped his post-match routine of beating of jobbers during this time. He joined forces with Hogan at the 1990 Survivor Series along with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Tugboat, defeating Earthquake's team.

In 1991, Bossman began feuding with Bobby Heenan and The Heenan Family after Heenan began insulting Bossman's mother. Bossman eventually gained the upper hand against Heenan's wrestlers, getting wins over The Barbarian at the Royal Rumble and Mr. Perfect via disqualification at WrestleMania VII for the Intercontinental Championship; the latter match featured a returning Andre the Giant. Later in 1991, Bossman defeated The Mountie in a Jailhouse match at SummerSlam; the stipulation had it that the loser would (kayfabe) "spend a night in jail."

In 1992, Bossman became involved in a feud with Nailz, whose gimmick was that of an ex-convict; in a series of promos that aired before his debut, Nailz claimed to be abused by Bossman during his incarceration, and warned that he was coming for revenge. During a television taping that aired May 30, Nailz — clad in an orange prison jumpsuit — ran into the ring and attacked the Bossman, handcuffing him to the top rope and repeatedly choking and beating him with the nightstick. Bossman eventually recovered and went after Nailz in a series of matches during the latter half of 1992. The feud culminated when Bossman defeated Nailz in a Nightstick on a Pole match at Survivor Series.

 

[Doctor_What]

Kurt Angle 2001. Kurt had been a goofy heel and had been booed since his arrival in the wwe. Then at invasion suddenly it all changed as Austin turned on him. The next night on Raw he could barely be heard on the mic as the crowd were cheering for him. The sad events of September 11th left fans looking for there next American hero and the patriotic gold medalist was there man. He won the wcw title and wwe title (in his home town) and looked like he could be the next "face" of the wwe...

Then they ruined it turing him heel again.

But in my opinion that was a great face turn.

 

[The Con Volt]

Its a two_way tie for me between Hogan's unplanned face turn at 18 Cuz I was there. But my real favorite was Orton's turn after evolution turned on him.

 

[Desmond Wolfe]

The Big Bossman after a long heel run he later became a fan favorite in early 1990's on The Brother Love Show after refusing to give Ted DiBiase his Million Dollar Championship belt back after DiBiase had paid Slick off for Bossman to retrieve the belt from Jake "The Snake" Roberts' bag that also held Jake's python. Bossman refused to take a payoff and returned the bag with the belt and snake to Jake Roberts.

After this change he feuded with former tag team partner Akeem, defeating him in less than two minutes at WrestleMania VI; he also stopped his post-match routine of beating of jobbers during this time. He joined forces with Hogan at the 1990 Survivor Series along with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Tugboat, defeating Earthquake's team.

In 1991, Bossman began feuding with Bobby Heenan and The Heenan Family after Heenan began insulting Bossman's mother. Bossman eventually gained the upper hand against Heenan's wrestlers, getting wins over The Barbarian at the Royal Rumble and Mr. Perfect via disqualification at WrestleMania VII for the Intercontinental Championship; the latter match featured a returning Andre the Giant. Later in 1991, Bossman defeated The Mountie in a Jailhouse match at SummerSlam; the stipulation had it that the loser would (kayfabe) "spend a night in jail."

In 1992, Bossman became involved in a feud with Nailz, whose gimmick was that of an ex-convict; in a series of promos that aired before his debut, Nailz claimed to be abused by Bossman during his incarceration, and warned that he was coming for revenge. During a television taping that aired May 30, Nailz — clad in an orange prison jumpsuit — ran into the ring and attacked the Bossman, handcuffing him to the top rope and repeatedly choking and beating him with the nightstick. Bossman eventually recovered and went after Nailz in a series of matches during the latter half of 1992. The feud culminated when Bossman defeated Nailz in a Nightstick on a Pole match at Survivor Series.

I totally agree with you 100% The Big Bossman was one of the greatest faces in the 90's after his face turn and went on to have great feuds, and in my opinion i believe that he might be one of the greatest wrestlers to never win a world title a true wrestling legend.

Drew McIntyre is "Wrestlezone Forums Greatest Poster".

 

[Extreme Pimpin]

Chris Jericho

In the weeks before Jericho's debut, a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" appeared on WWF programming.
On the home video, Break the Walls Down, Jericho states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in a post office. Vince McMahon gave him the green light to use it as his intro to the WWF.
The clock finally ran down on August 9, 1999 in Chicago, Illinois while The Rock was in the ring doing a promo. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed himself "Y2J" (a play on the Y2K bug).
The Rock proceeded to verbally mock him for his interruption.[21] Later that month, Jericho made his in-ring debut on August 26, 1999 in a match against Road Dogg on the inaugural edition of SmackDown!. He would lose the match by disqualification after powerbombing Road Dogg through a table.

Through the next couple of months, Jericho would proceed to go through a series of short-lived feuds with the likes of Road Dogg, X-Pac and Ken Shamrock, his pay-per-view debut being a DQ loss to X-Pac at Unforgiven.
Jericho's first long-term feud was with Chyna, for the Intercontinental Championship. After losing to Chyna at the Survivor Series 1999, Jericho won his first Intercontinental title at Armageddon.
This feud with Chyna lasted for many months. It included a controversial decision during a rematch in which two separate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title.
As a result, they became co-owners of the title until Jericho attained sole ownership at the Royal Rumble. Jericho's subsequent alliance with Chyna, coupled with growing enthusiasm for his ring work and mic skills, effectively turned him into a face.
Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with Kurt Angle, and lost the title to Angle at No Way Out.

Desmond Wolfe is the new disciple of "The Chosen One" Drew McIntyre which means he now will be officially endorsed by "The McMahon-Levesque Administration".

 

[Yomommma]

I think Undertaker's original face turn was the most surprising. He had been aligned with Jake Roberts while Jake had been tormenting Savage and Elizabeth. They even crashed the wedding and put a cobra in a gift box. Then, after a match with Savage, Roberts stood behind the curtain with a steel chair waiting to crack Liz in the head. Just as they came through the curtain, The Undertaker came from behind and stopped Jake from swinging the chair. I don't think anyone saw that coming.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

I'm not sure about the greatest face turn, but one that would crack the top ten would be Sycho Sid's face turn(s). He went from the most hated superstar on the roster to the guy that everyone would cheer. Now mind you, even when Sid was a heel (NWA-WCW counts here too!), the fans would pop for the powerbomb no matter how much they booed him otherwise.
Another worthy contender: Yokozuna's face turn. Led to a rather interesting match with Vader cut short by Vader (kayfabe) breaking Yoko's leg...but during the match, Yoko had lifted Vader in a Samoan drop AND hit what looked to be a spinning Rock Bottom.

 

[smfiscus1]

I'd like to nominate Edge's recent turn to face here. He came back from injury and now he's a face. Granted, he's kind of a "i'm going to cheat right in front of you but you're still going to love me for it" kind of face, but he's still a face. His bit with Jericho when he was like "Spear, then Spear Spear..." That was classic stuff...He's actually pretty funny. I wonder how well his personality would've fit in with the old DX. Instead of Road Dog and Billy James they should've took Edge and Christian. But I digress... Edge has had a great face turn since coming back and I think that coming back from injury sets up a great opportunity for any wrestler to turn either face or heel.

 

[EdgeHead1982]

Hasn't been mentioned yet but what about Triple H's face turn in 2006 after Wrestlemania 22. Triple H eliminates HBK from the 2006 Royal Rumble with interference from Shane and Vince. HBK beat Vince at Mania in the No Holds Barred match. The set-up over the course of weeks and months was great. On Raw shortly after Mania, Vince sets up HBK for a beat down with Triple H's help. Just as Triple H is about to blast HBK, he nails one of the Spirit Squad instead. After that, the Spirit Squad is sent to attack HHH and HBK makes the save. They clean house and reform, with a huge pop by the audience.

 

[Rasha]

It really HAS to be Austin's turn at WM13. It didn't just change his career, but it changed the WWE and really all of wrestling. If Hogan's heel turn was the ying, then this was arguably the yang. There are certainly others you might like more for sentimental reasons, but "greatest" can only go to the one that had biggest impact.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

*FREEZE brushing his shoulders off*

LMAO!!! WHHHHHHOOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEEE I DID NOT REALIZE I HAD SUCH A FAN BASE HERE!!! LOL LMAO LMMFAO!!! I havent posted in like 3 months but I have about 30 messages from a lot of MALE GROUPIES on this site! Some of U kidz here R str8 CLOWNZ! Real Talk! Anyway to answer Ur ?.... The Greatest Face turn may have been be4 most of U catz can remember... Right be4 Wrestlemania 3 Rowdy Roddy Piper came back to the WWF after a lay off to find out his PIPER'S PIT had become the FLOWER SHOP!! Man a couple of weeks and a baseball bat to the set later ROWDY switched from being the MOST HATED GUY IN WRESTLING (Check his feuds with Hogan and Snuka) to one of the MOST POPULAR EVER! He even won his first WWF singles title after his face change and because of his hair vs hair match at WM3 Brutus Beefcake also turned face and became the BARBER! It was the biggest switch to me EVER!!!

 

[RayRay5]

It has to be when Lex Luger landed in the helicoptor on the Intrepid pushed the Brain out of the way went to the ring a bodyslammed yoko on the 4th of July wearing the Red White and Blue. The WWF set the whole summer up around this match they had the Lex express tour with the match at Summerslam which he should have won. prior to that he was the Narcicist who only cared about himself then he became the American Hero all at one time.
The other one was when Sgt. Slaughter came out to save I think Bob Backlund From getting beat down from the Iron Shiek. He went from the most hated of the time to the most popular in that instant.That turn set up the rest of his Career with Gi Joe stuff ect.

 

[Wainy]

For me it's gotta be Mr Perfect in 1992. I was only 9 & I did not see it coming!!! He was an awesome talent, both in the ring & on the mic'. WWE's original cool heel/cocky face to the best of my knowlege. I think the skills of Heenan & Flair made it even better aswel

 

[eljay7i]

Lex Lugar body slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid.. I remembered every other wrestler and athlete trying to bodyslam a over 500 lbs Yoko but was unsuccessful, then all of a sudden here comes Lex from a helicopter and slammed him!! Boom instant MEGA FACE, following this he began the Lex Express and campaigning a shot at the WWF Title..