The Double Turn?

[Mudlup50]

I was watching the Bret Hart biography thing:Wrestling With Shadows and he talked in depth about the Double Turn during his match with Stone Cold back in like 1996(pardon my lack of information as I wasn't watching WWF back then so). So I started thinking and I'm like when was the last time that happened? What was the most successful double turn? It would probably be the Bret/Austin one being as it established the biggest star of the Attitude Era and helped start it(didn't it cause Bret to want to change his character being as he was a heel being booed for having morals).

So my 2 questions:

What are some examples of double turns in the 21st century?

And

What is the most successful/impactful double turn in wrestling history?

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

the one that comes to mind is Flair vs Hollywood Hogan in the cage. Where Flair should have lost the match multiple times but not sure if Flair was face going in. So not totally sure. It's very hard to pull off and Austin vs Hart is clearly the best example of it working perfect

 

[CyberPunk]

From the top of my head, I remember Del Rio vs Ziggler. I won't count that particular event a failure but the follow up was weak. Ziggler lost the championship within a month following a concussion and his push was halted right there.

To be honest, I really can't recall a very successful double turn, not one that can match or rival Bret vs Austin.

 

[hatehabsforever]

One of my favorite "double turns" was during Wrestlemania 18 with Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the Rock. I put that in quotation marks because I guess technically speaking, it wasn't a heel turn for the Rock. However the roles were definitely reversed during the match, with the crowd cheering for Hogan even though he began the match as the heel, and booing the Rock even though he was the face in the match. I liked this one because I think it was totally spontaneous; the crowd dictated the change even though I don't think it was planned heading into the match.

At the end of the match, Hollywood Hogan was gone, and we saw the triumphant return of the red and yellow Hulk Hogan, which was great for nostalgic purposes. And while it didn't culminate in a heel turn for the Rock (in fact, he celebrated in the ring with the Rock at the completion of the match), he did allow the face turn for Hogan to play out, and he embraced his role as the "villain" drug the match itself. This was likely the final relevant match for Hogan in his illustrious career, and I found it very interesting, and a true testimony to the talent of both guys, to be able to improvise on the fly in such a manner, and have them end result to be so noteworthy.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Another good one would be Rock and Mankind when Rock first one the belt. Vince "working against Rock" all night and screwing Mankind at the end, was greatness and another perfect example of a double turn.

 

[BJS518]

Actually Dock, that wasn't a double turn at all. Rock and Mankind were both face going into that match. I know Mankind was supposedly Vince's boy, but he was in no way a heel.

 

[mcfly2012]

Does Hogan turning at Bash At Beach ppv in 96 count, anybody? That has to be up there. Doesn't it?

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

I had to think hard but I am sure you guys will appreciate this one. The Powers of Pain and Demolition switching sides at Survivor Series '88. Mr. Fuji screwed over Ax and Smash and it made them pretty big faces.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Actually Dock, that wasn't a double turn at all. Rock and Mankind were both face going into that match. I know Mankind was supposedly Vince's boy, but he was in no way a heel.

I disagree with this only because the whole night was dedicated to basing making Mankind heel, letting him use every dirty trick in the book just to get to the finals. Screwing Austin over , attacking head, getting dwayne gill in the first round. By the end of the night I thought Mankind was the clear heel and rock was the clear face

 

[thebarber]

Powers of Pain and Demolition pulled off the best double turn in the recent WWE history, and this was 26 years ago.
That Demolition were the tag team champions at the time was also significant as title holders rarely change sides of the fence mid-reign..

 

[Hoke Hogan]

Bo Dallas and Mark Henry.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I am impressed Mark Henry is still going! Even in 1996 he was lame!

 

[Slash-LN]

Does Hogan turning at Bash At Beach ppv in 96 count, anybody? That has to be up there. Doesn't it?

Where's the double turn there?

Hogan turned heel but no one turned face in the process of that. Not that I'm aware of anyway.

I honestly can't think of any off the top of my head outside of the ones mentioned here.

It's fairly rare and has to be done just right to pull it off.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Nothing tops Austin/Hart, that's for sure.

But as for another example, Triple H and Kane at Wrestlemania XV although we didn't find out that Hunter had actually turned heel and joined The Corporation until later on in the PPV, in Shane and X-Pac's match. Maybe people don't like this double turn, but I thought it was a good one as Triple H's character would develop into "The Game" and he would go on to become a main eventer and the WWF Champion. As for Kane, it led to a tag team and a pretty good storyline with X-Pac, where X-Pac brought out Kane's human side.

 

[justtxyank]

Where's the double turn there?

Hogan turned heel but no one turned face in the process of that. Not that I'm aware of anyway.

I honestly can't think of any off the top of my head outside of the ones mentioned here.

It's fairly rare and has to be done just right to pull it off.

Does Bobby Heenan count as a face turn there?

How about Tony Schiavone saying "go to hell" on tv? Does that count as a heel turn for the squeaky clean Tony?

I'm sure we could make it work somehow.

 

[justtxyank]

To the original post, I actually think Austin/Hart wasn't as much of a double turn as is made out to be. Hart was already working heel leading into that match with his wining and tirades. The match just solidified his heel turn and put Austin over as a badass face.

The Flair/Hogan from 1999 that was mentioned in this thread is a better double turn example as Flair was a clear face walking in with Hollywood the clear heel. By the end of the match the roles had reversed and Flair went on to become the big heel of the year and Hogan was face.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hogan-Flair in 99 was poorly executed. They never did anything in the story to make you want to change allegiance and the biggest pop of the night comes when Flair pins Hogan and wins the title. Hogan had to disappear a short time later for several months, out of sight, out of mind, and Flair really only got booed when he turned on The Horsemen and when he opposed Goldberg. Flair also left for a bit and by the fall both men were major faces teaminh with each other.

Austin-Brett was well done, there were signs all along leading into the match and the match itself was well executed.

Flair's best double turn was with Terryy Funk, Funk was clearly cheered as a legendary returning champ when he graciously asked Flair for a title shot only to be dismissed due to his lack of standing (ex champ or not he hadnt wrestled in forever and there were several worthy full time challengers ala Sting & Luger deserving of shots first). When Funk pummeled Flair and pildrived him through a table he immediately made Flair a sympathetic figure (and himself universally reviled) although Flair was so established as a heel he still needed to be off screen nearly a month "nursing his injuries" while Funk went nutso in order to complete the turn.