What was the COLDEST heel turn in wrestling history?

[IT Factor]

There are many choices throughout wrestling history to choose from. There are two turns that have to be tied for my top turns;

1}The Immortal "Hulk Hogan" turning on WCW to become "Hollywood" Hogan: This is without a doubt one of the biggest turns that pro wrestling had ever seen. I don't think anyone watching WCW at that time would've ever guessed Hulk Hogan as the traitor to WCW. And the fan reaction to that turn alone should put it at the top of anyone's "coldest heel turn" list. It did a great job setting up the nWo storyline and also was innovative because Hogan was strictly a good guy up until that point. And although Hogan has tried to recapture that magical heel turn again, he could never pull it off. The first time was the best.

2}HBK turning on Janetty: That was a shock to anyone at the time who saw the way it was pulled off. Yeah, everyone knew the Rockers were probably gonna split and that HBK was going solo. The whole imagery of HBK superkicking Marty and then throwing him through that window, was pretty cold as far as heel turns go. Everytime I think about that turn, I'm remembering Bobby Heenan calling Janetty a "coward" and saying he was "running from Shawn". Classic Brain

Those have gotta be the two coldest turns I've ever witnessed and are probably two of the most impactful turns. Hogan did it and established the nWo, which led to WCW kicking WWF's ass for some time. Michaels did it and established a bona-fide, controversial, hall-of-fame career that will be remembered for as long as the sport exists. Great topic!

 

[Kliq69]

Ummm, okay... Hogan's heel turn was the coldest in history. I did NOT misread the question. Hogan's heel turn was the biggest, most shocking, and COLDEST heel turn in history.

Hogan turning his back on all of the little Hulkamaniacs, Macho Man, & WCW is as cold as it gets.

The closest thing that could happen in today's business would be if John Cena told all the little kids to "stick it" and left for TNA.

You do realize Hogan was taken off tv before the turn because of the constant boos he was getting the previous year right? The fans of the day acted the same towards him as fans today do towards Cena.

Had Hogan turned in the early 90s let's just say around the time of Desert Storm and sided with Slaughter then maybe, but the true Hulkamaniacs (ie the kids in the 80s) had already grown bored with him by that point. Oh and Macho Man had turned on Hogan long before that so it should not be a factor. Also Hogan had already turned on the WWF by signing with WCW so company loyalty should not be a factor. It wasn't as shocking as people act like it was.

 

[Giddy]

It's gotta be Hogan joining the NWO. That catapulted a new era in wrestling, and started one of the best and most controversial groups ever. Plus no one saw that coming. It was Hulk Hogan! The hero! And he just turned his back on everyone. There was legit hate after that.

 

[BigThunder]

Jake the Snake's heel turn on the Ultimage Warrior. Despite being part of one of the cheeziest promos ever, Jake made it work.

Also, Hogan's heel turn on Mr. Wonderful, and the Macho Man, and on Andre. (As an unapologetic Hogan-hater, I had a
somewhat different perspective on those events. )

More seriously. Zbysko's turn on Bruno and Flair turning on Rhodes after Rhodes saved him from Nikita and Ivan.

 

[Skinner]

I'll name some heel turns that were not as well remembered, but were chillingly cold.

1. The Kona Crush turning his back on Macho Man because he didn't have his back when Yoko bonzai'd him five or six times. Crush was very popular in his surfer gimmick.

2. Men on a Mission turning heel and kicking the asses of the Smoking Gunns. But what made this "cold" was turning on their longtime hype man, Oscar. He was beaten down, and then Mabel did a big splash on their old manager.

3. The 123 Kid turning on Razor Ramon and joining the Million Dollar Corporation for 5 Canadian Dollars

4. The British Bulldog turning his back on Diesel and becoming heel and joining Jim Cornette's stable and becoming an anti-USA heel

5. Owen Hart joining the Nation by kicking Ken Shamrock in the nads and then biting his face off.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

You do realize Hogan was taken off tv before the turn because of the constant boos he was getting the previous year right? The fans of the day acted the same towards him as fans today do towards Cena.

Had Hogan turned in the early 90s let's just say around the time of Desert Storm and sided with Slaughter then maybe, but the true Hulkamaniacs (ie the kids in the 80s) had already grown bored with him by that point. Oh and Macho Man had turned on Hogan long before that so it should not be a factor. Also Hogan had already turned on the WWF by signing with WCW so company loyalty should not be a factor. It wasn't as shocking as people act like it was.

Yea not really true at all. Hogan was getting "get off my TV heat". People weren't showing up to events, he wasn't boosting ratings, the crowd was the southern rasslin fans and they wanted to see Flair.

With Cena, people pay money to buy shirts that say "Cena sucks" and make signs that say "Cena sucks" and chant "Cena sucks" because the audience isn't a uniform demographic. To some, his actions are great, to others, it's heelish. This is the anti-hero generation. It's a lot different than Hogan not being over in the south where he was never really over and where they wrestled a totally different style.

But sure, if you want to pull the IWC cliche of relating two guys who are muscular babyface who get booed (but for different reasons) then sure. Hogan=Cena.


The Hogan heel turn was a pretty big deal because no one thought he'd do it. This was before the internet was real prevelant. Hogan could have been known as an asshole in real life, but not the character. It was surprising and great.

My favorite heel turn is everytime Cena shows up and the IWC begs him to turn heel, you are practically screaming "PLEASE TURN HEEL, I BOO YOU BECAUSE IT'S THE COOL THING TO DO, PLEASE TURN HEEL I'D LOVE IT" and he just kinda goes "lol no, keep buying tickets to make noise and keep buying those Cena sucks shirts".


But really, I'd have to go with the fake Sting heel turn before Fall Brawl 1996. He got out of the limo and attacked Luger. Turns out to be a fake Sting but still, made me sad.

 

[californiachef84]

You do realize Hogan was taken off tv before the turn because of the constant boos he was getting the previous year right? The fans of the day acted the same towards him as fans today do towards Cena.

Had Hogan turned in the early 90s let's just say around the time of Desert Storm and sided with Slaughter then maybe, but the true Hulkamaniacs (ie the kids in the 80s) had already grown bored with him by that point. Oh and Macho Man had turned on Hogan long before that so it should not be a factor. Also Hogan had already turned on the WWF by signing with WCW so company loyalty should not be a factor. It wasn't as shocking as people act like it was.

You are so far off base that it is surreal...

Hogan was booed in the South... the South was Flair country. Hogan was the WWF guy from New York. This is why Hogan was getting boos. You got that?

Secondly, "It wasn't as shocking as people act like it was" is without a doubt the FUNNIEST comment I have ever heard....

You lose ALL CREDIBILITY when you say stupid things like that.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

The coldest heel turn has to be Cena. Many would scratch their heads and say he hasn't turned heel. The fact is, he has. He has turned an entire demographic against him, simply by continuing to act and do what they hate the most about him. In my books, that is what a true heel does. No matter how much the fans beg for him to change the course of his character, he steadfastly continues with the same routine. So, in essence, he has turned a cold shoulder to a large segment of the wrestling audience and given us a great big F-U. As much as I loathe the whole "C-Nation" aspect of John Cena, I have to give him props for continuing to incur my wrath.

 

[Kliq69]

You are so far off base that it is surreal...

Hogan was booed in the South... the South was Flair country. Hogan was the WWF guy from New York. This is why Hogan was getting boos. You got that?

Secondly, "It wasn't as shocking as people act like it was" is without a doubt the FUNNIEST comment I have ever heard....

You lose ALL CREDIBILITY when you say stupid things like that.

In relation to the business as a whole, the turn was excellent, however Hogan being the third man was much spoken of back then, and if you count Heenan's "but whose side is he on" intro and I for one wasn't shocked while watching it. I was more shocked at WM4 when Hogan was dq'd and then later hit Dibiase in the back with a chair.

Also it wasn't only the south, people my age were sick of Hogan in general. His heel turn made him cool again. The same thing is happening with all the Cena fans moving into their teens. Eventually they want more and look elsewhere for it.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

owen hart turning on his brother bret has to be the coldest heel turn i have ever seen. if for one they are brothers. and secondly for owen harts (you should have just tagged me) outburts after the tag match at the rumble. he completly sold the storyline.

 

[Evolution1991]

Well this thread made me have to think for a while, also ended up watching clips on youtube for a while.

I agree with a lot of people in here though the coldest turn I remember fully was Triple H against Flair. Was just brutal and JR was well on form.

Also Kane going bat crazy after taking his mask off and annihilating everyone was pretty good.

Historically though greatest ever is Hogan joining NWO. I know people harp on about it all the time but a massive heel turn like this was so massive. It would be so great for Cena to do something similar in next couple of years. If only.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Coldest? Well how about Stone COLD at Wrestlemania X7. Turning his back on everybody to side with his greatest enemy and all because of the WWF Title. Shows how much the WWF Title meant more to him than his fans if he had to resort to getting help from the devil himself.