Your worst ever face or heel turn

[Wald]

The thread on the Austin Wrestlemania 17 turn got me wondering what everyone would put forward as their choice for the worst ever babyface/heel turn? Would you go with Austin at Wrestlemania 17 or something else? Personally, I thought the time was right for Austin to turn so I'm okay with that one, though doing it in Texas was probably a bad idea.

For my choice I'm going to put forward Shawn Michaels' babyface turn in 1995. To give some context to this one. HBK had gotten over as a high midcard heel to the extent that he was chosen to win the 1995 Royal Rumble and face his former bodyguard Diesel at Wrestlemania XI for the title. The match itself was good but was mostly memorable for being the first WWF title match in history that didn't main event Wrestlemania, Bam Bam vs Lawrence Taylor getting the nod to close the show. But Shawn was known for being a cocky, arrogant, obnoxious asshole who was also one of the best in-ring performers in the business by that stage. Fans loved to hate him and some just plain loved him (myself included at the time).

I'm not criticising the decision to turn HBK babyface here, though I would argue that the WWF at the time was in more need of a main event heel than another main event babyface. I'm more arguing with the execution. How it happened went down on the Raw after Wrestlemania and was built on how Shawn's bodyguard, Psycho Sid, inadvertently distracted the ref at a key moment when Shawn might have had Diesel beat. Knowing that Shawn's heel character was an obnoxious primadonna, I want you to watch this and tell me who comes across like the babyface in this segment.

[YOUTUBE]Bi5geLcu9hY[/YOUTUBE]

I'd argue Sid looked like the latest bodyguard Shawn had taken for granted and had turned babyface by attacking the heel. The only indicators that Sid was supposed to be the heel here is that he clotheslined Shawn when Shawn's back was half turned and that he gave him numerous powerbombs. Everything else points to Shawn being the heel instigating a Sid babyface turn and the fans certainly reacted that way. At best I'd say that both Shawn and Sid are supposed to look heelish in this segment and that no babyface turn occurred.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Miz's face turn.

His heel run was actually pretty good IMO. He is very good on the mic and made people just boo the crap out of him. All the while he was doing a lot of talk shows and such where it was very obvious he has tons of charisma. Well his time as a top heel was starting to fade after losing the title, but he was still in upper programs. He even teased being on a face team during an SS or Bragging Rights match (not sure which). They could've used his momentum to make his face turn pretty big (like they could've with Rollins had he not gotten injured). Well they never pulled the trigger, waited way too long after his momentum had fizzled, and then suddenly he's just a face. No memorable turn or anything. He just was face now.

I understand they do that with the Divas all the time because no one cares about them, but he had a real shot and they blew it.

 

[toon126]

Austin's heel turn, for shock value it was something, but long-term it did more harm than good... Still, at least WWE had the balls to do stuff like that back then.

Face turns... Pretty much any face turn in the last five years with the exception of The Shield.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Alberto Del Rio's face turn. He was heel and then he just...wasn't.


Miz's face turn is a close second.

 

[stingray11214]

Rock's heel turn after SummerSlam 2002. It was so forced that even the Rock did not realize that he was now a heel. Rock got practically booed out of Nassau Coliseum. After the cameras cut, he was so tongue tied that he did not know what to say. Needless to say, the heel turn was VERY short lived.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

]The match itself was good but was mostly memorable for being the first WWF title match in history that didn't main event Wrestlemania, Bam Bam vs Lawrence Taylor getting the nod to close the show.

Incorrect. Savage/Flair for the title at WM8 didn't close the show, Hogan's then retirement match against Sid did.

Anyway, I agree. Shawn should not have turned face, he was a natural heel and they should have kept him that way. When he turned face, they basically neutered him.

And for worst heel turn, off the top of my head I have to go with Austin. This was not Hogan turning heel and starting the nWo. It just didn't work.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Just pick one of The Big Show's 3 million Face/Heel turns...

The big man has switched roles so often that literally no-one cares any more, and it's become a running joke. Not only has his in-ring work got worse and worse as the years have gone on, but the interest from the fans is almost non-existent these days.

Big Show was a phenomenal athlete for his size when he debuted in WWE, but a combination of laziness and awful booking from WWE, constantly switching him from heel to face have completely turned fans off over the years, meaning any turns now are totally boring and inneffective.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Daniel Bryan's heel turn was the lamest in my opinion. Only for like a week and no one even bought it. Oh and Del Rio's heel turn after running over Santa Claus

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I can't say which I felt was the best or worst turn ever but I would agree that Alberto Del Rio's face turn was one of the worst. It was bad because it felt so forced and sudden and his WM angle with Jack Swagger didn't help things either. As I recall Swagger and Zeb were playing the Immigration angle and Del Rio was supposed to be the immigrant that went to America to live the American dream. Except that Del Rio was supposed to be a Mexican Ted Debiase and rich aristocrat that owns acres of land and stuff that doesn't fit a profile of an immigrant. I always wondered what was creative thinking at this time

Rock's heel turn after SummerSlam 2002. It was so forced that even the Rock did not realize that he was now a heel. Rock got practically booed out of Nassau Coliseum. After the cameras cut, he was so tongue tied that he did not know what to say. Needless to say, the heel turn was VERY short lived.

I disagree, The Rock actually didn't officially turn heel at Summer Slam 2002 it was just that the crowd turned on him and The Rock had to play the anti-Rock crowd. I'd say though he did a pretty good job improvising at this event considering the was blindsided by the reaction.

His official heel turn was after Rumble 2003 when he returned and it was only short lived because he took time of after Backlash 2003 for his movie commitments. And had to return to work that angle with Foley.

I thought his heel turn was great and fans actually had no problems booing him. I guess that what makes The Rock so talented that he's so good and charismatic that he can be so entertaining as a heel that fans would go along with it and boo him because it was fun.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Stone Cold Steve Austin's heel turn basically tanked the whole company, so I'm gonna go with that.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I didn't mind Austin's heel turn. It was unpredictable to say the least. I'll go with a recent heel turn that was planned so poorly it didn't even work out as a turn so it wasn't acknowledged as a turn. The Undertaker .

Brock Lesnar - Face - Fighting heel Seth Rollins. Undertaker costs Brock Lesnar the title and hits Brock in the nuts to get the advantage. When has Taker ever had to resort to ball punching somebody ? The fans didn't buy it. They continued it for another night and the massive brawl on Raw wiped the heel turn away and people completely forgot he was trying to be a heel.

 

[SSJPhenom]

I have to go with HBK’s heel turn before Summer Slam 2005 to face Hulk Hogan. It just seemed so forced that it’s ridiculous. Actually, if you listen to HBK talk about this angle, it was forced. HBK wanted it to be a scenario where he just had to know if he could beat Hogan. Hogan, on the other hand, gave his classic, “That doesn’t do anything for me brother,” line and insisted that it be a classic face vs. heel scenario. Now, I’ll admit that some of those promos that HBK cut during that angle were outstanding. The Larry King skit was hilarious and the one he did in Canada, where he’s booed anyway, where he teased a Bret Hart return (even going so far as to play his music) was pure gold. Having said that though, it was stuff that HBK just didn’t want to do and it showed. It especially showed during their match. You could definitely tell that Shawn wasn’t happy with the way things were going. He was over selling and acting ridiculous during the match. Still, even with Shawn’s antics during the match, it turned out to be a pretty good match and one of the best that Hogan has ever had. After the match was over though, HBK went right back to being a face. That’s why I didn’t like the heel turn. He was doing it for one match and I never like that.

 

[J.D Lethal]

May catch some heat for this one but Nikki Bella's Heel turn..Ya'll remember when Brie was fried and for sticking up her Husband and also like jumping Stephine. Well i do i thought the Match between Brie and Steph would of been good and would of Lead to Brie being a Diva's Champ while Daniel Held the WWE Title...but nope Nikki had to turn on his sister which lead to a match that Brie Lost and became Nikki's slave,Sidekick,Servant..B+ etc... i'd also add Adam Rose because boy did the WWE drop the ball both Face and Heel with him

 

[d_henderson1810]

I didn't mind Austin's heel turn. It was unpredictable to say the least. I'll go with a recent heel turn that was planned so poorly it didn't even work out as a turn so it wasn't acknowledged as a turn. The Undertaker .

Brock Lesnar - Face - Fighting heel Seth Rollins. Undertaker costs Brock Lesnar the title and hits Brock in the nuts to get the advantage. When has Taker ever had to resort to ball punching somebody ? The fans didn't buy it. They continued it for another night and the massive brawl on Raw wiped the heel turn away and people completely forgot he was trying to be a heel.

Maybe Taker would have taken off more as a heel if they didn't have Paul Heyman virtually acting heelish in promos, by disrespecting the Undertaker.

If Taker had tombstoned Heyman, when Heyman showed Taker respect, and threatened to do the same to Brock, then fans may have bought it. But having Brock and Heyman act exactly the same made it harder to cheer for Brock against a beloved icon like Taker.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I have to go with HBK’s heel turn before Summer Slam 2005 to face Hulk Hogan. It just seemed so forced that it’s ridiculous. Actually, if you listen to HBK talk about this angle, it was forced. HBK wanted it to be a scenario where he just had to know if he could beat Hogan. Hogan, on the other hand, gave his classic, “That doesn’t do anything for me brother,” line and insisted that it be a classic face vs. heel scenario. Now, I’ll admit that some of those promos that HBK cut during that angle were outstanding. The Larry King skit was hilarious and the one he did in Canada, where he’s booed anyway, where he teased a Bret Hart return (even going so far as to play his music) was pure gold. Having said that though, it was stuff that HBK just didn’t want to do and it showed. It especially showed during their match. You could definitely tell that Shawn wasn’t happy with the way things were going. He was over selling and acting ridiculous during the match. Still, even with Shawn’s antics during the match, it turned out to be a pretty good match and one of the best that Hogan has ever had. After the match was over though, HBK went right back to being a face. That’s why I didn’t like the heel turn. He was doing it for one match and I never like that.

I think Shawn should have done what he was told and stayed heel for a while.

This was during the failed Brand Extension. Shawn was on Raw forever, and had fought all the main heel guys on Raw. He either needed to go to Smackdown, and fight fresh opponents, or if he stayed on Raw, he needed to go heel, and fight all the face guys on Raw.

He did neither, so we were stuck with HBK fighting Triple H, Randy Orton and others for the fiftieth time, when they had done every concievable match with him.

HBK was brilliant that month against Hogan. I think a few months as a heel would freshen him up and give him new programs where he could put some young talent over.

Apparently, the reason Shawn was reluctant was because he felt that it would clash with his religious beliefs, and that it wouldn't look good at his church if he plays a heel on screen. Well, if they can't tell the difference, then they are dumb, because it is simply acting, and a heel Michaels doesn't take away from the real Shawn Michaels.

I think a worse HBK heel turn was against Daniel Bryan at HIAC 2013, since Shawn had retired. If Shawn was still fighting, a series between him and DB would have been awesome (adding in the teacher v student element on top of it), but if there was never going to be a match, then the HBK heel turn was pointless, unless there was a proper pay-off.

 

[Cena Is A Punk Rocker]

I didn't mind the Austin heel turn. I thought the two man power trip with HHH was on its way to being a really solid piece of work until Trips got injured. I remember the two of them getting some pretty good heat at the time. After the injury it just went south in my opinion.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Maybe Taker would have taken off more as a heel if they didn't have Paul Heyman virtually acting heelish in promos, by disrespecting the Undertaker.

If Taker had tombstoned Heyman, when Heyman showed Taker respect, and threatened to do the same to Brock, then fans may have bought it. But having Brock and Heyman act exactly the same made it harder to cheer for Brock against a beloved icon like Taker.

Undertaker as a heel and Brock Lesnar as a face just wouldn't work. WWE did everything possible to turn Undertaker heel, but it failed. Fans simply won't accept Undertaker as a cowardly cheater and Brock Lesnar as a superhero.

 

[miamicanes460]

Randy Orton as a face. The dude is such a good heel. Keep him that way. His best work was 2009 heel Orton where he had "IED." Just RKOing everyone & punt kicking people in the face. I want that Orton back.

 

[WhiplashUnited]

Stone Cold's heel turn relied a lot on Triple H. I enjoyed their partnership but as soon as Triple H got injured it wasn't the same mainly because a) I'm sure at that time The Rock was doing a film and was absent and b) Austin was either injured or wasn't 100% (from what he said on some WWE network special) so he spent more time doing comedy and mainly wrestling PPVs.

Without mentioning Big Show's 20 odd turns, it becomes kind of difficult.

Most of the people who joined the nWo (mainly not to get beaten up), Randy Savage originally joining them was dumb because it left Luger to be Hogan's main rivalry until Starrcade, 10 months and no true rival to Hollywood Hogan. probably more unnecessary than bad. Like Daniel Bryan joining the Wyatts.

One thing I did find dumb was the non-end to the Bellas rivalry. They went from fiuedibg to Brie being her slave to all of a sudden they were back together with no logic behind it.

 

[relentless1]

Worst ever heel turn has to be Sting at Fall Brawl '99.

It was poorly executed, even by WCW standards at the time and it was very poorly followed up on at Halloween Havoc and the Nitros leading up to it, I mean the video package was hilarious, trying to turn silent Sting into a "he was evil all along" scenario was a joke. Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02IVz6fbF-8

Most importantly, the fans called BS and weren't having it, so much so that they dropped it pretty much immediately after Halloween Havoc.

 

[MWRedskins]

For me it has to be Goldberg's heel turn. WCW did it for Hogan-like shock value, but all it did was shock the fans for they were surprised WCW did something so stupid. It failed as some people cheered Goldberg (since he had a right to be angry with Hogan and Nash) and the turn lasted about 2 months, plus, Goldberg was still a hot face at the time, so why turn him?? That made little sense, when Hogan turned he was already being booed, Goldberg however wasn't. WCW should've had him chasing Jarrett for his title.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Brie Bella's unexplained heel turn on AJ at last year's Survivor Series - not so much that she helped her sister win the title (she was her 'slave' in the storyline, so that made sense); more that she then aligned herself with her sister straight away, as if the previous three months of storyline development had never happened. That is when a turn is truly horrible, when it completely contradicts the preceding storyline that it was built into.

An honourable mention to all those wrestlers who magically switched personalities, from heel to face or vice versa, during the Brand Extension era, simply because they got drafted to a different show. A few did this, often when tag teams were split (D-Von Dudley turned heel in 2002 simply because he got drafted to Smackdown; John Morrison went face in 2009 when he was drafted to Raw, etc) but not always tag teams - I'm sure I remember Mark Henry turning purely because he moved shows. Didn't make much sense. A more interesting turn would be to have, say, a face D-Von (for example) get rejected and made to feel unwelcome, for whatever reason, thus causing resentment culminating in a heel turn.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Worst heel turn for me would be Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2001 when he turned heel at WrestleMania 17 but the worst face turn would have to be Randy Orton in 2004 when he turned babyface after Evolution turned on Orton

 

[whoopin' ass]

My worst turn? Last week in the office when i turned heel on my team ...

I have to go with Austin when he joined with Vince. I mentioned it in another post - it came out of nowhere and made no sense. It was a preview of modern booking in that they turned someone purely for the shock value and then tried to figure out a reason why but it just didn't work.