10 Most Shocking WWE Heel Turns

Babyface vs. Heel has been one of the foundational pieces of professional wrestling for decades. To get that heel, though, sometimes there needs to be a turn and the heel turn is arguably at its most effective when fans don’t really see it coming. 

These are the 10 Most Shocking WWE Heel Turns in history. 

10. Shawn Michaels on Hulk Hogan - 2005

When Shawn Michaels returned to WWE in 2002, it was as a much different person to the man who had made life a misery for many of his colleagues in the 1990s. The Heartbreak Kid was changed, having kicked his habits and become a born-again Christian prior to his unlikely comeback following four years out of the ring due to a serious back injury. 

This renewed faith also led to Michaels remaining a staunch babyface following his return, spending his first couple of years back on TV feuding with real-life best friend but on-screen nemesis Triple H after HHH turned on Michaels in the Summer of 2002. 

A short feud and big-money match with Hulk Hogan was enough to turn the Heartbreak Kid to the dark side in 2005, however. The programme began in the aftermath of WrestleMania 21, with Hogan returning on the April 18, 2005 episode of Raw to save Shawn and accept his plea to be his tag team partner against Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Michaels and Hogan went on to defeat the dastardly Hassan and Daivari at Backlash and after another win - this time over Carlito and Kurt Angle - on the July 4 episode of Raw, Shawn Michaels cut short his post-match celebrations with Hulk by kicking Hogan right in the face with a Sweet Chin Music. 

The turn came out of nowhere, making it all the more effective as there hadn't been one drop of dissension between The Heartbreak Kid and The Hulkster. What followed was some of the best work of Michaels’ career, particularly in Montreal (the scene of the Montreal Screwjob) on the August 15 episode of Raw when HBK teased a return for Bret Hart, only to reveal he had manipulated the titantron before yelling, “Who’s your daddy Montreal?”

A three-match series between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan was originally planned but was ultimately scrapped, with Hogan winning their only match at SummerSlam, which is infamous for Michaels’ over-the-top selling. After the programme ended, Michaels reverted back to his babyface ways and remained on the light side until retiring in 2010. 

9. Sgt. Slaughter on the United States - 1990

Sgt. Slaughter was a heel for much of his career until he turned babyface in early 1984, turning his back on The Iron Sheik as he looked to defend America’s honour against the hated Iranian, with Slaughter invoking the Iran hostage crisis, which ended three years earlier, as part of his babyface turn. The turn made Slaughter one of the biggest babyfaces in the company but he was soon gone from WWE following a falling out with Vince McMahon.

After five years in the AWA, Slaughter returned to WWE in 1990 and instead of teaming with Hulk Hogan, he turned his back on the United States of America and became an Iraqi sympathiser, supporting Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in the Summer of 1990. 

Complaining that the United States had gone soft while Iraq was brutal, Slaughter aligned with General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa (Iron Sheik) and began wearing Arab headdresses and using the Camel Clutch as a finisher. 

It was a truly shocking change in tact and resulted in Slaughter receiving death threats. Thankfully, the company didn't go through with him burning Old Glory on air as had been discussed, with a sacred Hulk Hogan t-shirt being used instead. 

The heel turn led to Slaughter winning the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 1991 and then dropping the belt to Hogan at WrestleMania VII, a match which took place only one month after coalition forces had defeated Iraq in the Gulf War. 

Addressing the turn on Brisco and Bradshaw, Slaughter said: 

“I walk in and here’s a diagram of the LA coliseum, a prototype. There’s big-screen TV’s on both ends and both sides, and he says that’s where WrestleMania VII is going to take place. I said really? Outdoor.’ He said yeah ‘104,000 people, I want to break the Detroit record.’ I said ‘Great, unbelievable. I think you’ll do it.’ He says, ‘I know I’ll do it! I’m going to have you do it with me.’ I said ‘What do you mean?’ He goes ‘You and Hulk Hogan will sell that out.’ I said ‘Me and Hulk Hogan? How are you going to make Hulk Hogan the villain?’ He gets right in my face and goes ‘Hulk Hogan? No…You! GI Joe are going to be the villain.’

“Here’s my idea, you’re coming back from, we don’t have to say GI Joe, and you’re angry, you’ve got a chip on your shoulder. What is wrong with America? They’re weak, they let little countries like Iraq take over Kuwait, take all the Iranian… control the world and you’re angry at your military and your country.

“He said what do you think? I wanted to say you’re out of your mind, but I said ‘I like it. I can see that. It can really be a good one.’ He said ‘Before you agree, go and talk it over with your family, because it could get a little dangerous.’”

H/T Inside The Ropes

8. Paul Bearer on The Undertaker - 1996

There was something not quite right about The Undertaker's original pairing with Brother Love, a fact that WWE seemed well aware of as they soon switched him out for the much more appropriate figure of Paul Bearer. The ghastly duo were instantly iconic.

Under the guidance of Bearer, The Deadman flipped between heel and face and back again, achieving success as WWE Champion and quickly cementing himself as one of the company's strongest and most popular characters, regardless of whether he was on the light side or dark side. 

After over five years by each other's sides, a split in the Summer of 1996 was not too surprising, but the manner in which it happened truly was. The turn took place at the end of Undertaker and Mankind's chaotic Boiler Room Brawl battle at SummerSlam, as they made their way into the arena and fought over possession of the mystical urn. Bearer refused to hand it to his protege when he had the advantage and instead proceeded to help put the boots to the Phenom, switching allegiances to Mankind, much to the confusion of both 'Taker and the crowd in attendance.

There would be many more twists and turns in the Bearer/Undertaker relationship in the ensuing years, but this initial turn still ranks as one of the most shocking aspects of their storied association. 

7. Rikishi when he did it for The Rock - 2000

The question of who was the unknown assailant that ran down Steve Austin at the 1999 Survivor Series was a whodunit that remained unanswered for almost a year while the Texas Rattlesnake recovered from major neck surgery. 

When he returned in the Autumn of 2000, Austin wanted answers and set about accusing anyone and everyone to get to the bottom of it. Of all potential culprits, one of the least likely was Rikishi, the fun-loving, dancing babyface whose career had, coincidentally, skyrocketed in Austin's absence. 

As revealed by Commissioner Mick Foley following a thorough investigation and a couple of red herrings, it indeed was Rikishi behind the wheel on that fateful night, with Rikishi claiming he did the deed in a bid to help the career of his cousin, The Rock, while implying that WWE was intrinsically racist and pushed white wrestlers ahead of those of colour. 

It was a reveal right out of left field and the reasoning left a little to be desired, but it did give Rikishi a crack at main-event stardom in feuds with both Steve Austin and The Rock. Also, who can forget him taking a Chokeslam from the top of Hell in a Cell into a truck full of wood chips at Armageddon 2000?

The heel turn was ultimately a bomb, though, and WWE quickly transplanted the heat onto Triple H, who was revealed as the real mastermind behind the vehicular assault. 

6. Shawn Michaels on Marty Jannetty - 1992

The Rockers were a quintessentially late 1980s/early 1990s babyface tag team. They were colourful and exciting, slapped hands with the fans, and always played by the rules. A joy to watch, they were often the highlight of WWE cards of the era and forged a legacy as one of the best duos ever. 

It was clear to some, though, that as good as they were as a team, they were two potential singles stars just waiting to break out. The pair started to show some signs of dissension in late 1991, and were invited onto Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop talk show to hash it out. 

All looked well as they appeared to put their differences aside and embraced in what looked like a clear sign that they were on the same page, only for Shawn Michaels to blast Marty Jannetty with a vicious Sweet Chin Music, before throwing him head-first through the Barber Shop window. Michaels then tore up a picture of him and his former partner. 

It was an impactful angle and a great turn that really came from out of nowhere, launching the singles career of the Heartbreak Kid in the process.

5. Kevin Owens on Chris Jericho - 2017

Kevin Owens' betrayal of Chris Jericho was a case of a heel turn where the person turning may not have technically been a babyface, but the circumstances surrounding the act made it appear as such. 

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho initially formed an alliance in the Summer of 2016, defeating Big Cass and Enzo Amore at SummerSlam 2016, and they remained together for the next several months after Kevin Owens became Universal Champion. 

The pair had an entertaining dynamic of Jericho doing everything in his power to ensure his “best friend” remained Universal Champion in matches against Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman. Jericho around this time also invented the List of Jericho, a list of people he believed had wronged him, with crowds around North America roaring whenever Jericho yelled, ‘You just made the list!” at an unfortunate babyface. 

Their chemistry was incredible and, though ostensibly heels, their schtick was so over that they became babyfaces in the eyes of many, with the crowd popping big when Chris Jericho and Owens defeated Roman Reigns for Jericho to become United States Champion in January 2017. 

Disaster was just around the corner, though, and their union came to an end at the fantastically elaborate Festival of Friendship, which Jericho had organised for his buddy. After all the platitudes and song-and-dance routines had finished, Owens gifted Jericho a new clipboard with Chris asking ‘Why is my name on this?’ as the camera panned up to reveal it was the ‘List of KO’. The moment of realisation allowed Owens to attack as gasps filled the arena in what can only be described as a fantastic piece of business played to perfection by all involved. 

Original plans called for Jericho and Owens to face off over the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33 before Jericho would then lose the belt to Brock Lesnar soon after. WWE scrapped those plans, though, in favour of Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar and KO vs. Jericho was relegated to being for the United States Title and the second match on the card. Jericho, over the slight by Vince McMahon, would leave WWE soon after and return to NJPW before later signing with AEW as one of the new promotion’s top stars.

4. Randy Savage on Hulk Hogan - 1989

Macho Man Randy Savage's slow burn babyface turn was complete at Saturday Night’s Main Event on October 3, 1987 when he shook hands with Hulk Hogan, who had come to Savage's aid on Miss Elizabeth’s urging to save Macho Man from a beatdown at the hands of the Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation. 

When on the same page, nobody could hope to compete with the Mega Powers. All was not well forever, however, and Savage, a paranoid hothead at the best of times, grew suspicious of Hogan's feelings for Miss Elizabeth. 

His paranoia spilt over during the Mega Powers vs. Twins Towers at the Main Event II when Savage was thrown outside of the ring and landed on Elizabeth, causing Hogan to carry her off backstage. She was fine and Hulk returned, but Randy then took off himself and left Hogan to fight the odds alone. This being Hogan, he succeeded anyway. 

Tempers flared in the post-match backstage scene as Savage ranted and raved while Hogan begged Elizabeth to talk some sense into her man. While he was doing so, Savage attacked and beat down the Real American, hitting him with the WWE Title. 

This, obviously, brought an end to the Mega Powers team, while also turning Savage heel and setting up the WrestleMania V headline feud and match. 

While their relationship was rarely totally harmonious and Savage often simmered away in the background, it was still a shocking act, especially for the times, and one of the great turns of all-time. 

3. Seth Rollins on The Shield - 2014

From their debut at Survivor Series 2012 until their dissolution on that fateful episode of Monday Night Raw in June 2014, The Shield were arguably the most powerful force in WWE. Demonstrating that there really is strength in numbers, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose ran roughshod over the promotion, holding the United States Title and WWE Tag Team Championships at one point. 

The trio were heels for much of their run but they were so talented and cool with their cavalier attitude and SWAT-style gear that, inevitably, they became babyfaces. Cracks began to appear not too long after the turn, however, especially during their series of awesome matches with the Wyatt Family, though they managed to get things back on track and cleared the air before entering into a feud with Evolution. 

The day after The Hounds of Justice did a clean sweep against Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton in a six-man elimination match at Payback, it was revealed that, after The Animal had quit earlier in the broadcast, The Game's 'Plan B' for getting rid of The Shield was Rollins attacking his teammates from behind with a steel chair. An audible gasp filled the arena after Rollins struck Roman Reigns in the back as Dean Ambrose looked on stunned, which allowed a three-on-two beatdown to commence. 

This led to years of feuds of Rollins against Reigns or Ambrose, during which they all held the WWE World Heavyweight Title on the same night at Money in the Bank 2016. The Shield finally reunited in 2017 and remained together on-off until Ambrose exited WWE in 2019. 

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin on The Rock - 2001

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock was basically the only option to headline WrestleMania X-Seven and the two stalwarts were set on a collision course for the Showcase of the Immortals, with Austin winning the Royal Rumble while Rocky defeated Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at No Way Out 2001. Mania, of course, just happened to be taking place in Austin’s home state of Texas. 

The encounter was a rare Babyface vs. Babyface clash in WWE in the main event of what remains to this day the best show WWE has ever done. The build-up, outside of Debra’s involvement, largely centred around the fact that both men felt a strong need to be WWE Champion above all else and would stop at nothing to walk out of the Houston Astrodome with the gold, which was only showcased more in the iconic ‘My Way’ video package. 

Stone Cold proved true to his word, enlisting the help of his mortal enemy, Mr. McMahon, in order to finally get the victory over a resilient Brahma Bull. The sight of the blue-collar, beer-drinking hero and the nefarious CEO shaking hands and sharing a beer after destroying the Great One to win the WWE Title certainly took a moment to sink in, but you just couldn’t take your eyes away from the CRT TV. 

Austin insisted upon turning heel at WrestleMania X-Seven but the switch ultimately didn’t work as the fans simply didn’t want to boo The Texas Rattlesnake despite his devilish ways. He would eventually turn babyface again in the aftermath of the Invasion angle. 

Austin has since said that if he could redo WrestleMania X-Seven again he would call an audible and hit Vince with a Stunner, cancelling the planned heel turn. 

1. John Cena on Cody Rhodes - 2025

A heel turn no one saw coming. 

John Cena rose to prominence as a heel in the early 2000s as the rapping Doctor of Thuganomics, entertaining fans during his programmes with the likes of Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. Cena ended up becoming so popular, though, that he turned babyface in late 2003 when he joined Team Angle against Team Lesnar at Survivor Series. 

For the next 22 years, Cena, while displaying heelish tendencies at times, remained a force for good in WWE and a babyface. Cena even stuck by his ‘Hustle, Loyalty, Respect’ motto for years after fans began to boo him in 2005/2006, with the boos only worsening the longer Super Cena remained the top star of the company.

Plans were once in place for Cena to turn heel as part of his programme with The Rock from 2011 to 2013 but WWE never pulled the trigger. 

Cena said about the turn on Insight with Chris Van Vliet: 

"It was Cena Rock I. I got word that they were going to do it. I went out and recorded a new song. I went out and got all new gear. I wasn't prepared for Ruthless Aggression. That was the last time I wasn't prepared. I mean, I heard rumblings of, we're going to do it, and in 48 hours, I had a new track, a new studio mix theme song, and a final mix. I had seven new singlets, low-cut singlets with boxing-type robes. I already had the boots in storage, so I dusted them off. I was ready to go and already thinking about what I could do with the story. Okay, what is a heel? A heel is not just new gear. The objectivity, or the message behind the singlet and the boxing robes and the boots is the exact opposite of what you saw with the street gear, the jeans shorts, the t-shirt, the ball cap, the sneakers. Go the opposite route and now lean into the opposite of everything you stand for.

"So I would begin to not work as hard. I would show up less. I would be untrustworthy and unloyal. I would lack respect in what I did. I would give up a lot. All those things you can take and make interesting stories and this is the stuff that's running through my head, not what moves can I do. It's like, how can I take the intellectual property that people are familiar with and twist it so it's like, this guy's f*cking insane. It's everything I've come to love and now I genuinely hate it and being a real bad guy, and I think that was the conversation that was eventually had where it's like, okay, it's a bad idea. I'm like, Hey, I know this is going to sting, but I'm not going to sell another t-shirt. I'm going to take all merchandise off the market. I'm not going to put out anything new. I'm not going to do any more appearances. I'm not going to do any Make-A-Wish. I'm not going to do anything like that. I'm going to be a bad guy to make your good guy so your good guy does all that. That's when I was like, we're kind of in too deep. So it worked out the way it worked out, but bro, I was ready."

After taking on a part-time schedule from 2016, though, Cena began to receive more of a positive reception, particularly in the 2020s, and it appeared the 16-time world champion would never turn heel, particularly after he announced that 2025 would be his farewell tour. 

The pursuit of a record-breaking 17th world title made it all change for Cena, though, and he did the unthinkable at Elimination Chamber 2025. Cena had already played into being a heel during the closing stages of the Men’s Elimination Chamber, taking full advantage of Seth Rollins laying out CM Punk in full view of him when he dragged Punk into the middle of the ring and forced him to pass out with an STF. 

This heelish tendency was just something Cena had tapped into during his 22 years as a babyface, though. Surely it wouldn’t lead to anything? Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes then arrived before The Rock and Travis Scott (for some reason) came out and Rhodes gave The Rock his answer about becoming his champion, telling him to go f*ck himself. 

Cena celebrated Cody’s announcement, giving an almighty roar with the fans inside Rogers Centre in Toronto, before he embraced Rhodes. Cena’s expression then suddenly darkened and after The Rock ran a finger across his throat, John Cena, a man months away from retiring, kicked Cody Rhodes right in the nether regions. 

Cena then proceeded to pulverise Rhodes with his own watch and the Undisputed WWE Title belt before standing tall with The Rock and Travis Scott. 

How effective Cena’s heel run will be remains to be seen, but his turn was on the level of Hulk Hogan back at WCW Bash in the Beach 1996. The man who looked set to be a babyface forever turned to the dark side.