Heels are the wrestlers you love to hate. And they’re all the more deliciously loathsome when they used to be babyfaces and made shocking turns into full-on villainous status. Here are the twenty best heel turns in the history of pro wrestling, from shocking reveals to gut-wrenching betrayals.
Tommy Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa made waves in May 2017 when he betrayed Johnny Gargano right after the end of the main event. Out of nowhere, Ciampa laid Gargano out while the broadcast was wrapping things up. This shocking turn stunned fans and cemented a new storyline for Ciampa.
Trish Stratus
In a shocking twist during WrestleMania 20, Trish Stratus suddenly stabbed Chris Jericho in the back by leaving him for Christian after his humbling loss. Trish and Christian shared a kiss in the middle of Madison Square Garden in front of the screaming crowd, drawing boos and cheers from fans. She went on to win a record fifth Women’s Championship belt after her heel turn.
Austin Idol
In an iconic match under the American Wrestling Association promotion, Austin Idol betrayed Jerry Lawler while teaming up with Paul E. Dangerously. Idol went on to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, setting up an electrifying rivalry between himself and Lawler when he won the title back in 1987.
Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was always billed as a babyface, but crowds never quite took to him. Sensing the call of the dark side, he turned heel for his 2020 reemergence in the WWE, attacking Braun Strowman and The Fiend and allying with Paul Heyman. This was also the start of the Bloodline, one of the coolest storylines in recent wrestling memory.
Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen, also known as Kevin Owens, is a well-known indie wrestler who had a very engaging storyline in late 2014 when he debuted on NXT. While he started by congratulating his longtime friend Sami Zayn for his recent championship win, he then started beating him viciously both outside and then within the ring.
Prince Devitt
While he’s called Prince Devitt in some promotions, WWE fans know him as Finn Balor. He created The Bullet Club in 2013 after losing a tag match with Ryusuke Taguchi. The NJPW club became one of the most popular teams in the world of pro wrestling and catapulted Devitt’s career into the stratosphere.
Shawn Michaels
The Heartbreak Kid was a well-liked wrestler as a babyface, but he took his career to another level when he threw Marty Jannetty through a barbershop window. His then-partner was stunned by the unprovoked violence, and Michaels rode the wave of fan hatred to one of the most legendary WWE careers of all time.
Stephanie McMahon
The daughter of the league’s owner, Vince, was a character in the ongoing storylines of the 90s. She was initially sweet and innocent, but she sided with Triple H in 1999 in a shocking heel turn that saw her taking a rebellious stance and kicking off a new era in the WWE.
Chris Jericho
No one has reinvented themselves more often or more successfully than Chris Jericho. Famously, Jericho made an unexpected heel turn in 2008, when he turned on his longtime rival Shawn Michaels. The two had long held a grudging respect for one another, but Jericho’s unprovoked violence made him a bitter enemy to Micahels.
Triple H
He’s spent plenty of time in his career as a babyface, but Triple H’s biggest talents lie in his ability to rock the ring as a heel. Famously, in 2002, he dropped the Pedigree on Shawn Michaels, ending any rumors of the two reigniting their alliance as DX. Triple H’s ensuing Reign of Terror as the champ is a much-loved storyline from the early 2000s.
Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy of the Fabulous Freebirds made early pro wrestling history when he betrayed beloved hero Kerry Von Erich during a WCCW Championship match in 1982. Kerry was moments from winning over Ric Flair, only for Gordy to knock him over the head with a steel door. This kicked off the legendary blood feud between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs that defined pro wrestling throughout the mid-80s.
Randy Savage
Randy Savage started his career as a heel but made a face turn when he joined The Mega Powers with perennial all-American hero Hulk Hogan. Of course, the Mega Powers weren’t to last, and they dissolved amid Savage’s jealousy that Miss Elizabeth was getting too close to Hogan. The Macho Man’s return to the dark side was a huge deal for fans.
The Rock
The Rock was the go-to babyface of the WWE in the late 90s, but he made a sudden heel turn by joining The Corporation in late 1998. This alliance of various McMahon-aligned wrestlers was seen as “authoritarian” and contrary to the People’s Champion’s populist image, but it propelled his career to new heights.
Seth Rollins
When Seth Rollins betrayed The Shield (his longtime allies Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns) in 2014, he undid two years of dominance in the WWE. Fans went ballistic when they learned the entire betrayal was orchestrated by Triple H, who was dedicated to putting a stop to The Shield’s dominance.
Bret Hart
In a stunning double-turn at WrestleMania 13, Bret Hart started things out as a babyface in his bout against Steve Austin. When Hart got Stone Cold in the Sharpshooter and refused to let go, and Austin held on and refused to tap out, the crowd went wild and an iconic double turn was solidified.
Steve Austin
Years later, Austin would turn back to the dark side when he made a deal with the devil in WrestleMania 17. After a long and vicious series of matches, Austin emerged bloodied and shook hands with McMahon, his longtime rival, stunning fans and kicking off a new era in Stone Cold’s career.
Andre the Giant
Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan were steadfast allies in the WWF back in the 80s, but in February 1987 Andre teamed up with infamous manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan. Hulk, who had a long-standing feud with the Heenan Family, was flabbergasted, setting the stage for the duo’s phenomenal bout at WrestleMania 3.
The Montreal Screwjob
There’s a lot of debate about the Montreal Screwjob. Was it a work? Who was in on it beforehand? The facts are a bit muddy, but the fans saw this shocking betrayal of Bret Hart as something of a heel turn for Vince McMahon himself. The league’s commissioner ordering a wrestler to lose just to keep a championship belt from leaving with him was unheard of and created reverberations all throughout professional wrestling, calling the legitimacy of the WWF into question.
Read More: The Most Iconic Wrestlers in WWE History
Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose was supposedly back on good terms with Seth Rollins in 2018, the two having buried the hatchet over Rollins’ betrayal of The Shield four years earlier. However, Ambrose got unexpected revenge on Rollins after the pair won the tag team championship. He viciously attacked his former ally, settling the score and igniting further drama between the pair.
Read More: Machomania: Celebrating the Life of Randy Savage
Hulk Hogan
Hulk rebranding himself as Hollywood Hogan in the late 90s took so many fans off-guard that it created a huge shift in the perception of the WCW. “Disruptors” Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had teased that their villainous organization had a “third man” for months before Hogan stepped out to join them. He died his beard black, started wearing shades in the ring, and became the de facto leader of the evil new faction “New World Order,” or nWo.
Read More: Hulk Hogan: The Rise and Reinvention of a Wrestling Icon
