The Best Face Turns in Professional Wrestling History

While a face turn might not be as sudden and outlandish as a heel turn, seeing a villain suddenly embrace the goodness in their heart and come to the rescue of a friend is just as thrilling. Here are the twenty best face turns in the history of professional wrestling!

Eddie Guerrero

Despite Los Guerreros being billed as a heel duo, Eddie’s performance as the scoundrel of the WWE was just too likable for fans to boo. He broke with Chavo Guerrero to pursue his solo ascent to the championship, beating out Brock Lesnar and cementing a huge face turn for the beloved Guerrero.

Sheamus

Sheamus’s big face turn came in July 2011 when he was the lone wrestler to stand up to Mark Henry. At the time, Henry was an unassailable heel with a reputation for beating the snot out of anyone who approached him. Sheamus’s persona has changed over time from an intimidating presence to a bit of a goofball, but fans love him for it.

CM Punk

Punk has gone back and forth over the years as a heel and a face, but his shocking face turn in 2011 with the infamous “pipebomb promo.” Punk’s ability to make audiences hate him was effectively used to turn him into an antihero who was perfect for the early 10’s era of wrestling.

Randy Savage

The formation of the Mega Powers was the coolest moment in wrestling history for many fans in the 80s. When the Macho Madness met the Hulkamania, it was like pro wrestling unlocked new dimensions of awesomeness. Seeing Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage crush their opponents as a tag team was endlessly entertaining.

Batista

Batista had a long career as a heel before he famously betrayed Triple H and Ric Flair by pretending to sign with Smackdown. While giving Triple H a thumbs up, he switched it to a thumbs down before unleashing a beatdown on the two Evolution members and igniting a legendary WWE career.

Dwayne Johnson

The Rock made a shocking heel turn in the late 90s when he joined the Corporation, a stable of wrestlers aligned with Vince McMahon. When he lost the championship to Steve Austin in 1999, the Corporation left him out in the cold and caused him to turn back to face. He joined up with Mick Foley and created one of the most entertaining duos in the sport.

Shawn Michaels

The Heartbreak Kid is one of those wrestlers who can reinvent himself over and over without missing a beat. After the notorious barbershop window incident with Marty Jannetty, Michaels spent years as a heel. In 1995, he made a face turn that would change the shape of pro wrestling. He was a fundamental part of founding D-Generation X, one of the most popular stables from the Attitude Era.

Lex Luger

Luger’s time in the WWF as a heel is scarcely remembered because of how much more compelling he was as a hero. He won a contest aboard the USS Intrepid, body slamming Yokozuna after exiting a helicopter. Suffice it to say, the “Lex Express” had left the station, and Luger earned legions of new fans for his patriotic new persona.

The Undertaker

When he debuted as “Kane the Undertaker,” the big goth-inspired heel was anything but friendly. As such, when he stopped his former ally Jake “the Snake” Roberts from attacking Miss Elizabeth, fans were stunned by the intimidating villain’s sudden heroic turn. His impact on the sport can’t be understated, as his “undead” gimmick has given rise to numerous match types, ranging from casket, buried alive, and inferno bouts.

Virgil

Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, had a bodyguard in the late 80s by the name of Virgil. In the early 90s, Virgil made a face turn away from DiBiase and became a heroic figure after being openly mistreated by the Million Dollar Man.

Randy Orton

Randy Orton became a face the old-fashioned way: fans really, really liked him. His awesome run up to SummerSlam 2004 saw him become the youngest World Champion in the history of the sport and fans wanted to see him succeed. He betrayed Triple H after kicking the Legend Killer out of Evolution, though he later lost the championship belt to his former ally.

Curt Hennig

Curt Hennig’s career was mostly defined by his time as a sneering heel. However, that all changed after the Ultimate Warrior lost his tag team partner. Mr. Perfect took stepped up and had the Warrior’s back in a huge match against Ric Flair and Razor Ramone.

Edge

Edge and Christian were a beloved heel tag team. The WWE saw the potential in both of them and had each face turn before the Invasion invent, but of course Christian kept a touch of that malice and sowed the seeds for a betrayal. Edge and Christian’s feud in the early 2000s is one of the WWE’s most iconic storylines from that era.

Lita

Essa Rios’ manager, Lita, was capable of moves that many fans had never seen women do in the ring. Sensing that she was more popular than the wrestler she was managing, the WWE had Lita break out on her own, with the Hardy Boyz coming to her rescue after Essa accosted her on the mat. The group became Team Xtreme and Lita catapulted to becoming one of the most popular female wrestlers of the era.

Rob Van Dam

The Alliance was a disappointing stable, but fans really liked Rob Van Dam as a wrestler. The Invasion storyline had all non-WWE wrestlers as heels, but fans wanted to see RVD in a positive light and he became a face by standing up to Steve Austin and carving out a place for himself in the WWE.

Triple H

Triple H has spent plenty of time as both a heel and a face, but his face turn in 2006 set up a potential revival of D-Generation X with Shawn Michaels. When Triple H told McMahon to kick rocks during a match against his former ally, fans went ballistic and witnesses the revival of the beloved stable.

Steve Austin

The fan-favorite “Double Turn” at WrestleMania 13 is the stuff of legends. Bret “the Hitman” Hart and Stone Cold met in the match as a face and heel, respectively, and left the ring the other way around. After keeping Austin in a Sharpshooter for so long that he passed out, Hart continued savagely beating an unconscious Stone Cold, cementing the double turn.

Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle’s time as a heel was legendary with his outwardly cowardly persona. When he threw off his heel persona, he stood up to the Alliance and Steve Austin and got the crowds really into the action. His elevation to heroic wrestler was a major moment for the WWE and for Angle’s popularity.

Hulk Hogan

It’s weird to think of Hogan having a face turn, given how long his career as a face was in the 80s and 90s. However, a late-90s heel turn turned him into Hollywood Hogan, the nWo’s villainous leader. When he came back to the WWE in 2002, he turned back into his old self after the crowds egged him on into returning to his classic form.

John Cena

It’s weird to even picture a version of John Cena who wasn’t a face. But, before 2003, he was a heel with a bizarre rapper persona. His face turn made him into the WWE’s biggest star by a huge margin and reshaped the perception of the sport for decades afterward. Cena’s been a tremendous ambassador for the brand and a force of positivity in the world at large.