In the world
of professionally wrestling, a wrestling is either face or heel. While these classifications seem very basic
and restrictive, they are not the only things that determine a wrestler’s
character. There are plenty of other
factors that this writer can go into length about, but that is a topic for
another day. Being face or heel does not
mean a wrestler is stuck in that classification for the rest of their
career. Movement between the classifications
is a huge part of the wrestling industry.
A face or heel turn keeps the product fresh, builds excitement and
brings in viewers new and old. When one
thinks about face/heel turns, the images of Bret Hart not letting go of the
Sharpshooter on an unconscious Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan embracing Kevin Nash and
Scott Hall and Stone Cold shaking hands with Mr. McMahon comes to mind. Having only been a wrestling fan for a decade
now, this writer did not experience these legendary turns firsthand, but has
experienced some amazing turns nonetheless.
Here are this writer’s favourite turns of the past decade.
5. A Belfast
Sized Slap
Sheamus has
been criticized for his face character on many occasions. While this writer agrees with all of those
criticisms, it did start out with a whole lot of promise. After a long run as a heel, WWE Creative gave
the Great White a chance at being a fan favourite. Rather than build it for weeks and months on
end, this face turn came out of absolutely nowhere. One Smackdown during the Summer of 2011, Mark
Henry made a challenge to anybody in the locker room to fight him. Sheamus answered Henry’s challenge with a
huge slap that literally knocked the sweat off of the World’s Strongest Man. With one slap, Sheamus turned from one of the
most hated heels in the WWE to the most popular. No matter the now infuriating result, it was
one amazing turn.
4. End of
the Legacy
Animosity
between Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes, the group known as Legacy,
had been growing for months leading up to their eventual implosion. Rhodes and DiBiase were playing some games
with Orton by giving the Viper mixed messages and costing him numerous title
shots. Eventually enough was enough for
the WWE’s Apex Predator and Randy Orton cut his ties with the two younger stars
by way of a Rope-hung DDT and RKO. Due
to all the build, seeing Randy Orton take out all his aggression on his former
protégés and in turn change from a dastardly villain to a no-nonsense anti-hero
was a sight to behold.
3. The
Return of the Old Michaels
In Shawn
Michaels’ later years in the WWE, he played the role of tweener, never being
labeled as either face or heel because it would change depending on the
storyline. Before taking on this role,
Michaels made one final heel turn that shocked the world with how sudden it was. During the spring of 2005, Shawn called upon
the iconic Hulk Hogan to team with on a few occasions. From what was shown on camera, there was no
visible animosity between these two.
Deep down in the darkest corners of the Heartbreak Kid, he grew jealous
of Hulk Hogan. Michaels’ jealously came
to a head with a thunderous Superkick to Hogan’s jaw. This one kick started a feud that saw the
return of a side of HBK that has not been seen since the early days of the
Attitude Era and it was glorious.
2. “You were
supposed to be my friend!”
Sometimes a
fresh start is all a wrestler needs to get fans interested in their character
once again. Back in 2009, Batista was
stuck in that situation. The development
of Batista’s face persona had reached a standstill. There was nowhere the Animal could take his
character as a fan-favourite and people were starting to get bored. Well at the Bragging Rights PPV, the Animal’s
fortunes changed. After losing a Fatal 4
Way match for the World Heavyweight Championship, Batista and Rey Mysterio,
Batista’s best friend, were left in the ring.
Filled with rage over Mysterio breaking a possible three count, Batista
beat the living hell out of Mysterio. Batista’s
ferocious beat down on Mysterio came to climactic end after screaming the now
iconic quote that serves as the title of this paragraph.
1. Y2J No
More
Chris
Jericho has never been a wrestler to rest on his laurels. His Y2J persona was easily one of the most
popular characters in the late 90s and early to mid 2000s. When Jericho returned in 2007, the Ayatollah
of Rock ‘n’ Rolla knew it was time for a change. That change meant the death of Y2J and
everything associated with said character.
The death of the beloved Y2J character happened on one of the final
episodes of the Highlight Reel where Jericho turned on Shawn Michaels and the
WWE Universe. By plunging Michaels’ face
right into the Jeritron 5000, Jericho changed more than his character. Jericho changed the perception of what it
means to be a heel in this modern era and set a benchmark for all wrestlers to
strive for in creating a character and setting up a feud. 
