Few things get the crowd more engaged in wrestling more than a classic ‘heel turn’, the shocking and unexpected moment when a babyface (good guy) betrays the fans and becomes a heel (a villain). Not only are they unexpected and shocking to the crowd, but they also give wrestlers the ability to re-brand and create new storylines. Here are the five greatest heel turns in wrestling history:
5. André the Giant Challenges Hulk Hogan
These two were the top two babyfaces of the era — meaning one of them had to challenge the other for the title eventually. Andre’s 15-year unbeaten streak in wrestling was overshadowed by the accomplishments of Hogan — which didn’t exactly go down well with the 7’4″ giant.
During an episode of Piper’s Pit, Andre infamously challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF (now WWE) Championship while also ripping off Hogan’s shirt and crucifix, making him bleed on his chest and left feeling saddened by his friend betraying him. Fans were left shocked by the friendly giant’s turn to the dark side.
4. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin Aligns with Vince McMahon
Stone Cold as a heel probably wasn’t the best wrestling moment in history, but the actual heel turn was shocking at the time. Stone Cold and Vince McMahon were not the biggest fans of each other. The animosity between the two fueled many storylines throughout the Attitude era. During WrestleMania X-Seven, the headline matchup was between two fan favorites Stone Cold and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the WWF Championship.
During the match, Vince McMahon appeared ringside and shockingly began interfering to help Stone Cold win. This led to the memorable image of Stone Cold shaking hands and clinking beers with McMahon after the match and betraying his rebellious persona.
3. Bret Hart’s Anti-American Crusade
1997 saw a discernable shift from fans loving the ‘babyface’ (such as Bret Hart) to the more anti-hero bad boy, like ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. This came to a head in WrestleMania 13, where one of the greatest ‘double turns’ took place — Bret defeated Austin in a submission match with the sharpshooter — but refused to let go once the match had ended. Austin, covered in a pool of his blood, became a sympathetic figure going from heel to face, while the crowd had fully turned on Bret by night’s end.
Following WrestleMania, Bret found himself disliked by American audiences due to their attachment to Stone Cold, but his native Canadian fans continued adoring him. He decided to lean into this by regularly dissing American culture on the mic and reforming an anti-American Hart Foundation. This lasted until the infamous Montreal Screwjob later that year when Bret would leave for the WCW.
2. Shawn Michaels Turning on Jannetty
One of the most memorable moments in WWE history was Shawn Michaels delivering ‘sweet chin music’ to his longtime partner Marty Janetty in the Barber Shop, all but sealing the pair’s disbandment and kick-starting the career of the Heartbreak Kid.
The two had initially teamed up as the ‘The Rockers’ in their WWF debut. The crowd loved them, and they brought an energy that younger fans especially found endearing. Tensions began to build between the pair when they had repeated incidents of slip-ups and accidental hits in the ring, which planted seeds of doubt in their partnership.
Things came to a head when Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake invited the pair to talk things over in the Barber Shop, and the two shook hands in an apparent agreement to reconcile. Just a few seconds later, Michaels hit Janetty with his sweet chin music and threw him through the glass window at the barber shop, leading Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan to hilariously remark: “Did you see that?! Janetty is trying to escape through the window! What an act of cowardice!”
- Hulk Hogan to nWo
When it comes to greatest heel turns, nothing will top Hulk Hogan switching from his All-American image to one of wrestling’s biggest bad boys. Hogan had dominated as a babyface during much of the late 80s to early 90s. After a while, Hogan’s red and yellow persona had turned a bit stale. Enter the WCW Bash at the Beach in 1996, where Hogan betrayed WCW and joined Scott Hall and Steve Nash in the formation of the New World Order (nWo), trading his old colors for black and white.
It was a genius shift for Hogan and the industry, which revitalized his career and influenced WWF to lean more heavily into their rebellious “attitude” era, one of the most successful periods in their history.
