Wrestlers You Thought Would Never Turn Face/Heel

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Just an easy thread.

 

Who are some people that you thought would never make the transition from Face to heel and vice versa when you first saw them?

 

For me...it was Steven/William Regal. He just seemed to carry that aura about him that didn't say "Face"...and yet now he's pretty much a face even though he's not seen much.

[Guest FromBeyondTheGrave]

Heidenreich. I loved him as a heel, and I love him even more when he's blowing farts out his asshole as a face.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Heidenreich. I loved him as a heel, and I love him even more when he's blowing farts out his asshole as a face.

For me, I could see him to a minor extent as a face.

 

IIRC, he was a face when he first came to WWE.

[Guest FromBeyondTheGrave]

IIRC, he was a face when he first came to WWE.

Oh yeah. But that doesn't count, because he wasn't "goofy poetry-reading Heidenreich", and I payed no attention to him when he was on Raw. But now, he's the most entertaining thing on Smackdown.

[Guest MikeSC]

Randy Orton.

 

But, based on his tepid face pops, it's hard to say he actually turned.

-=Mike

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Randy Orton.

 

But, based on his tepid face pops, it's hard to say he actually turned.

-=Mike

Guess you're not counting Orton's short-lived Smackdown run and his pre RNN face run on Raw?

[Guest MikeSC]

Randy Orton.

 

But, based on his tepid face pops, it's hard to say he actually turned.

      -=Mike

Guess you're not counting Orton's short-lived Smackdown run and his pre RNN face run on Raw?

Again, based on the tepid reaction, hard to describe him as a face.

-=Mike

[tbondrage99 0]

Before the nWo, thinking Hulk Hogan would ever turn face was something I didnt think possible, but suprise, suprise he became one of the greatest heels ever.

[iliketurtles 0]

I never thought Austin was going to turn heel again.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Bret Hart in '99 in WCW

Chris Benoit around the same time when he joined the Revolution

[Epic Reine 0]

Wasn't the Revolution originally face? And didn't Benoit leave the group right as they were turning heel?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I never imagined that Sting or Goldberg would turn heel after their huge reactions in 1997 & 1998.

[yankovic fan 0]

Ted Dibiase, then he became the Steiner brothers manager...

 

 

Jimmy Hart, then became a Hulkamaniac...

 

 

Yokozuna, then he turned face after a confrontation with Jim Cornette

[Gary Floyd 0]

Jimmy Hart turning on Hogan in "Halloween Havoc '95"

 

Hogan joining the NWO

 

Sting turning heel (that sure worked out well )

[haws bah gawd 0]

Yea I remember Heidenreich's brief face run on RAW. He kept blabbing on and on about someone named "Little Johnny". Sometimes we were led to believe it could possibly be his son, other times a friend of his, and even a couple times, that it could be the man's penis.

 

I never thought I would live to see the day Hogan turned heel, but it worked, and the crowd hated him with every fiber of their being, except for the nWo marks, who were out 3-to-1 in the crowd of WCW fans.

 

I never bought the Sting heel turn. When he hit Hogan with the bat to win the title, I was just glad to see the title on him. In other mixed WCW logic, if this were just a little over a year earlier, the announcers would've been creaming their pants if Sting used the bat on Hogan.

 

I was diappointed at WCW's decision to turn Goldberg heel. This was a guy that lived and breathed charity work, and working with kids, and they thought it would be a good idea to turn the guy heel.

 

Back on topic, I'll make my pic William Regal. He goes from a pompous jackass in WCW and WWF, to a well-respected face in a mentor role for Eugene. Plus, he seems to be very happy playing a face with the way he plays to the crowds.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Sting turning heel (that sure worked out well )

Does that even count? He was still the most over face on the roster.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Hulk Hogan turning heel was probably the biggest "out of nowhere" turn in the last 20 years. I wonder how many fans ripped up their Hogan merchandise after his little speech that night at BATB.

 

The Undertaker I always thought was a perfect heel character. He was an unstopable monster that scared little kids. I guess he got too over as a heel to the point fans were cheering him.

[Guest MikeSC]

Technically, Hogan turned in 1982 from heel to face.

-=Mike

[Guest LooneyTune]

Quick question: How many people who grew up during Hogans run actually remember that? I didn't even know Hogan was a heel pre-1984 until 5 years ago when I finally got the internet.

 

Sting was also a heel before he came to NWA as part of Eddie Gilberts heel stable on UWF (or whatever promotion), and I think was a heel as a Blade Runner. Almost everyone has been on both sides of the fence in their career more than once.

 

Everyone mentioned in this topic went heel/face/heel/face (or other pattern) in their careers if you look hard enough. Ted Dibiase was a clean cut babyface in the 70's and turned a few times in the 80's before coming to WWF as the Million Dollar Man, then turned face in WCW. Bret Hart was a face in 1985 WWF, then turned heel, then to face, then to heel.

 

I'm pretty sure Yokozuna wa sa face in AWA (under a different name), so he was a face twice. Chris Benoit has changed sides a million times.

[Guest MikeSC]

Quick question: How many people who grew up during Hogans run actually remember that? I didn't even know Hogan was a heel pre-1984 until 5 years ago when I finally got the internet.

 

Sting was also a heel before he came to NWA as part of Eddie Gilberts heel stable on UWF (or whatever promotion), and I think was a heel as a Blade Runner. Almost everyone has been on both sides of the fence in their career more than once.

Outside of Rick Steamboat, I can't name one who hasn't.

 

(awaits the list of people who never did).

-=Mike

...And Yokozuna was, I believe, Kokina in AWA and was a heel...

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Quick question: How many people who grew up during Hogans run actually remember that? I didn't even know Hogan was a heel pre-1984 until 5 years ago when I finally got the internet.

 

Sting was also a heel before he came to NWA as part of Eddie Gilberts heel stable on UWF (or whatever promotion), and I think was a heel as a Blade Runner. Almost everyone has been on both sides of the fence in their career more than once.

 

Everyone mentioned in this topic went heel/face/heel/face (or other pattern) in their careers if you look hard enough. Ted Dibiase was a clean cut babyface in the 70's and turned a few times in the 80's before coming to WWF as the Million Dollar Man, then turned face in WCW. Bret Hart was a face in 1985 WWF, then turned heel, then to face, then to heel.

 

I'm pretty sure Yokozuna wa sa face in AWA (under a different name), so he was a face twice. Chris Benoit has changed sides a million times.

How about Regal?

[Guest LooneyTune]

Regals career I haven't followed too much, but in WWE alone, he's been a face and heel twice.

 

I stand corrected on Yokozuna, since my AWA knowledge isn't as good as NWA/WCW and WWF.

 

Edit: Dammit, watching Star Wars all weekend has me talking like Yoda now.

[alfdogg 0]

Quick question: How many people who grew up during Hogans run actually remember that? I didn't even know Hogan was a heel pre-1984 until 5 years ago when I finally got the internet.

 

Sting was also a heel before he came to NWA as part of Eddie Gilberts heel stable on UWF (or whatever promotion), and I think was a heel as a Blade Runner. Almost everyone has been on both sides of the fence in their career more than once.

Outside of Rick Steamboat, I can't name one who hasn't.

 

(awaits the list of people who never did).

-=Mike

...And Yokozuna was, I believe, Kokina in AWA and was a heel...

I don't think Tito Santana was ever a heel.

[Richard 0]

Verne and/or Greg Gagne

[nl5xsk1 0]

Was Rude ever really a face?

 

I was diappointed at WCW's decision to turn Goldberg heel. This was a guy that lived and breathed charity work, and working with kids, and they thought it would be a good idea to turn the guy heel.

Is that a kayfabed comment?

[haws bah gawd 0]

Was Rude ever really a face?

 

I was diappointed at WCW's decision to turn Goldberg heel. This was a guy that lived and breathed charity work, and working with kids, and they thought it would be a good idea to turn the guy heel.

Is that a kayfabed comment?

Not intentionally. I had always read from various sources that Goldberg loved working with kids and chrities, and I figured after he punched-out Hacksaw's cancerous kidneys, kids would be scared to death of him.

[iggymcfly 0]

Actually, back in 2000, I never thought Benoit would turn face. He's got a ton of natural heel charisma, but he always just seems way too dry and boring as a face.

 

I still think it defies logic that someone who's clearly better disposed to be a heel has been playing a face for the last four years.

[Black Lushus 0]

so how many people actually pulled off a heel/face turn well?

 

Hulk Hogan, Rock, Bret Hart and Steve Austin for sure...others?

[Guest news_gimmick]

I didn't expect the British Bulldog to turn heel in 1995, and for a while I didn't think it was a very good idea either.

[Guest JerichosHi-Lite]

Undertaker's heel turn in late 2001 shocked the hell out of me. I couldn't believe it, had no idea it was coming. From the beginning I thought it was a terrible idea. Proved right- he was still one of the most over in the company