At AEW All Out 2024, Jon Moxley brutally attacked former Blackpool Combat Club partner and then-World Champion Bryan Danielson.
Choking Danielson out with a plastic bag, it was one of the most graphic and shocking moments in AEW history – and an incredibly effective heel turn.
There are surely others on the AEW roster now set for an imminent turn to the dark side. The question is: who will be next, and can they make a visual statement as powerful as Moxley did last year?
Here are six AEW heel turns that could be coming soon.
6. Swerve Strickland
At AEW All In Texas, a star-studded tag match is set between The Young Bucks and the team of Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay.
The match promises to be a show-stealer, but it also has a significant storyline stipulation: if Ospreay and Swerve win, the Bucks lose their EVP roles – but if the Bucks win, Swerve and Ospreay can’t challenge for world titles for a full year.
This was a stipulation Ospreay agreed to – and it’s easy to imagine a scenario where the Bucks win and Swerve turns on his partner for putting them in that position.
Is a heel turn in Swerve’s near future?
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5. Anthony Bowens
In the wake of The Acclaimed breaking up at the start of the year, it seemed like Anthony Bowens would be the breakout star of the team – especially with Max Caster mostly losing squash matches in his ‘Best Wrestler Alive’ gimmick.
But that hasn’t happened, with Bowens remaining aligned with Billy Gunn, stuck in the same gimmick and lacking clear direction – to the point where Caster now appears to be more over.
Turning on Billy Gunn in a brutal beatdown could give the undeniably talented 34-year-old the fresh start he needs in AEW.
Perhaps we could soon see Bowens bloody up Gunn in a visually-shocking angle.
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4. Queen Aminata
Queen Aminata is an AEW star with palpable charisma – a performer with clear upper-card potential, even if it has yet to be fully realized.
The 32-year-old is also a rugged in-ring worker, as shown in her hard-hitting match against Thekla on the June 11 edition of Collision.
Her physical, aggressive style is tailor-made for a heel persona – something she could clearly adopt, given the level of charisma she embodies.
A heel turn could be the springboard she needs to launch into the upper card.
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3. Sammy Guevara
Sammy Guevara has been used almost exclusively on Ring of Honor since returning from injury last year, where he currently holds the Tag Team Titles with Dustin Rhodes.
It’s a far cry from main eventing Double or Nothing 2023 in a four-way match against MJF, Jungle Boy, and Darby Allin.
His current babyface persona clearly isn’t the best fit – his strongest work has always come as a unlikable heel.
Now that his wife Tay Melo has returned to AEW programming, this could be the perfect time to reunite them as a despised unit – with Sammy turning on Dustin Rhodes to kickstart a heel run.
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2. Kris Statlander
The last two weeks on AEW Collision have seen growing interaction between Kris Statlander and The Death Riders.
Seeds appear to be getting planted for a potential heel turn, with Statlander possibly joining the faction.
If it happens, it would likely involve her turning on former friend Willow Nightingale once again.
Could this be the start of an eventual turn – or are audiences being swerved?
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1. HOOK
HOOK has been out of action in AEW recently, dealing with a concussion.
He did, however, return briefly during the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing, coming out to help his Opps partners and hitting Claudio Castagnoli with a golf club.
Before making a quick exit, he had a visual stare-down with Opps stablemate Samoa Joe – a clear hint of future tension.
When HOOK returns full-time, it seems a distinct possibility that he’ll turn on Joe to set up a program between the two.
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