Yesterday, our lovely friend James Dixon had a look at every WWE main roster heel turn that has occurred this year, (which you should read if you haven’t yet) and because I’m a petty so-and-so, I’m here to do one better.
Face turns can be somewhat more confusing and less accurate to pinpoint than heel turns, as more often than not, they’re slow burners without one singular trigger point, or in the case of WWE, they last such little time that they’re easy to forget.
But regardless, because we love you so much, we’re here to do the extra work for you. Let’s take a look back at every face turn that has happened on the WWE main roster in 2018.
Honorable mention: Sasha Banks
Similarly to her role on the heel turns list, the flip flop between heel and babyface throughout the year for Banks has warranted a solid spot on both. Whether any of these would actually be classed as face or heel turns is another question, but regardless, due to the sheer amount of potential turns there were, it’s an honorable mention.
Goldust
When?: January 1 (Raw)
How?: Goldust showed up to assist Cedric Alexander in a tag team match against Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari on this episode of Raw, because…reasons? Despite not being under the 205lb. weight limit for the cruiserweight division, Goldust teamed with Alexander in a cruiserweight exhibition match, turning him face.
And now?: Goldust is still around, I think. He turned heel in an anagle with John Cena then seemed to be babyface again a few weeks later. He underwent surgery in July on both knees, however he wasn’t exactly a weekly feature before that, so only time will tell whether he returns as a babyface or a heel.
The Good Brothers
When?: January 1 (Raw)
How?: Consummate WWE babyface, Finn Balor, was in need of some tag team partners in order to take on current rival The Miz, at the time flanked by The Miztourage. The Good Brothers, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, answered the call, cementing the trio as a babyface faction that lasted all of about a week.
And now?: Despite not regularly being around on TV, The Good Brothers remain a babyface team. Their most recent appearance was on the Survivor Series pre-show, where they were on the winning side of the 10-on-10 Raw vs SmackDown Tag Team Elimination Match.
Nia Jax
When?: March (Raw)
How?: This was one of those gradual builds I mentioned at the beginning of the article. Taking place over the month of March on Raw in the build to WrestleMania 34, Nia Jax slowly turned babyface in her feud with Alexa Bliss. Alexa and her buddy Mickie James were caught saying very mean things about Jax behind her back, and she didn’t like that one bit. Jax became a babyface to fight the bullies, and ended up winning the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34.
And now?: Nia Jax has become The Big Show of the women’s division, having begun the year as a heel, turned face, heel, face, and heel again, all in the space of 11 months. At the time of writing, she’s inadvertently one of the biggest heels in the business after breaking Becky Lynch’s face.
Bray Wyatt
When?: April 8 (WrestleMania 34)
How?: Bray Wyatt was involved in a main event feud with ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy (I can technically say that because one of their segments ended an episode of Raw), which culminated with The Ultimate Deletion, a pre-taped segment which headlined an episode of Raw in March. This ended with Wyatt being thrown into The Lake of Reincarnation, leaving his future uncertain. ‘The Eater of Worlds’ would then show up during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the pre-show of WrestleMania 34 to assist former rival Hardy, cementing himself as a babyface alongside him.
And now?: Wyatt has been off WWE TV since after Extreme Rules this year. His former partner Matt Hardy took time off to heal injuries, and Wyatt hasn’t been seen since. Rumors of a revamped character have been circulating, but nothing has come of it yet.
Paige
When?: April 9 (Raw) / April 10 (SmackDown)
How?: In one of the sadder entries in this list, Paige was forced to retire from in-ring competition due to reoccurring injuries on the April 9 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania. While she had been a heel previously, alongside faction buddies Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, the retirement was clearly free from any gimmick or character. The following night, Paige was made SmackDown Live General Manager, a role she took as a babyface character.
And now?: Paige remains the SmackDown GM and does a very good job of it. She has maintained her babyface position, despite the other authority figures around her changing their alignment more than that one really indecisive friend you play D&D with. That’s a pretty niche joke, but I’m going with it.
Natalya
When?: April 16 (Raw)
How?: Natalya switched brands during the Superstar Shake-Up and with it she also switched characters. Showing up on the April 16 episode of Raw, ‘The Queen of Harts’ was suddenly a face with no explanation, and also best buddy pal friends with Ronda Rousey.
And now?: Natalya is still a face, and her friendship with Rousey is surprisingly still intact. She was originally supposed to be on the Raw Women’s Survivor Series team, but due to her ongoing rivalry with Ruby Riott she was removed on the night by Raw captain Alexa Bliss.
Chad Gable
When?: April 23 (Raw)
How?: Chad Gable was switched to Raw during the Superstar Shake-Up on April 16, but he didn’t wrestle until the following week on April 23. Leaving former tag partner Shelton Benjamin behind, Gable went solo on Raw, wrestling as a face. He began this face run against Jinder Mahal.
And now?: Gable is still a face, but he’s gone back to tag team wrestling, this time with Bobby Roode.
Nia Jax
When?: June 17 (Money in the Bank)
How?: Here she is again. Nia “The Big Show” Jax here to make you indecisive in your feelings. Having turned babyface in her feud with Alexa Bliss for WrestleMania, she remained a face until she began a feud with Ronda Rousey for Money in the Bank, in which she worked as a heel. After Alexa Bliss came down to interrupt the championship match and cash in her newly-won Money in the Bank briefcase, Nia went back to being a face again…
And now?: Well we’ve already gone over this one. Boo, yay, boo, yay, really really boo.
Kane
When?: June 26 (SmackDown)
How?: Daniel Bryan was on the wrong end of a beatdown on the June 26 episode of SmackDown Live. Taking a severe punishment from The Bludgeon Brothers, Bryan needed some help. And help he got. Former tag partner and hug buddy, Kane, returned from the fiery depths of hell (or Knox County, whichever) to even the numbers, siding with Bryan and solidifying himself as a babyface in the process.
And now?: Kane was most recently seen teaming with his other tag partner, The Undertaker, in a losing effort to D-Generation X at Crown Jewel. Whether any of these teams were heel or face is somewhat ambiguous, but Kane has responsibilities being the mayor or other such important things.
The B-Team
When?: July (Raw)
How?: This is another one of the slow turns, but the former Miztourage buddies of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel found a new identity as The B-Team, and shortly after began being a little more comedic, a little more goofy, and a lot more successful. Gradually turning full babyface, The B-Team captured the Raw Tag Team Championships during this run.
And now?: They’re still babyfaces, however they have dropped from regular TV. They were part of the Survivor Series pre-show, wrestling in the 10-on-10 Raw vs SmackDown Tag Team Elimination Match. They were part of the losing team, Raw, but the red brand went on to get a clean sweep of the show. I hate the fact that sentence makes sense.
Carmella
When?: September 4 (SmackDown)
How?: After a hilarious few skits in which R-Truth seemed to have a weird obsession with Carmella, the pair eventually joined forces to take on The Miz and Maryse. Carmella did her entrance on this episode as a face, gesturing to the crowd and joining in with R-Truth’s entrance music, and I guess that was that. She’s a face now.
And now?: The pair have an entertaining babyface act that is a regular feature on SmackDown, and it seems it will be that way for a while.
Braun Strowman
When?: October 22 (Raw)
How?: In what seemed like a terrible decision at the time, Braun Strowman turned heel to join forces with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler on the August 27 episode of Raw to take on The Shield. However, after Roman Reigns’ crushing announcement of the return of his leukaemia, some changes needed to be made. On the October 22 episode of Raw, Braun turned back to being a babyface again, cutting ties with McIntyre and Ziggler and interrupting Paul Heyman prior to his Universal Championship match with Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel.
And now?: Braun is still a babyface, but has lost a ton of momentum because of the aforementioned heel turn. He was part of the trio of sole survivors on the Raw men’s Survivor Series team alongside Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, and is due to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.
Elias
When?: October 22 (Raw)
How?: As previously mentioned, Roman Reigns’ announcement about his returning leukaemia shook the norms of the WWE, and some drastic changes needed to be made, including a lot of character shifts. As such, on the same episode of Raw that Strowman turned face again, Elias joined him too, smashing heel interim General Manager Baron Corbin with his guitar. Elias was already receiving huge babyface pops, but now there’s just fewer insulting [insert your hometown here] jokes.
And now?: Elias continues to work as a babyface. He was part of a six-man tag on Raw this week working alongside Finn Balor and Braun Strowman to take on the team of Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley.
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