Charlotte Flair’s heel turn (yes, that’s what it was supposed to be) was the latest in a long line of shifts from good to bad in WWE this year.
Of late it seems like someone in the promotion turns every week.
That’s down in part to WWE having to reset several pieces on its board due to a number of injuries and illnesses occurring in a short time span, not to mention their total and utter inability to book babyfaces.
Keeping track of them all can be hard, especially as more often than not the turns are ambiguous at best and there is no ‘smoking gun’ to speak of that signifies the shift.
To keep track, here is a list of every heel turn that has taken place on the WWE main roster this year so far. No doubt there are still more to come (*cough* Shane McMahon *cough*)
Honorable Mention: Sasha Banks
Sasha repeatedly turned on so-called best friend Bayley in major matches, which including tossing her out of the Royal Rumble and giving her a shoeing at Elimination Chamber. Hapless Bayley continually forgave her and trusted her again. Just as the trigger appeared to be pulled on their relationship breakdown they kissed and made up.
Mickie James
When?: February 26 (Raw)
How?: Nothing specific. Mickie just continued palling around with Alexa Bliss following their ‘understanding’ at Elimination Chamber in order to give the diminutive heel champion backup going into her WrestleMania programme with the much larger Nia Jax.
And now?: Still a heel. Still doing little of note.
Goldust
When?: March 5 (Raw)
How?: Randomly turned up to call out John Cena and take his WrestleMania spot. Was squashed by Cena in under four minutes.
And now?: Rarely wrestles due to injuries. When he last appeared in June he was a babyface again.
Dana Brooke
When?: March 19 (Raw)
How?: Went heel for an angle after Raw went off the air. Brooke confronted Rousey, calling her a nobody and saying she could not wait to see Stephanie McMahon make Ronda her property at WrestleMania. Brooke was suplexed in response.
And now?: It was like this never happened. Brooke went back to managing babyface duo Titus Worldwide. She flits from face to heel depending on the situation.
Shinsuke Nakamura
When?: April 8 (WrestleMania 34)
How?: Hit AJ Styles with a low blow following his defeat to the WWE Champion at WrestleMania. Nakamura never got over as a babyface on the main roster in the way he was expected to, largely down to his damaging defeats to Jinder Mahal in 2017.
And now?: Still a nutshot-loving heel and the reigning United States champion. Is more effective as a heel for sure. Unfortunately he has hit his head on the glass ceiling so many times it hardly matters anymore.
Buddy Murphy
When?: April 10 (205 Live)
How?: Attacked Cedric Alexander from behind during his post-WrestleMania Cruiserweight title win celebration ceremony.
And now?: Still a heel, the hottest act on 205 Live is the reigning Cruiserweight champion. Perhaps ironically he won the title in front of his home crowd at Super Showdown in Australia, a match in which he was unquestionably a babyface.
Drew McIntyre
When?: April 16 (Raw)
How?: Appeared alongside Dolph Ziggler as Diesel to his Shawn Michaels. Laid out Titus Worldwide.
And now?: Is still aligned with Ziggler for now but has broken free of his shadow. The most well-protected act on the WWE roster of late. Clearly the promotion has big plans for him as a killer heel, as seen by his destruction of Kurt Angle on Raw recently.
The Ascension
When?: April 23 (Raw)
How?: Simply started working as heels following their brand switch from SmackDown.
And now?: They are still heels. WWE still does absolutely nothing of value with them.
Hideo Itami
When?: May 1 (205 Live)
How?: Shoved partner Akira Tozawa after a defeat to The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. Solidified turn with promo the following week.
And now?: Continued to act in a dastardly manner, becoming one of the best bad guys in WWE with his dripping attitude and vicious streak. Deserves a higher profile than 205 Live affords him.
SAnitY
When?: June 19 (SmackDown)
How?: Made their main rosters debuts as heels without explanation, having been babyfaces in NXT. Attacked the Usos prior to a schedule match with them, establishing their new attitude.
And now?: Although technically still heels they wrestle so infrequently it is difficult to say. Introduction of Nikki Cross for one night only in Manchester on November 6 was designed to elicit a positive response.
Lio Rush
When?: June 26 (205 Live)
How?: Debuted on 205 Live as a heel having worked as a flashy underdog babyface on NXT. Became a blinged-up narcissist overnight.
And now?: Was so good at being annoying that he was given a role on the main roster as Bobby Lashley’s irritating mouthpiece (or “hype man” in WWE speak) on Raw. He excels in the role.
Randy Orton
When?: July 15 (Extreme Rules)
How?: Turned to the dark side for the first time in a year (a dalliance with the Wyatt Family that turned out to be a ruse) when he turned up following Jeff Hardy’s US Title loss to Shinsuke Nakamura and punted him in the nether regions.
And now?: Has taken on a bizarre role as SmackDown’s resident lurking masochist, appearing on occasion to inflict torture on unsuspecting victims in a creative manner. The most notable of these was his almost obsessive targeting of Jeff Hardy’s pierced ear.
Becky Lynch
When?: August 19 (SummerSlam)
How?: Frustrated with best friend Charlotte Flair stealing her spotlight by winning the SmackDown Women’s title in a three-way with Carmella at SummerSlam, Lynch snapped and attacked her. The story WWE intended to tell was entirely different to the one that played out. Lynch was loudly cheered, with fans siding with her end of the argument, and she became the hottest babyface property in the company.
And now?: WWE officially gave up on Becky being a heel on November 13 when she hugged Charlotte on SmackDown. Although with Charlotte also turning heel that may not be the case. Regardless, she is the biggest babyface in WWE, no matter what reaction she is ‘supposed’ to get.
Braun Strowman
When?: August 27 (Raw)
How?: Lacking any heels to go up against new Universal champ Roman Reigns, WWE turned their most popular male babyface by aligning him with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to battle the Shield. Strowman turned on Reigns during a tag bout against Drew and Dolph then all three proceeded to destroy him.
And now?: With Reigns incapacitated WWE reverted Strowman back to his babyface persona on October 22 by helping the Shield beat his former allies for the tag belts.
Drake Maverick
When?: September 3 (Raw)
How?: The 205 Live GM was introduced as the new manager of AOP, accompanying the heel duo to the ring for their squash win over two jobbers. Because WWE is WWE, he remained a babyface on 205.
And now?: Led the duo to the Raw tag belts within two months of managing them. Pissed his pants during his team’s win over The Bar at Survivor Series, a spot designed to humiliate him as a heel. How that impacts his 205 authority remains to be seen.
Aiden English
When?: September 18 (SmackDown)
How?: Attacked Rusev following his leader’s defeat to Shinsuke Nakamura, killing Rusev Day. Later tried to paint Lana as the problem and attempted to frame her as having an illicit affair in Milwaukee, which was revealed to be a ruse.
And now?: Was squashed by Rusev in short order and has not been seen since.
Bobby Lashley
When?: October 8 (Raw)
How?: Attacked Kevin Owens following a victory over him on Raw, smashing his knee into the post repeatedly and putting him out of action. Addition of heel Lio Rush as hype man prior to this was also designed to generate heat.
And now?: He’s basically the same wrestler only he wrestles against babyfaces rather than heels and he has to sell less. Position wise, not much has changed.
The Bellas
When?: October 8 (Raw)
How?: A large percentage of the audience boos the Bellas no matter what, which became even more apparent after Brie hurt Liv Morgan with that stray kick on Raw. WWE decided to run with it by turning the twins, having them attack Ronda following a six-woman tag win over the Riott Squad. The duo battered her to set up a meeting between Nikki and Ronda at Evolution.
And now?: Some great promos in the build up and a solid main event at Evolution itself were all rewarding. Since the all-women’s PPV the twins have not been seen on WWE television.
The Big Show
When?: October 16 (SmackDown)
How?: Made his presence felt on SmackDown 1000 by randomly helping The Bar defeat New Day to win the blue brand tag straps. The turn came when Show chokeslammed Kofi through the announce table.
And now?: One month on, he is still a heel. Give it a week or two and no doubt he will have turned again. Nobody in history has turned as much as The Big Show.
Dean Ambrose
When?: October 22 (Raw)
How?: WWE decided to capitalise on Roman Reigns’ leukaemia diagnosis announcement by turning his pal Ambrose heel on the same night. It was a turn that had been in the works for months that was brought forward. Ambrose committed the deed following a tag title win with Seth Rollins over Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, attacking his ‘brother’ after the bout.
And now?: Has not wrestled since the turn nor particularly explained his actions. Is set for a showdown with Rollins at TLC.
Nia Jax
When?: November 5 (Raw)
How?: Joined in a Tamina assault on her supposed friend Ember Moon. Accidentally cemented her status as the new most hated person in WWE when she drilled Becky Lynch in the face with a hefty potato on last week’s Raw.
And now?: Nia’s unsafe working style may inadvertently help her career. Rather than being punished for ruining the Survivor Series card, Jax was rewarded by winning the women’s Survivor Series match. She is scheduled to square off with Ronda Rousey at TLC.
Daniel Bryan
When?: November 13 (SmackDown)
How?: Defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE Title on SmackDown then viciously beat him down post-match. Bryan is yet to offer an explanation for his actions.
And now?: Bryan’s first match since donning the black hat was against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, a match in which he was the vastly overmatched underdog. A babyface role. Make no mistake though, his demeanour was that of a heel and that is the role he will play going forward.
Charlotte Flair
When?: November 18 (Survivor Series)
How?: Frustrated at her inability to put Ronda Rousey away (or at least that was the story WWE were telling), Charlotte beat the snot out of the Raw women’s champ with a kendo stick and a chair. She even Pillmanized her neck! The attack was brutal, leaving Ronda scarred and busted open.
And now?: To be determined. Charlotte was loudly cheered for the attack, with the crowd chanting “Yes! Yes! Yes!”. They thought she was the babyface. The fallout should occur on Raw and SmackDown this week.
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