3 Drastic WWE character changes that worked and 3 that did not
One of the biggest WWE storyline developments of 2020 so far came at SummerSlam when Roman Reigns returned to WWE television for the first time in five months.
The former Shield member attacked “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman after the main event, showing a more aggressive side to his character in the process, and it emerged five days later on SmackDown that he has aligned with Paul Heyman.
Since then, Reigns (w/Heyman) defeated the aforementioned duo in a Triple Threat match at the Payback pay-per-view to become a two-time Universal Champion, and his new attitude has been received well by the majority of the WWE Universe.
The Big Dog had been heavily pushed as WWE’s top babyface for six years following The Shield’s separation in June 2014, so his alliance with Heyman and attitude change was long overdue.
However, drastic alterations to WWE Superstars’ personas do not always go as planned, as fans have seen on multiple occasions in recent years.
In this article, let’s take a look at three WWE character changes that worked, as well as three that did not work.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.
#6 WWE character change worked: Sasha Banks
After a four-month absence from WWE television, Sasha Banks made her return in August 2019 on the post-SummerSlam episode of RAW.
Having been a babyface for almost her entire run on WWE’s main roster until that point, it looked as though The Boss might continue to perform as a fan favorite after she consoled an emotional Natalya following her loss to Becky Lynch in a RAW Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam.
Banks then showed a completely different side to her character by attacking Natalya, then Lynch, as she quickly cemented her status as the top heel in the RAW women’s division.
Even the biggest Banks fans will admit that her WWE persona had become stale during her babyface alliance with Bayley in 2018-19, so her long-awaited heel turn was the perfect way to remind everybody exactly why the former NXT Women’s Champion believes she is the best women’s wrestler in the world.
Banks went on to feud with Lynch before forming another alliance with Bayley, this time as a villainous duo, over the course of the next year.