3 WWE Superstars who were happy about turning heel & 3 who weren't
When WWE decides to pull the trigger on a superstar's heel turn, there are multiple factors to account for. Is the superstar's popularity declining? What's the long-term plan? Is the timing of the heel turn right?
WWE also has to think about timing when it comes to heel turns. We've seen several cases over the years, and even in recent times, where a superstar personally requests a heel turn.
John Cena is an example of a superstar with whom WWE had cold feet when it came to turning him heel. Ultimately, it never happened after 2005, even when it was reportedly set in stone.
This list focuses on three stars who were happy with WWE's decision to turn them heel and three who weren't:
#3. Seth Rollins: Unhappy with two heel turns in WWE (2014 and 2019)
Heist of the century 🔥
On this day six years ago, @WWERollins cashed in his MITB contract to win the WWE Championship at #WrestleMania
(via @WWE)
https://t.co/cbAtv0K8B7
Seth Rollins has spent a large part of his WWE career being a heel, and although he has thrived, he hasn't always been happy about it. Seth Rollins is considered by many as WWE's #2 full-time superstar behind Roman Reigns, and his grand slam accolades speak for themselves.
Interestingly, Seth Rollins wasn't receptive of the idea of his 2014 and 2019 heel turns, especially considering the timing of it worked out quite well. But when looking at it from his point of view, it's easy to understand his frustration.
#OnThisDay in 2014, Seth Rollins turned on the shield on #wweraw...
#wwe #shield #romanreigns #SethRollins #deanambrose @WWERomanReigns @WWERollins @JonMoxley https://t.co/vbjyN9gu3s
In 2014, Seth Rollins turned on fellow-Shield members Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), splitting up the faction and ending their incredible run together. It was meant to set up all three men as singles stars, and to establish Roman Reigns as the successor to WWE's franchise player John Cena.
Although Seth Rollins' heel turn in 2014 was arguably the best of the entire 2010s, he was far from happy with the decision. In an appearance on the Edge & Christian podcast, Rollins revealed that the decision for him to turn heel made no sense at the time, and almost caused him to walk out of WWE:
"When they said it was gonna be me that pulled the trigger. I was almost like, ‘No, I’ve been a babyface in NXT — [Dean] Ambrose is the heel. It’s not the other way around.’ It didn’t make any sense. I don’t know how to do this," said Rollins. (H/T Givemesport)
Seth Rollins turned face in the summer of 2016 and maintained that status for a while. He became WWE's top babyface in 2019 when the company needed a replacement for Roman Reigns, whose return seemed uncertain following his leukemia diagnosis.
Seth Rollins won the 2019 Royal Rumble and dethroned Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. He won the title once again against the Beast Incarnate in the main event of SummerSlam 2019.
Following that, things went downhill. Not only did his Hell in a Cell match against 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt turn out to be a disaster, but he made comments on social media that were deemed to be controversial by wrestling fans.
His popularity declined, and fans began to turn on him, leading WWE to pull the trigger on another heel turn later that year. Speaking to Peter Rosenberg on the Cheap Heat podcast, Rollins admitted that he wasn't thrilled about the idea of another heel turn:
“The short answer is no [excited about turning heel]. It wasn’t something that I was excited about out of the gate. I feel like I got a raw end of the deal, a raw shake, when it came to what I was doing at the time, And the position I was put in with The Fiend character and the Hell in a Cell and the Super ShowDown [Crown Jewel] matches after I had just come off what I thought was an incredible match and long story with Brock Lesnar from SummerSlam,” Rollins revealed. (H/T SEScoops)
Seth Rollins is closing in on two years since he turned heel. He has had less championship success since then, only winning the RAW Tag Team titles in early 2020. However, he had one of the feuds of the year in 2021 against Edge.