3 WWE Superstars who never turned heel and 2 who never turned face
One of the most important aspects of WWE Superstars are the characters they portray. A wrestler could either be a heel or a babyface. They could even be presented as an anti-hero, a character trait that widely became popular in the Attitude Era when Stone Cold rose up the ranks in WWE.
Some Superstars have changed characters on several occasions. Triple H was initially a top heel, however, he went on to have a short-lived face run in 2002 but went back to being a heel again as he betrayed his best friend Shawn Michaels. He turned face again in 2006, aligning with Michaels.
Being a Babyface or a Heel character involves many factors that range from your gimmick, the creative storylines, the WWE universe's traction towards you and much more.
Some wrestlers have stuck to one face of the coin and have maintained their status quo transcending eras. In this article, we take a look at three wrestlers who never turned heel and two who never turned face.
#3 Never turned heel: Ricky Steamboat
Throughout his WWE run, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat played the part of a hero to perfection. His mannerisms and looks screamed babyface, and Vince McMahon decided never to turn him heel. Steamboat's most famous match was the classic against Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest bouts of all time.
Steamboat reportedly once asked Patt Patterson to turn him heel and fight as a masked character, but Patterson stated that he was a natural babyface.
Despite his tremendous in-ring ability, Ricky failed to achieve much gold in the WWE. He's a one-time Intercontinental Champion and that's as far as he got. He will however go down in history as one of WWE's greatest performers.
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#2 Never turned face: The Iron Sheik
There wasn't a bigger villain in WWE during the early 80s than The Iron Sheik. He was the perfect anti-American character the crowd loved to boo out of the building each time he set foot in the ring. His heelish mannerisms, which included berating the crowd and the USA always worked in WWE.
That was why it was a very big deal when Hulk Hogan defeated him to win the WWE title in Madison Square Garden. Beating Sheik turned Hogan into an American hero the fans could look up to.
At WrestleMania 17, The Iron Sheik returned to be a part of the 'gimmick battle royal' and won the event. Despite being a ghoulish heel all his life, he received a standing ovation from the WWE universe that day.
The Sheik remains a controversial character, even to this day owing to his social media exploits and shoot promos against his compatriots.