6 greatest babyface turns of the 21st century

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The night Batista became a star

Professional wrestling is a weekly soap opera, with good guys and bad guys settling their differences inside the squared circle. The matches they have in the ring are accompanied by complex storylines, that take place over the course of several weeks, months, or in rare occasions, even years.

The Attitude Era changed the dynamic of babyface reactions and heel heat. Revolutionary Superstars like Stone Cold Steve Austin were considered as being anti-heroes, who usually wouldn't play by the book but the crowd still loved them to death.

Despite the change in this dynamic, wrestling continued having traditional babyfaces who were cheered by the fans, and heels who were booed out of the building on a weekly basis. A character can sometimes turn their entire persona and become a babyface/heel if the storyline and the audience reaction demands it.

Let's take a look at 6 greatest babyface turns of the 21st century.

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#6 Brock Lesnar

There was a time when Heyman had turned on Lesnar

At Survivor Series 2002, a white-hot Lesnar faced off against The Big Show with the WWE Title on the line. In the closing moments of the match, Lesnar delivered a thunderous F5 to Show, and proceeded to pin him.

Lesnar's manager, Paul Heyman, suddenly grabbed the referee and hit him into unconsciousness. A shocked Lesnar chased Heyman around the ring before getting a Choke Slam from the giant. Big Show then pinned Lesnar to win the WWE Title.

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Brock had just come out of a feud with The Undertaker and was still lingering between being a babyface and a tweener. Lesnar, who was hated by the crowd for destroying The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell, immediately became a fan favorite and began getting positive reactions. Lesnar went on to win the Royal Rumble match and the WWE Title at WrestleMania 19.

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