Top 5 Heel Turns In WWE History
Top heel turns are best defined by those shocking moments that the crowd never saw coming. Often these are acts of treachery from a babyface on his or her partner or friend. Sometimes characters turn heel gradually, as popular opinion starts to turn against them, but more often they are dramatic swerves that catch the audience by surprise.
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Modern audiences are normally 'smarter' thanks in part to dirt sheets, but also fans that have experience of watching wrestling regularly can sometimes predict a heel turn. What makes some of these top heel turns special, is that they could never be predicted, or that the storyline that preceded it was perfect for the turn that followed.
As Stone Cold Steve Austin once said "don't trust anybody", some of the stars on the list should certainly have taken his advice. Sometimes our favourite teams are not meant to last and for other babyfaces, more organic transitions into heel characters are inevitable. These are some of the moments that shocked the WWE Universe and often led to some of the best heel runs in the company's history.
#1 Seth Rollins
The Shield was one of the most popular groups in the WWE when they ran riot in the company from 2012 to 2014. The Shield feuded with the likes of Evolution, The Rock Undertaker and John Cena after the debuted in the company in November 2012.
On RAW, the night after the group defeated Evolution for the second pay-per-view in a row at Payback 2014, Triple H and Randy Orton confronted the Shield members. Although Triple H wielded his sledgehammer, it looked as if he and Orton were outnumbered by the three Shield members.
However, the Cerebral Assassin then uttered the words "there's always a Plan B" leading to Rollins striking both of his teammates with a steel chair. The emphatic chair shots solidified Rollins' status a heel as he would go on to align himself with Triple H and his Authority.
This was a devastating moment but would begin Rollins' run as the opportunistic villain. Symbolically hitting his partners from behind, it was the start of Rollins doing anything he could to get to the top of the mountain, even if it meant turning on his teammates to side with his once rival, Triple H.