Hiya!

If you’re a wrestling fan, you’re still probably reeling with the recent development of John Cena siding with The Rock in the hopes of getting one more run at the Unified WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes. This was a huge shock as most WWE fans do think of John Cena as the perennial babyface of the company despite playing the heel for a good chunk of the early part of his career. It’s just that he’s been the company’s biggest babyface for so long, we kind of forgot about his time as a bad guy and that’s what makes it so surprising.

I will say it’s still one of the most surprising heel turns I’ve ever seen in the world of professional wrestling but does it deserve to be up there with the pantheon of the greatest heel turns? Well, I have compiled a list of what I think are the biggest turns to the dark side in the world of professional wrestling and you decide if it should knock one of them off this list.

So, here is my personal list of professional wrestling’s biggest heel turns!

#5 The Rock joins The Corporation

Before he was the Final Boss, he was known as The People’s Champ… until he chose to become the Corporate Champion.

The Rock has had a rather rocky (pun intended) run in the WWE. He started out as the very boring face known as Rocky Maivia. This lasted until he reinvented himself when he nicknamed himself as The Rock when he joined the Nation of Domination and became a much more charismatic heel figure, thanks to his mic skills and colorful use of catchphrases. This made the fans start cheering him and he labeled himself as “The People’s Champ” as he was fighting for the WWE fanbase against The Corporation, led by Vince McMahon, the evil owner of the WWE, who was manipulating Mankind and maneuvering him to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

This all led up to Survivor Series 1998 and the Deadly Game tournament, with the winner receiving the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. The final participants were The Rock, who was the fan favorite, and Mankind, who was seemingly part of the Corporation, as Vince McMahon manipulated things in order for him to get to this point. In a shocking turn of events, The Rock locked the Sharpshooter on Mankind and Vince McMahon ordered the official to ring the bell and award the match to The Rock, mimicking the events of the Montreal Screwjob. It turns out this was Vince McMahon’s plan all along; get The Rock to the finals and turn him into his Champion… the Corporate Champion!

This was very surprising for a couple of reasons. For one, The Rock’s popularity was at an all-time high during this time period. Turning him heel was pretty ludicrous at this point. Second, the idea of Vince McMahon jumping through all these hoops and even letting The Rock get smashed in the head with a chair by Mankind comes off as counterintuitive in hindsight. However, this did cement Vince McMahon as one of the weirdest and most brilliant masterminds in the WWE as all of his long-term planning actually did work out in the end.

#4 Andre the Giant rips off Hulk Hogan‘s shirt

You have to forgive me but, for the longest time, I always thought Andre the Giant was always a bad guy. He was way before my time and, if you look at him as a kid, it would make sense how he would be one of the WWE’s biggest bad guys. After all, he’s a huge monster and most wrestling fans from my generation remember him being Hulk Hogan’s opponent at Wrestlemania III. Since Hulk Hogan was the WWE’s biggest good guy, wouldn’t you then think Andre the Giant was the WWE’s biggest bad guy?

Well, it turns out Andre the Giant as a face during his early WWE career. He was actually one of Hulk Hogan’s biggest allies at the start and even had a running feud with Bobby Heenan‘s managerial group, The Heenan Family. That all changed during a segment of Piper’s Pit. Dejected for allegedly being undefeated in the WWE (which isn’t true but hey! Wrestling!), Andre the Giant felt insulted when he received a smaller trophy when compared to the one Hulk Hogan received for being the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for 3 straight years. He shocked the world when he announced he himself became a part of The Heenan Family and challenged Hulk Hogan by ripping off his shirt for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt.

Although I can’t really say what it might have felt to see Andre the Giant turn on Hulk Hogan as I wasn’t born yet, I would guess it was a big deal as the repercussions could be felt even to this day. Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant for the first time (also not true but hey! Wrestling!) at Wrestlemania III is one of the most iconic moments in the WWE.

#3 “Stone Cold” Steve Austin aligns with Vince McMahon

If there was one feud which would define the WWE’s Attitude Era, it would be “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. This was the timeless story of your everyday man who fights for good going against the virtually unstoppable machinations of a powerful man. This made it easy to root for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as he was just a guy who would use his rough and tumble attitude to get over the sneering corporate businessman.

However, the unthinkable eventually happened at Wrestlemania X-Seven. The Texas Rattlesnake had a No DQ match against The Rock, who was the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It looked like the odds were against Steve Austin as Vince McMahon, his longtime enemy, had decided to make his way towards ringside. However, things weren’t as they seemed. At the end of this bloody match (literally!), Vince McMahon entered the ring with a steel chair… and handed it to Austin! Stone Cold wailed on The Rock with the weapon to get the pinfall and become the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion! To cement his heel turn, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin shook hands with his longtime rival, Vince McMahon.

I have some vague memories of watching this live as a young kid and my kid brain couldn’t fathom what I just witnessed. Why did Vince McMahon help Stone Cold? Why are they shaking hands after beating up The Rock? Am I supposed to be cheering for Vince McMahon now? I didn’t understand how Steve Austin, who was a good guy for as long as I could remember, could ally with Vince McMahon, the evil man. That’s how groundbreaking this moment was! The only reason why this isn’t higher up is most fans realize this was a mistake in hindsight and is virtually not part of canon for most folks.

#2 Vince McMahon screws Bret Hart

It’s hard to believe Vince McMahon wasn’t actually a character in the WWE during the early days. Sure, he was part of the commentator team and a host of a wrestling-centric talk show. However, no one really knew him as the owner and the head honcho of the company. Even during the infamous steroids trial which outed him as such to the public, he was not a central figure in any of the WWE’s storylines.

That all changed after the 1997 edition of the Survivor Series. Bret Hart was going to WCW with Vince McMahon’s blessing. There was one hiccup, though: he was still the WWE Heavyweight Champion at the time. Due to some bad blood he had with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart simply refused to job the title to the Heartbreak Kid, especially since it was in his home country of Canada. Instead of allowing Bret Hart to successfully defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Vince McMahon ordered the official to declare Shawn Michaels the winner, robbing The Hitman of a hometown victory.

Montreal Screwjob, anyone?

The Montreal Screwjob was momentous for several reasons. For one, it was one of the underlying factors of the entire Attitude Era wherein anti-heroes were the focus of storylines. Characters became more “serious” and less “kid-friendly” after this point. Vince McMahon was also pushed into the limelight. Instead of the dorky and lovable color commentator, Vince McMahon transformed to “Mr. McMahon,” a ruthless businessman who abuses his power to get what he wants.

This was one of the greatest outings ever… but not the best one only because Vince McMahon wasn’t a central figure in the WWE before this transformation. That’s why the top spot has to go to…

#1 Hulk Hogan joins the Outsiders as the third man and creates the nWo

I’ve talked about how, for years, Hulk Hogan was the top babyface in professional wrestling. No, I’m not just talking about in the WWE but in WCW as well. When he moved to WCW, he did become one of the main focuses of the company, with a lot of storylines revolving around his heroic accomplishments and deeds.

Enter Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, a couple of former WWE guys who “invaded” WCW and plan to dominate the entire show. They weren’t there to just win matches; they wanted control over the company. At Bash at the Beach 96, a three-man tag match was set up, with Sting, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Lex Luger teaming up to defend against the Outsiders and a mystery third man. During the match, Hulk Hogan went to the ring and it looked like he was going to help Randy Savage, who was downed by a low blow from Kevin Nash. Instead of doing this, Hulk Hogan unexpectedly hit Savage with his Atomic Legdrop finisher. Although the match was thrown out as Hulk Hogan threw the referee out of the ring before assaulting Savage with another Atomic Legdrop, it was clear: Hulk Hogan was the Outsider’s mystery partner.

hey did the impossible and turned Hulk Hogan bad. Gone was the red and yellow garb and it was replaced with black and white. Hulk Hogan even turned arrogant and started to call himself “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan. Along with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the trio formed the New World Order and dominated WCW for years! This, in my opinion, is still the biggest heel turn in all of professional wrestling. Even if I didn’t experience it myself, no one at the time ever expected the guy who espoused saying your prayers and taking your vitamins to even become a bad guy. It was just impossible!

BONUS: “Macho Man” Randy Savage turns on Hulk Hogan and the Mega Powers explode

As this is a list about the biggest heel turns in professional wrestling, I would be remiss if I didn’t include this one. Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage teamed up, creating the Mega Powers, an unstoppable babyface tag team. Hulk Hogan even helped Randy Savage capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase at Wrestlemania IV. However, cracks did start to form, thanks to Randy Savage’s paranoid jealousy at seeing his “girlfriend” Miss Elizabeth and Hulk Hogan starting to get chummy.

This all came to a head during a match between The Mega Powers and the (unfortunately named because of a tragedy) Twin Towers. During the match, Akeem “The African Dream” accidentally tossed Savage into Miss Elizabeth, knocking her unconscious. Hulk Hogan carried Miss Elizabeth to the back, forcing Savage to face off against the Twin Towers on his own for a while. Hogan did rejoin the fray but Savage “tagged” him in by slapping him across the face and leaving the ring. Hogan did win by himself but Savage, incensed at Hogan’s action and his raging jealousy, attacked him when he got to the back. The Mega Powers were done.

I know this is also one of the biggest heel turns in professional wrestling. This is one of those legendary and historic moments in the WWE, even leading to the main event of Wrestlemania V. The only reason why the Mega Powers exploding is just a bonus entry is because, in retrospect, this was always going to be the expected outcome. I do admire the long-term planning the WWE did with this as it ran for almost 2 whole years! You don’t have this kind of long-term storytelling the WWE anymore, do you?

Byee!

What would you say is the biggest heel turn in professional wrestling history? Let me know in the comments section below!