More Awesome Pro Wrestling Heel Turns
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Heel turns in pro wrestling can turn into memorable moments while also completely changing the trajectory of a superstar's career. Turning heel is a great way to give fans new wrestling matches against new opponents, and it's also a great way for a superstar to add more layers to their character. There's been many great heel turns over the years from guys like The Rock, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker, and this video looks into more good guys turning bad in WWF and WCW.
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - The Undertaker
02:59 - Larry Zbyszko
05:33 - Batista
08:00 - Ric Flair
09:32 - Shawn Michaels
12:08 - Paul Orndorff
14:32 - Scott Steiner
16:37 - Rocky Maivia
19:11 - Barry Windham
21:38 - Final Thoughts / Credits
#WWF #WWE #Wrestling - กีฬา
The thing I liked the most about Scott Steiner's heel turn is the wink he gives to the camera. Like a slight "you know what I'm about to do" to any smart fans watching.
The Rock turning heel to join The Nation was the best thing that ever happened for his career, his Rocky Maivia goody two shoes gimmick was going nowhere fast and he was getting brutally booed out of the building, he needed changing and the turn not only did wonders for his character but it put him on the path to becoming one of the biggest names ever. His natural charisma, incredible athleticism and ability to connect with the crowds made him one of the most entertaining heels ever to the point where it was very hard to hate him.
If you have charisma, you have to be a heel or at minimum a tweener.
Die Rocky die comes to mind
Very hard to hate him Randy orton can be apart of this conversation in a way
I would say that Randy Orton started to reach that level around 2008, I remember at No Way Out when he faced Cena, he slapped the referee to get himself disqualified to retain his title and the whole place popped hard. So I would definitely include him in the conversation
I liked Nation of Domination and adding The Rock rocketed it to a whole another level.
I gotta say though, The rock really needed that heel turn. It elevated him into a huge star and the fans were starting to get behind him.
I’m glad The Rock took shots at those fans for booing him as a babyface, and his promos were gold
Agreed
@@starastro4591 I loved that faction feud
@@starastro4591 that wasn't the beginning
Pretty much 1 year after that, he was already getting a mixed reaction & even being cheered on occasion. The reaction he got at Summerslam 1998 after he hit the People's Elbow, the fans popped huge for that spot. And they stopped booing him after that.
Love seeing more Golden Era and older wrestlers being recognized. Although the Monday Night Wars is my peak era, I was first introduced to wrestling in the 80's and have been a fan ever since.
Agreed
I was at the RAW show where the Rock turned heel. My seat was actually right on the guardrail looking down at the tunnel he ran to the ring from. He was pacing back and forth the whole show waiting for his spot to happen.
The Batista turn was incredible.
"I'm gonna rip your head off."
Still sends a tingle down my spine.
I can't remember but were Batista and Mysterio tag team champs at the time of the turn or had they lost the titles?
They had lost the titles... But honestly, I felt for Dave in the turn and was praying for a Rey heel turn instead... It would have been even more unexpected...
@@kurtpaulsen6579 yep, Dave was screwed and had every right to be pissed
That really was an underrated moment. It also makes me crack up because I don’t think he was playing (like for real).
i will never say no to another series, i absolutely love reliving the war, career retrospectives, and even the gaming reviews. You have a great way of giving your input along with facts
Wrestling Bios is the best
It is worth noting that Paul Orndorff's atrophied arm that developed in the 90s stemmed from the period around the heel turn you discuss here. Apparently he needed arm surgery but wouldn't take the time off because the feud with Hogan was too lucrative for him. That delayed surgery led to permanent nerve damage.
I too watch OSW Review
Damn that sucks for Orndorff.
I wonder if he'd regretted it
may he RIP
@@DamanKingBear I doubt it. Back then guys weren't on guaranteed contracts. If you didn't work, you weren't getting paid. Plus, a series of houses where you were main eventing with Hogan back in 86 was worth a LOT more money than he would've been used to. It was THE spot every heel wanted, and I'm sure most of the babyfaces too. If Orndorff left for even just a few months, that opportunity may not have still been there waiting.
This dude pumps out so much content idk what else to say other than thanks
Pumps more than Big papa pump !
I think a heel turn that kinda gets overlooked or at least not remembered as much was Bobby Roode turning on James Storm at Bound for Glory in 2011 or 2012. That heel turn solidified Roode for me as one of TNA's franchise players, and tbh came as a shock cuz at the time Beer Money was at the height of their popularity as babyfaces.
Great call. That’s a fantastic turn. I’m a big Beer Money fan, they also worked well as opponents.
It was the week after BFG 2011.
To put it in perspective it was such a shocker they still shared theme music at the time.
I remember that back in the day he will always be remembered as beer money to me
Good friends better enemies and it lead to several get back together episodes too
Eddie turning on Mysterio was one of the most terrifying turns. Eddie's heel persona was always a cheating sleazeball, but here he became a Pillman-esque psychopath.
Batista's heel turn is my favorite of the PG Era because you saw it coming but didn't want to believe it. When Batista said "I'm tired of my friends stabbing me in the back," I remember putting my face in the palms of my hands.
He stopped kissing babies and hugging fat girls.
I was smiling wide because I was worried they wouldn't turn him heel. Heel Batista from late 09-spring 10 was wonderful.
Best heel turn I've ever seen was when Ole attacked Dusty in 1980. The promo Ole cut after it happened was brilliant, saying the things he had to do in order to gain Dusty's trust absolutely disgusted him.
The Rock's early days of his Nation of Domination run are so fun to go back and watch again. In just a few months, Dwayne Johnson went from a Babyface that fans were really tired of, to being arguably the hottest heal in the wwf.
Everyone loves a heel turn.
Not when I was 11. Haha.
Watching Orndorff turn made me sad. Haha
Cactus Jack's anti-hardcore run in ECW is still the gold standard for me. Face turn? Not sure if you got it, but Nikita Koloff turning face.
If Magnum TA doesn't get into the car accident Nikita's face turn doesn't happen when it does.
One heel turn I thought was really good that's outside of WWE, Was Bobby Roode on James Storm in TNA. They not only broke up one of TNA's best ever teams, but they truly showed the lure of the world title, is just too good to put down. It drives you crazy, it drives you mad. The fact too, that this was after Roode failed to beat Kurt, and he came so close to it too. It was done really well.
Just when i was bored as hell, a new wrestling bios video comes out. We gotta love you pal!
A major one that rarely gets brought up is Cena’s heel turn. Turned on Kidman on 10/24/02. Next week he dresses up as Vanilla Ice which is the start of him transitioning into the Thuganomics character.
You could do a video on the 85 heel turns The Big Show did. Also the 85 baby face turns he did lol
Heel turn 23 was particularly memorable, you know the one it was in that match he had with that guy.
@@freddiejohnson6137 still gives me goosebumps.
@@freddiejohnson6137 omg I know! That match was bigger than Hogan Vs. Andre
Or how he was the mystery partner ever single time.
@@BENNY_MAC especially when he done that thing that really shocked the crowd to this day I can't even mention it in conversation as it is hard to put into words
Ryan, PLEASE do Scott Hall Turning on Kevin Nash against Giant and Sting next. It’s such a great turn, because the crowd sees it coming and audibly chants to not break up and stay together at various points in the match.
Bro, the Outsiders breakup was legitimately emotional.
Kevin Owens heel turn on Sami at Takeover Revolution was pretty awesome. It was his first ppv.
Barry had a TON of potential. He had so much going for him. He had the size and he just made everything look so easy and effortlessly.
The Rock needed that heel turn. If it was not for that heel turn going to the Nation, and then turning on Farooq, I think he would have faded away.
The one I loved was Toshiaki Kawada's heel turn, when he allied himself with Akira Taue and formed the Holy Demon Army.
About the face turns: Beulah on ECW, when she turn on Raven's Nest.
How did it exactly happen? Was it an in-ring segment?
Was that really a heel turn? I'm to understand it was more of a face turn for Taue when they ended their feud with a handshake.
@@exe2517 yeah, japanese wrestling don't really have "backstage sgements" or do storylines in the traditional american pro wrestling sense (at least, before gedo sadly americanized it in recent years NJPW). The storylines were mainly through what happened in the matches, and the closest things to "Angles" as we know it were simply post-match moments like handshakes or a non-microphone argument or brawl in the ring, as well as real press conferences with journalists or a wrestler speaking to the journalists and photographers backstage after his match, or newspapers and magazines telling the stories (like the old days of the 50s and 60s territories)
Anyways, the kawada heel turn was that, for years, Kawada was in the shadow of Mitsuharu Misawa, who led the youth rebellion against the All Japan establishment, represented by Jumbo Tsuruta. Misawa was the one who beat Tsuruta cleanly and won the triple crown, while Kawada was essentially his tag team partner/bitch. Kawada then had enough with Misawa getting the spotlight, so after the 1993 champions carnival match (was it the final? I don't remember) against Akira Taue (who was the protege of Jumbo Tsuruta, Misawa and Kawada's sworn enemy), Kawada and Taue shook hands, seeing as they shared a lot of things in common (namely being in the shadow of more famous/higher profile wrestlers and hating Misawa). As such, they shook hamds after their champions carnival match and teamed up to form the holy dempn army and kickstart the king's road era of All Japan.
@@Carlitonsp1 it was more of a "we hate the same guy and we both want out of our leaders's shadows, let's team up." type of thing. Taue was the protege of Jumbo Tsuruta, and he was seen as just his lackey, and he grew resentful of that. Kawada saw that he had a lot in common with Taue, and so after their match, he convinced Taue to team up in order to help themselves.
Enjoying this series. The JBL one was pretty significant for him. I think Farooq got fired after a returning APA lost their matches but Bradshaw elected to stay which shocked Farooq. Next thing you know JBL was born..didn't expect his main event run at all but he was a great heel
"I'm a one man conglomerate!"
🤣
JBL was awesome
My headphones are all bass and that intro gets me hyped everytime! 👌
13:52 even in 87, some fans could already see right through Hogan. See that guy jump for joy when Orndorf hits that pile driver? That’s a fan after my own heart.
I know it's not WWE so you probably won't include it in next video but Bobby Roodes heel turn in TNA was so good. It also led to the best TNA World Title reign of all time imo.
Becky Lynch's 'heel turn' at Summerslam is a really special one in the way that the fans rejected it and it made her an even better babyface who quickly became a megastar.
Also Bayley’s heel turn was kinda anticlimactic but they did it pretty well in the build and it was pretty significant.
One of my favorite heel turns will always be Mark Henry and his fake retirement speech on Raw. He'd been on a big decline down the card in recent years, and rumors had been circulating that he intended to retire soon. Then he comes out on Raw and has a long, incredible promo towards Cena (then world champ) and the audience. Henry legit sounds like he is on the verge of tears the entire speech, talks about how much he respects Cena and loves the fans, he's laughing as they chant Sexual Chocolate at him and he even makes a Mae Young comment at one point. At the end of the promo Cena goes to give him a hug and Henry opens his arms, only to scoop Cena up and hit him with his signature Worlds Strongest Slam. Henry glares at Cena on the ground, throws off his salmon jacket and rips open his shirt, and just hollers "It ain't that easy! I still got a lot left in the tank!"
It was probably the most legitimately shocking since hulk Hogan at bash at the beach.
The should've gave Mark a title run after that promo. They dropped the ball with that one.
Y'all bunch of puppets.
@@romacechina you ok princess? You getting the attention you need now?
Mark did so well. I truly thought he was retiring.
Taker's biker heel was so good it definitely was unexpected and taker was great.
Batista's heel turn to me had his best mic work of his career. Shawn's promo the night after Summerslam 97 was too good when he turned heel. I go back and watch it alot.
I'm glad that someone brought up Barry Windham joining the Horsemen because to me as a kid, this felt equivalent to Hogan joining the NWO. No one saw this coming and was a total shock. Him joining made that group the best incarnation of the Four Horsemen there ever was.
i absolutely love this channel. i can feel the passion dude you remind me of the old youtube channels that made the platform so popular. keep it up man.
Undertaker's Heel turn in 2001 was awesome
I Remember the Zbyszko Turn, My Dad and I were SCREAMING at the Television!!!
The Rock becoming a heel has to be the most important heel turn of all time because without it, we don't get the Rock and Dwayne Johnson likely doesn't go on to become one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. Absolutely massive
Thank you for mentioning Batistas heel turn on Rey Mysterio! Big Dave gets alot of unnecessary hate for his later runs, but people tend to forget that prior to leaving for Hollywood, Batista was a fan favorite and one of the 2 faces of WWE, along with Cena.
At one point, Batista was even more popular than Cena, he was really that popular.
But that Ruthless Aggression-pre PG Era Batista was awesome. He couldn't give you 5 star matches, but he really grew into his own in the storytelling aspect of wrestling. His storyline with Eddie was so damn good, which showed you different sides of both Eddie and Batista. It was an unlikely friendship and it felt really natural and relatable on TV. So when he died, you felt Batistas sadness come through. So when he lost the title and became good friends with Rey, almost as a pseudo relationship to fill the void with Eddie, you seriously felt that friendship shine through.
So when Rey said "what about eddie?" That seriously hit hard, especially if you watched the entire history between these guys.
Man, Batista was seriously an underrated wrestler. He was even one of the first actual threats to Undertakers streak, you could actually believe Batista could have ended Takers streak during their match at WM 23, they arguably stole the show with that match. You didnt think Batista had it in him and then you find out that was the first match Batista led and it happened to be the biggest match of his career on the biggest stage in the business 😅
You mentioned Dave's sadness coming through. I think that was him actually unintentionally breaking kayfabe. Eddie's death hit EVERYONE HARD in real life backstage. Everyone loved Eddie in real life.
Chyna joining the corporation shocked me. Even worse that I fell asleep and found out about it at school the next day
I love the History that I learn from your videos. I've been a fan since the mid 80's, yet you manage to come up with things I had no clue about. The Zybisko heel turn was one I had not even heard of, so thank you for that.
I loved seeing the , New Day turn heel.Woods was on the side cheering Kofi on. Then Kofi started cheating in the match. Woods got a shocked look on his face. That said, "What are you doing!" the Kofi either winked or, tapped his head and the light bulb went off for Woods. You could see Wood's face change like, "Ooohhh! We can CHEAT to win!"
It was the start of the New Day being obnoxious hilarious heels after being boring baby faces.
The undertaker one took me by surprise because I did not expect that. I was like " oh he is turning heel ok then" 👍👍
My favorite heel turn is when Vince goes from boss to a master of the grapefruits
Absolutely interested in seeing more of these Heel turn\Face turn videos, i didn't see any Wrestling from around 1999 until late 2020 so getting to hear about some of the stars i like but never got to watch such as Batista is pretty cool, learning more about some of the older stuff i wasn't around for is cool too. For instance i don't think i ever knew Paul Orndorf was a Babyface at one point, i always thought he was one of those forever Heels that were stuck wrestling Hogan for the better part of their career.
😅👍
God, I loved Heel Rock from November 98 to January 99. He was hilarious. As a face the same shtick got old. Although you can pinpoint the coming face turn when the old lady kept cutting him off when he asked her what name was.
Sitting here screaming "this is awesome"! Great way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!
I watched that Flair heel turn recently on a yt channel that reuploads old wrestling shows. Now-a-days you see heel turns coming from a mile away but the fans really ate that stuff up back then. The Minnesota Wrecking crew were awesome too.
Awesome Stuff !I’m glad you covered the Bruno/Larry rivalry And Hogan/Orndoff
Batista yelling out "You're supposed to be my Friend!" was perfect.
Even though the heel turn Jim Ross had in the fall of 1996 didn't go over well, you need to check out the commentating between Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon during the Savio Vega/Fake Razor Ramon match on the September 30th, 1996 RAW episode.
Taz's ECW heel turn was major. Dude is still in the business through AEW to this day. Tazmaniac would have faded out of existence if he stayed in that persona. Sure his look changed and his name was shortened, but there was no pretending was someone new. It was all part of a new attitude and had a back story that took place over an untelevised period while he was out with a legit injury.
Glad I’ve found your channel. Awesome stuff thanks man
Holy cow is this video amazing. I found your channel about a year ago and it’s definitely my favorite wrestling channel. Thank you so much for the content! God bless 🙏.
For as good a job you do in relieving the war you did the old school turns so much justice
Not too many people talk about continental championship wrestling but as a kid I can remember being legitimately pissed off when ken Wayne turned on Danny Davis and split up the nightmares, I think it was 1988
Been a fan of the channel for a couple years. Love listening while making $$$. Relaxing
never been so early. always excited to see a new bios video. best wrestling content on YT easy
One of my favorites was Crush's heel turn in 1993 against Randy Savage. It wasn't that big but I thought it was well done. The REASONING made sense. And the subtleness of Fuji and Heenan clearly manipulating Crush is executed well. I will forever love Randy trying to talk to his friend OFF the show to smooth things out instead of on camera and his line of "This man is an agitator (points to heenan) this man is a parasite (points to Fuji" Is great.
Sycho Sid's was pretty memorable
Great stuff here mate!
The turn on Dusty stands out for me cos when I was a kid I remember my mum telling me about it, just as flaire came to wwf. It was like the hallowed moment, a legend. My mum had false memories of Dustys leg legit being broken, his sell job was that good. That's actual magic to me
Wooooooooo
Looks like the beginning of another entertaining series.
Keep them coming love ur channel
This was very well done, new sub
Honestly, looking back at Batista's character work during his first stint with WWE, all the signs were there that he'd be able to crossover to Hollywood pretty seamlessly.
OMG is that Orndorff heel turn underrated. The buildup, the tropes, the interviews with the Brain. Even the silly missed phone call angle. So underrated!!!!!! Back then I loved Mr Wonderful, his heel turn HURT! 😂 btw, thank you to you and your team for these videos
Chyna turning on DX and joining the cooperation. Paul Bearer turning on the Undertaker in 96 are 2 I remember very well, never saw them coming.
I can’t recall what was in the first video but I’d imagine the major ones like Hogan joining nWo, Rockers breakup, Andre, Mega Powers we’re all covered. Some others that may have not been on either list: Martel turning on Tito, Kevin Owens turning on Sami in NXT, Stephanie turning on Vince, Sting joining the Main Event Mafia.
I'd argue that the whole Vince/Trips/Steph arc of turns in late 99 and at Mania 2000 could all be in videos like this.
That Taker turn came OUTTA NOWHERE. Also the quality of THIS series is A+. Thanks man
Biker Undertaker also had one of the best responses to the "What!" chant.
Can't really write it here, but most of you know what I'm talking about.
Less than 10 minutes ago i commented on your previous video saying you should have included Larry turning on Bruno. Then low and behold, the next video I see is just that. Great job Sir.
As a kid I hunted down any wrestling I could find, and came across some stinkers like WOW, and WSX on mtv but absolutly loved watching NWA on ESPN Classics. Zbyzko was one of my favorites on there.
My grandma was there when Larry turned hill on Bruno. She said when that chair him Bruno her hart broke. She said to the day she died that was the worst day in wrestling history. She was a huge Bruno fan.
Thanks for making these videos. I was in my 20s in the 90s. So don’t remember much of it. A lot of parties.
I still vividly remember, Shawn's heel turn when he superkicked Jannetty, and Jannetty jumped through the window to escape.
1:40 yeah the Big Evil was awesome. So much so by mid-2002 the crowd was cheering him even though he was a heel. Awesome on the mic and savage in the ring.
In all honesty, you could include Rock for the third heel turn video by covering him turning into Hollywood Rock, someone who deluded himself into thinking he was the biggest star in Hollywood simply because he starred in The Scorpion King. Personally, while I love Rock's prior personas & the like, he truly was at his absolute peak as Hollywood Rock in 2003, and I fully believe that if he does get that one last match against Roman Reigns this year, he should seriously return with that persona, especially since this time around he'd actually be 100% correct about who he thinks he is.
First I want to say, big fan! Keep it up, you're the premiere wrestling channel on YT that's not breaking news related.
I also wanted to say that I completely agree with your take on Bikertaker's heel turn. I had always been and am still a huge fan but anyone who wants to maintain a long term career needs to be open to at least occasionally tweaking and changing their gimmick, physical appearance, and incorporating changes to their style. Undertaker was the absolute master at this and always knew exactly what changes, both big and small, to make and when to keep himself relevant. His first face turn against Jake to defend Randy and Elizabeth will always be a formative memory for me regarding wrestling and the image of him grabbing the chair is burned into my brain. I've actually been rather surprised that a lot of modern wrestling fans don't seem to take to well to the Bikertaker years as humanizing the character was exactly what was needed at the time and I seem to recall it was mostly well received when it happened.
Also, The Rock's heel turn and joining The Nation was a pivotal moment of the early attitude era and had it not happened and been successful the trajectory of wrestling and The Rock's own career could have been very different. It's importance really can't be understated.
Nice way to start the new year
Paul Orndorff turning on Hogan in 1986 was tremendous. I also liked the very short but still interesting Lex Luger turn in mid 1989. Honorable mentions to Barry Windham's 1988 heel turn.
When he showed the comments suggesting heel turns, mine was the first one, it's so cool that he took the time to read it.
Sweet, you added Batista turning on Mysterio, my 2nd favorite heel turn ever after savage turning on steamboat. Thanks.
When the undertaker asks jr if he thought he was better than him, the whole crowd went hush silent lmao such a random yet great heel turn
Class content as always. But it's really popped with the era we're in with Reliving The War
You give good wrestling content.
Great video
Wrestling Bios did this Upload for The Rock …..
In part 3 I'd like to see The Giants heel turn on The Dungeon of Doom/ WCW to join the nWo. Also Cactus Jack turning on Tommy Dreamer to join Raven's group in ECW, Bam Bam Bigelow turn on Taz to rejoin the Triple Threat who also turn on Lance Storm in ECW. Just to mention a few.
Tatanka's 94 heel turn should be in part 3
The little audio clips in the beginning are such a great idea and can be chilling if you never heard it.
I got a sick recommendation; how about a list of famous wrestling injuries like Stone Cold, Sabu, Mick Foley, Vader, HHH etc..
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND!!!" Thank you for mentioning Batista heel turn on Rey. I still to THIS DAY quote the dialog!!
This video gave me an idea of another video you could make, times where heel turns, or heels winning made fans cry.
I just saw Avatar 2 and it introduced me to the first ever, underwater chinlock! I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when this happened. 😂
I loved it when Big Show turned heel, I’m sure someone must’ve commented on your last video so we’ll definitely have Big Show’s heel turn here 🎉
The weird thing is Big Show has been turned so many times without any fanfare that it seemed to change week to week.
Don't know if it's been covered or not but Tatanka turning in Lex to join Million Dollar Corp was pretty good and the Bulldog turning on Diesel which basically broke u Allied Powers was pretty unexpected
Yeah, Tatanka's turn is truly one of the few shocking heel turns in any major North American promotion of the New Gen time period. That and Owen's at RR 94 are my two favorite in the WWF from that time.
awesome vid.
HHH turning on DX and joining the Corporation in 1999 was another awesome heel turn. It was the start of him becoming the Game.
My reaction to Barry Windham's heel turn was...um...let's say...intense. Lots and lots AND LOTS of tears. You see, he was my very first wrestling crush. And I was...well, I guess a rather emotional teenage girl.
For me Shaun michaels heel turn splitting up the rockers was one that lives on in the memory.
The thing is with Zbyzko. He was so hated as a heel for so long and then in the 90s with the NWO he became one of the biggest babyfaces of all time when he slapped Hall he was off and running for a second time. It was like lightning hitting twice never heard of at all but it happened.
On par with The Rock's heel turn and what it did for his career the same can be said for the Honky Tonk Man. When he debuted, they tried to push him as a babyface but the fans weren't having it. The WWF recognized this right away and organized a campaign to get the fans to vote whether or not they liked him. When the votes were counted it was overwhelmingly against HTM and the heel he would become was born. It worked really well and catapulted his character into the moon. And as a side note, Larry Zbyszko's heel turn also included turning on his old tag partner Tony Garea.