The WWE Universe and professional wrestling fans, in general, can sometimes be fickle. Organizations put time and money into cultivating great storylines and characters for the world, only for those things to constantly change.
The only thing that is guaranteed in wrestling is that change is going to keep happening. Wrestlers will switch allegiances and move from babyface to heel several times in their careers.
These turns are a part of the companies’ storytelling and are often the result of a lot of hard work and planning done behind the scenes. Then, there are the times when plans are thrown on their head by the audience.
Many times in wrestling history, the fans and the paying customers have reacted so strongly that they forced the company to change their plans. Wrestlers are switched from heel to face, or vice versa, all due to the fan’s want for it to happen. Below are some of these times.
Kurt Angle – 1999
The Olympic Hero was a great addition to the roster. He brought legitimacy with him, and he was a gold medalist come home. He was supposed to receive a warm welcome. He had the support of everyone in the office, but the problem was the fans could not stand the sight of him.
Angle’s three I’s were his mantra but made him insufferable to all. His debut as a face lasted all of three minutes before the fans turned on him. The boos were resounding, and WWE decided to lean into his heel characteristics instead of building another hero.
It was a smart move that was spurred by the scorn he received from the audience.
Rob Van Dam – 2001
The Alliance was built of wrestlers who wanted to end WWE. It was a group of heels that were formed of former wrestlers from WCW and ECW. They all did a great job of getting the fans to hate them, well save one.
RVD was the clear MVP of the Alliance. As much as WWE tried to lump him in with the rest of the heels his popularity with the fans was undeniable. His high-flying working style combined with charisma for days made him more popular than any member of the Alliance.
Try as they may WWE could just not keep this man inside that box. Once the program was over Rob Van Dam was on the fast track to being a top babyface.
The Rock – 1996/1997
There are about 3 instances that could be written about with The Rock. The fans have been deciding his fate for most of his career, but it was the first time this took place that set the tone for his entire WWE tenure.
Rocky Maivia was the blue-chipper babyface that thrived in the New Generation. The problem was it was not the New Generation, and the fans weren’t having any of it. A chorus of “Rocky Sucks” chants filled every arena he entered into.
It was a hard blanket to get out from under and when WWE realized this they pivoted and turned Rocky Maivia heel, joining the Nation of Domination. Thus, The Rock was born, and we know the rest of the story.
Hulk Hogan – 2002
The NWO was a fantastic heel faction in WCW. A faction that Vince McMahon was hoping to replicate their success in WWE, but it failed miserably. One of the biggest reasons for this failure was the fan’s refusal to accept Hulk Hogan as a heel.
Hogan was pitted against The Rock for his first big program, and it didn’t go according to plan. The Rock was the biggest babyface in the company, but it was Hulk Hogan who got the ovations.
The fans missed having the Immortal One in WWE and refused to turn against their childhood hero. It wasn’t long before WWE turned Hogan back to the red and yellow that we all came to love.
Randy Orton – 2004
Randy Orton had a rocket strapped to his back, in 2004. As part of Evolution, he was always going to be front and center, but he was also given big programs to sink his teeth into. The biggest of all was his World Championship opportunity at SummerSlam.
It was a victory that was shocking and triggered a babyface turn for the creator of the RKO. A babyface turn that didn’t work and was instantly rejected by the WWE audience.
The fans didn’t buy Orton as a top guy, just yet, and he was made to look weak against Triple H. It wasn’t long before the boos, or outright cries of indifference followed Orton around. WWE took note and switched Orton back to a heel setting him on his fantastic Legend Killer path.
Batista – 2014
The Animal was a huge return for WWE, in 2014. He brought star power with him and the fans initially were receptive to his return. That is until everyone realized what Batista was going to be doing during his second run.
WWE intended to push the man to the main event, winning the Royal Rumble in the process.
Any other time a successful Batista return would have been great, but it was done at the expense of the immensely popular Daniel Bryan. Bryan was the people’s choice, and the people rebelled against Big Dave being at the top of the card over him.
The hatred pouring out gave the office no choice but to switch Batista to the heel character that dominated his second run.
CM Punk – 2011
CM Punk was always going to be better as a heel. The work that he did leading into 2011 established him as one of the best heels in the business. He had great programs with every wrestler he was matched with, and the fans were digging him as a heel, but then the tide changed.
Once Punk dropped his infamous pipe bomb on Raw everything changed for the Second City Saint. He voiced the concerns of many in the audience and became the anti-hero that everyone could get behind.
He got cheers wherever he went and those just got louder the more he fought the office.
WWE tried to counteract Punk’s rise by having wrestlers cut negative promos for Punk, but the fans were having none of it.
The office was put in a position where they could either push Punk as the babyface the audience wanted or continue on the path that not one person supported. They opted for the former.
Daniel Bryan – 2012
Ah yes that WrestleMania 28 match that changed the landscape of WWE. Bryan was heading into the match as the heel, and doing a great job of it before Sheamus went over in seconds.
The intent of WWE seemed to be to squash Bryan for the betterment of Sheamus. Fans would be so elated that Bryan was vanquished that they would forget all about the man. This was not what happened.
The support for Bryan was overwhelming. The fans were massively in the corner of the man that the office had no interest in pushing any further. The fans loved Bryan’s style and passion for wrestling and they voiced that opinion.
That voice became louder and louder until the office was given no choice but to take the heel Bryan and make him one of the best babyfaces of the past few decades.
Seth Rollins – 2019
Seth Rollins is a great example of how a title run if booked poorly, can have the fans turn on a champion. 2019 should have been his year. Rollins went over Brock Lesnar twice and etched his place into WWE lore.
It should have been a defining moment for Rollins and made him an ultra-baby face.
When Lesnar was done, he entered into a program with The Fiend that was all sorts of not good. The matches were long slogs and had an atmosphere that impressed no one.
It was a feud that turned the fans against Rollins, and he was soon met with a chorus of hate. It was not expected for the man that slayed The Beast, but it was saved when WWE turned the man heel, and we were given the Visionary.
Rusev – 2017/2018
Rusev came into WWE as the heel that the company loved to push. He was a foreign monster that matched up well against all the heroes that WWE had in its halls. The fans bought his heel persona, and he spent his first few years as a serviceable heel, but then the winds of change blew his way.
Following a victory, over Randy Orton, Rusev had a celebration where he proclaimed that that day was Rusev Day. It was a heel move that was intended to have him get even louder jeers, but the fans loved it.
Soon the chats of Rusev Day filled every arena that the Bulgarian Brute walked into. It was such an organic thing that WWE didn’t know what to do.
They kept him as a heel for a while, but the chants became too loud. He was soon playing the babyface role and Rusev Day became a phenomenon.
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