WWE fans love to debate and discuss a potential heel turn for Roman Reigns or John Cena, noting how both stars would benefit from a move to the dark side.
But what about heels who badly need to turn babyface?
Oftentimes, we overlook the necessity or possible benefits of some of WWE’s long-term villains getting a drastic change in character in the form of a babyface turn. It’s a rare feat for a WWE superstar to grow so popular as a heel that the fans who once booed that star suddenly begin showering him or her with cheers instead, and yet, there are a number of incredibly talented superstars who have managed to accomplish that impressive feat.
One of the worst things WWE can do for the quality of its product is keep superstars in roles that fail to maximize their potential, and WWE is inexplicably doing that with several stars who would excel in different roles. So, which current villains would be best served making a move to the bright side? Here are five top WWE heels who would thrive after a babyface turn.
Rusev
If you asked 100 WWE fans whether Rusev was a babyface or heel, you’d probably get a 100 different responses, including “I don’t know.”
WWE has spent the better part of the last year waffling on what it wants to do with Rusev, teasing a full-fledged babyface run one week and then making him a clear-cut heel the next. Regardless of WWE’s apparent desire to keep Rusev as a villain, however, the vast majority of fans have made it quite apparent that “The Bulgarian Brute” is a fan favorite at heart, as evidenced by the almost universally positive reaction to him recently becoming the No. 1 contender for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship.
Rusev’s official climb to babyface super-stardom began late last year when “Rusev Day!” chants began echoing through the rafters and he became WWE’s No. 1 merchandise seller. It’s so bizarre that WWE has done virtually all it can to squash Rusev’s popularity, ranging from silencing “Rusev Day” chants on SmackDown to defeating mega-babyface Daniel Bryan to simply keeping him off TV altogether.
After all, it’s a rare occurrence for a WWE star to, much like Bryan did, get over organically with the crowd, despite any obstacles presented by the creative team. But that’s exactly what Rusev has done.
Both he and Lana rank among SmackDown’s most popular stars, and yet, WWE has inexplicably resisted a babyface turn for a pair of stars who could give the blue brand a tremendous fan favorite duo to build around. If Rusev can sell merchandise at such a rapid rate and build such a large fan base without anything resembling a real push, imagine how much he could thrive with a legitimate push in a face role that would suit him better.
Elias
Elias has a very niche gimmick, a la stars like Bray Wyatt, Fandango and The Undertaker, and his career path could presumably go one of several different ways.
Although Elias is tremendous at generating heat from the crowd, it’s certainly possible that his current villainous shtick, which has become a cult favorite among diehard fans, essentially forces WWE to turn him babyface. WWE fans have already shown that they’re gravitating toward Elias, who surpassed Rusev early this year as WWE’s top merchandise mover, and the more comfortable and entertaining he gets as a talker, the more he is winning over fans.
That’s why there continues to be mounting speculation that WWE will turn him heel in the near future.
Elias thrives as a heel, but as seen with the likes of Fandango or Wyatt, not changing up a niche superstar’s gimmick in some way, shape or form could make them quickly get stale in the eyes of fans. Perhaps the best way to remedy that is to eventually pull the trigger on a babyface turn for Elias, perhaps not right away but in the near future if his overwhelmingly positive crowd reactions essentially make it a necessary move to freshen up his act.
Given that Elias has already feuded with or faced babyface stars like Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, that may necessitate a face turn that allows WWE to truly embrace those raucous crowd reactions for Elias and capitalize on his potential as a merchandise mover and unique fan favorite.
Samoa Joe
WWE has had plenty of success pushing “unstoppable monsters” as babyfaces in recent years, most notably with guys like Strowman and Brock Lesnar.
Samoa Joe does not need a heel turn, of course, but as seen with the success of Strowman, who became a main event level heel before transitioning to a babyface role that has made him one of WWE’s top draws, there is money to be made with likable but almost unbeatable behemoths wreaking havoc on the rest of the roster. For now, Joe is firmly entrenched as one of the top heels on SmackDown, but his history suggests he would do just fine as a good guy if WWE ever decided to go that route.
Joe already has the fan friendly entrance song, with chants of “Joe! Joe! Joe!” consistently rocking arenas, and in the past proved to be both a great merchandise mover and capable pay-per-view headliner in an underdog-type role against Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire 2017. Many fans who currently watch WWE are well aware of the tremendous work that Joe did in TNA, how he spent plenty of time there before making it to WWE and how he’s recently suffered a couple of major injuries, which has caused him to become one of the most respected and appreciated veterans on the roster.
Throw in his incredible mic skills, which have made him one of WWE’s best talkers, and his innovative and impressive in-ring abilities, and there’s no doubt that Joe, though a great heel, would also make for a tremendous babyface.
Alexa Bliss
Based purely on her diminutive stature alone (she stands just five feet tall), Alexa Bliss comes across as a potential Bryan or AJ Styles-like underdog who could easily win over the masses.
In fact, even though Bliss has spent her entire WWE career as a heel, that hasn’t prevented fans from gravitating toward her and making her one of the company’s most popular performers, whether male or female. Perhaps because fans have grown to appreciate her incredible mic work (she’s the best talker in the women’s division) and the strides she’s made as an in-ring performer, Bliss appeared to sell far more merchandise than she should have in 2016 (when she came out of nowhere to take over the women’s division) and once again in 2017 when she showed that fans don’t necessarily hate heels.
There is just something inherently likable about Bliss, who generates better crowd reactions than almost ever other woman in the company, a mix of boos but mostly positive crowd reactions from fans who have gravitated toward her for some reason or another. Indeed, Bliss has developed into a surprisingly good draw and is showing no signs of slowing down as she continues to thrive as one of the centerpieces of the women’s division.
Bliss, however, is reaching the point where she has accomplished all she can as a villain (she’s a four-time champion) and could use a character tweak to change things up. There is no better way to do that than by turning her babyface and seeing what she can do in a role that may ultimate turn out to suit her incredibly well because the majority of fans already seem to like her.
WWE just may have to wait until she wraps up her ongoing storyline with Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax to do that.
Kevin Owens
Many of the greatest babyfaces in WWE history, ranging from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to The Rock to Kurt Angle, thrived in that role because they had the comedic and acting chops to pull it off and because they, ironically enough, won over fans by acting like a heel.
Of all the full-time superstars currently on the main roster, none possesses a better mix of comedic/acting abilities, in-ring skills and experience as a heel than Kevin Owens, who has never been a babyface in WWE. It takes a great heel to make a great babyface, and Owens has, time and time again, demonstrated that he’s an elite heel who’s so good in that role that he could certainly pull off a face turn.
Why not give it a try?
WWE has exhausted all of its options with a heel Owens, and there’s reason to think that now is the time to transform the somewhat stale superstar into a good guy for the first time in his career. The company recently signed Owens to a new five-year contract, demonstrating that it views him as a big part of its future, and given the way fans tuned in to WWE’s documentary on Owens in impressive numbers, perhaps that’s a sign that fans truly believe in a guy who hasn’t always gotten the best booking.
It seems Owens has already peaked as an antagonist (and he’s already feuded plenty with guys like Rollins and Reigns), and an extended babyface run is something that is yet to explored for a star who’s all-around skill set is tailor made for a face, no matter how good he is as a heel. With Owens having virtually no more room for advancement on that side, an attempted face turn couldn’t hurt and could ultimately benefit WWE and Owens by giving his character a much needed reset.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
