Most disappointing face/heel runs

[RedTwoster]

12 hours ago, Callum1993 said:

Reigns’s initial face run after the Shield broke up has to be in there. No matter what they tried he just couldn’t get over with the audience. There’d be spells where he’d get cheered(Thinking of that Raw where he won the World Title against Sheamus where he pretty much got universal cheers) but then was pretty much back to boos the following week. Suckering Suckatash Son. 

You mentioned Sheamus here, and that reminds me - his initial face turn was an enormous disappointment for me. Much like Reigns, it wasn’t his fault at all - it was the booking. He should have been the badass brawler that he is now, but instead he was a stereotypical Irishman who resorted to the kind of comedy that would make Vince McMahon- but no one else - chortle.

Sheamus was woefully mishandled for years to the point I was fed up of him, and his late career revival has been nothing short of miraculous. But he was also tapping into talent that was already there - he should have been a much bigger star than he was, and in a different era or company, he would have been exactly that.

[LaGoosh]

There's an alternative reality I like to think about every now and then where Sheamus went to Japan and became the best wrestler in the world.

[RedTwoster]

1 minute ago, LaGoosh said:

There's an alternative reality I like to think about every now and then where Sheamus went to Japan and became the best wrestler in the world.

There are very few male WWE wrestlers that I feel invested enough in to want to see them jump to AEW - but Sheamus was one of them, when his contract was last nearing expiry. It’s pretty much certain that he’d have had a run of absolutely spectacular matches had he moved there, finally getting the widespread acclaim his ring work deserves. 

[Fog Dude]

12 hours ago, Carbomb said:

I don't know if it’s because he prefers being a heel, but I would have been so up for seeing a fired-up Double J fighting for the sole of the company as the founder. Pissed away.

Or even as the Flounder, in that case.

[SuperBacon]

Remember when Owen Hart returned at IYH December 97 and absolutely leathered Shawn off the apron into the tables and then paggered him before running away?

An incredible moment that 12yo mark me thought was real, and could've been a really good feud and run for Owen, as an unhinged face against that shitbag Shawn.

IIRC he was talking about nuggets within a month or so.

[Carbomb]

1 hour ago, Fog Dude said:

Or even as the Flounder, in that case.

A joke worthy of Fin Martin

[TheScarlettChad]

HBK turning heel in 2005 surely? Lasted a month and the Canada promo aside, was worthless. 

[The Gaffer]

17 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

HBK turning heel in 2005 surely? Lasted a month and the Canada promo aside, was worthless. 

That's a bold shout. I always saw it as a quick flip just for the Hogan program, and it gave us one of the best Raw segments of the era when he just instantly walked into being the biggest on screen prick in the business again like it was nothing. 

[boshealecta]

I did it for the Rock….

I know people dislike Rikishi’s heel turn but watching it back I actually enjoyed it. I always feel like the bigger guys are better as heels. 

[RedTwoster]

52 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

HBK turning heel in 2005 surely? Lasted a month and the Canada promo aside, was worthless. 

I was a teenager at the time and maybe it’s not aged well, but I actually loved this and wished that heel run lasted longer than it did. 

Another one I’d throw out there is ‘Big Time Bex’ - when Becky Lynch returned, turned heel even though no one seemed to want that, and was kind of crap.

In spite of her being one of the biggest female stars of her era, I can’t help but feel WWE missed the boat with Becky Lynch. They’ve never been able to recapture the brilliance of her original run as ‘the man’ - when she was an absolute badass, but witty alongside it. In a different era or even a different company I think she could have built on that character to become something even more special. 

For a number of reasons I don’t think we’ll ever see this, but I’d love to see her move to AEW to see what her character would look like outside of the WWE system. I think she has the ability to elevate their already brilliant women’s division to new heights.

[Version1.0]

Eddie Guerrero's heel turn on Tajiri in June 2003. Fans just weren't into it and he put Big Show to shame by turning face again in August.

Edited August 8, 2025 by Version1.0

[davertfnewman]

Austin turning heel at WrestleMania?

[Carbomb]

16 minutes ago, Version1.0 said:

Eddie Guerrero's heel turn on Tajiri in June 2003. Fans just weren't into it and he put Big Show to shame by turning face again in August.

I remember that. One of the few times the fans actively prevented it happening in real time. They just weren't having it.

[Version1.0]

7 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

I remember that. One of the few times the fans actively prevented it happening in real time. They just weren't having it.

Eddie is just beating the stuffing out of Tajiri and fans are cheering like he's Hogan in '86. Get's the full Eddie chant after putting Tajiri through the windshield of his lowrider. https://youtu.be/Uneyhocal0I?si=ayuKZmswXJpD9WWE

[TheBurningRed]

6 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

There's an alternative reality I like to think about every now and then where Sheamus went to Japan and became the best wrestler in the world.

Sheamus being around in AJPW in the 80s/90s would have been special.