3 AEW stars that should turn face and 2 that should turn heel in 2022

While AEW has a lot of stars established as heels and faces, it doesn't mean that some turns aren't needed. Heel and face turns freshen up a stagnant character. They can also provide new feuds and storylines for stars.

After his triumphant debut for AEW at All Out, Bryan Danielson is now operating as a heel. He can make either side of the coin work. Since AEW Champ Adam Page is a face, it made sense for Danielson to turn.

Serena Deeb also turned heel while battling Hikaru Shida. She didn't want to be the person that Shida beat for her 50th win in AEW. Deeb snapped and attacked the former Women's Champion.

A huge face turn could involve the return of Kenny Omega, but his timetable is unknown at the moment. It's hard to have both Omega and Adam Cole co-existing as top dogs. One won't want to play second fiddle to the other forever.

Nevertheless, some character shifts would certainly freshen things up in AEW. Here are three AEW stars that should turn face and two that should turn heel in 2022.

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#3. AEW could be setting Jamie Hayter up for a face turn.

Britt Baker has been the top star in the women's division for almost two years. She built her character up and then defeated Shida for the Women's title.

Shida was the most complete in-ring star of the women's division, but her lack of English slightly hurt her. Baker may not be as technical as Shida but her character work is among the best in pro wrestling.

The DMD is the best female promo in AEW. Since she's a heel Champ, she usually enlists either Rebel or Jamie Hayter to do her dirty work. It happened after Riho recently earned a shot at Baker's belt. Hayter faced Riho the following week but lost.

When lackeys don't get the job done, it usually means that a change could be on the horizon. Baker may be tired of Hayter's failures. Hayter could get tired of taking orders from the Champ.

However it happens, a face turn for Hayter could take place in 2022. She holds her own in the ring but doesn't talk a lot. Baker is popular with the audience despite her heel character, so that could hurt a potential turn.

But since so many women have already had shots at the AEW Women's title, some need to shift their alignments to set up new feuds. Hayter could eventually challenge Baker.

It wouldn't mean that she dethrones the DMD, but it could be a good way to facilitate a turn. If there is another tournament, maybe Hayter wins and Baker tries to get her to lay down. Baker's turn could work, but she's still popular either way. To get the crowd behind someone else, Hayter should turn face.

#2. Hikaru Shida was the ace of AEW's women as a face, but she needs a change.

Hikaru Shida was the AEW Women's Champ who essentially set the tone for a title run in the new company. Riho and Nyla Rose both had title runs before Shida, but Shida solidified things for the women's division.

Riho was an underdog whereas Rose was a monster heel. Shida represented what the norm would be for AEW Women's Champions. She was able to get the crowd on her side due to her technical prowess. Even with those facts, Shida was slightly disappointed with her run with the title.

The writing was on the wall, however, once Britt Baker turned heel. She started to put all aspects of her presentation together. It culminated with a title win over Shida. Now that Shida has been Champion as a face, the next best thing for her could be to turn her heel.

It would open up new feuds for her against Riho, Ruby Soho, Kris Statlander, and Tay Conti. She could easily turn heel by attacking a face with her signature Kendo stick. All she would have to do is cheat during matches and attack faces.

Shida uses her actions and facial expressions more than her words, so it wouldn't be a huge change for her. There might also come a time when Baker turns face. Having one top star turn means another top star or upper mid-card performer should also turn to offset changes.

The best stars (Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Kenny Omega) can play either side of the coin. As fans have witnessed from her in-ring game, Shida is one of the best in AEW's women's division. A turn would also allow her to explore her skills while also challenging herself with a different character.

#2. Scorpio Sky is better suited to be a face in AEW.

Scorpio Sky was part of AEW's first Tag Team Champions, SCU. Once that group disbanded, the members went their separate ways. Christopher Daniels has not been seen in a long time. Kazarian has operated as the Elite Hunter, but that gimmick has limited time on the shelf.

The Californian turned heel and aligned himself with Ethan Page and Dan Lambert. The group feuded with Darby Allin and Sting and lost. The alliance then feuded against the Inner Circle and lost.

Both Page and Sky are talented stars in their own right, but AEW is stacked with talented performers that could/should be future world champions. Anyone that should be a champion, however, won't always get that chance.

Sky's work as a heel alongside Page has been fine, but they haven't won anything significant. Unless something drastic happens, they probably will never have much of a chance at the AEW Tag Team titles.

They have a 10-1 record this year but most of those wins have been against teams lower on the AEW totem pole. For fans to care about a face or heel, they need to have some meaningful momentum.

Both guys are super cocky, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if one turned on the other. Sky's move set is more suited for a face as he blends high-flying feats with technical moves.

Page is more mat-based and slightly bigger, so it would make sense for Page to turn on Sky. Controversial wrestling persona Jim Cornette agrees that Sky seems like he'd be a great babyface for AEW. Sky even had a big win over then champion Chris Jericho.

#1. Cody Rhodes should turn to the dark side with a heel turn in AEW.

AEW star Cody Rhodes can say he won't turn heel all he wants. The fact still remains, however, that several aspects of his character are better suited for a heel.

First, he's the Executive VP in AEW. He selflessly took himself out of the running for the AEW World Championship by losing to Chris Jericho two years ago.

It still doesn't mean, however, that he can't give himself a shot at the TNT Championship any time he wants. That is precisely what happened on last week's episode of Dynamite. He isn't even inside the top five of the all-important rankings.

Some stars new to AEW have debuted by attacking Cody, as Shawn Spears did with a chair during his first appearance. MJF and QT Marshall were his friends but turned on him.

He desperately wants to be cheered. Cody can present himself as the hero all he wants, but he can't force the crowd's reactions. No matter how he presents himself, certain stars like Malakai Black and Andrade will be cheered due to being new faces in AEW.

Cody also brought the Nightmare Family to the company, but when was the last time he did something for them? Attacking Arn Anderson could easily kick-start a heel turn. Cody can argue that he did all he could for the company and the fans but they turned their backs on him.

His grandiose entrances are also more suited to that of a heel. Just look at how Roman Reigns enters the arena. Slow and steady. For Rhodes, the lights go out for no reason before his music hits.

The lights going out should be used for debuts or special heels like Malakai Black, not a top star like Rhodes. It's also confusing since Darby Allin and Sting also utilize the darkness to signify their entrance/appearance.

Since things have basically been in a holding pattern with his character, changing things up would be best for everyone. It would be the ultimate heel move to reinstate his ability to challenge for the AEW title.

#1. Wardlow's time in AEW as MJF's lackey should lead to a face turn in 2022.

The big man's time in AEW has always been tied to MJF. He debuted as the muscle for the braggadocios youngster and has helped him at every turn. In battle royals, Wardlow protects MJF so that he isn't harmed. Wardlow was eliminated from this year's Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal by MJF.

That action has led to three wins for MJF in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal. He is the only AEW wrestler to win the ring. Wardlow has also helped MJF win a good deal of his matches by interfering. When things don't go the way of the loud New Yorker, he often blames Wardlow or Shawn Spears.

There will come a time when Wardlow is tired of putting up with MJF's antics. Some minimal cracks started to show last week when Spears attacked Mr. Mayhem's opponent.

Wardlow appeared to be slightly disgusted that Spears would attack someone that he had already defeated soundly. He even recently teased the dissolution of the partnership.

Another reason why Wardlow should turn face is that he plays along with the crowd when it counts the number of powerbombs he delivers. That is something that is traditionally done by faces. Drew McIntyre does it with his Claymore countdown and John Morrison did it when he was at IMPACT.

Another factor is that AEW doesn't really have any monster faces at the moment. Luchasaurus would qualify but he mainly competes in the tag team division. For big men, the roster consists of Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs, Miro, and Wardlow.

Cage hasn't been used since breaking with Team Taz. Archer has also been off of TV for a while. Archer and Miro work well as monster heels. Sometimes, there needs to be a monster face to combat the villain.

While they haven't been booked to beat everyone, those stars are often protected. There will be an inevitable showdown between Hobbs and Wardlow. Wardlow should be a full-blown face when it happens.