It is common for WWE Superstars to have character changes over their respective careers. Fans often see superstars being babyfaces for a very long time before turning heel to create new storylines.
Similarly, WWE Superstars that have been heels for quite a while have a face turn and start performing as babyfaces. A recent example are Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley, who were heels during their stint with The Judgment Day, but they have now become babyfaces. as they seek revenge on the faction that backstabbed them.
At the same time, there have been superstars that spent their entire career as either heels or faces, while for others, it took them quite a while to have a face turn. In this article, we take a look at heel turns that should have happened a long time back.
#3. New Day
The New Day will go down in WWE history as one of the best tag teams of all time. They have won the tag team titles a whopping 11 times on the main roster and once on NXT, while Kofi Kingston and Big E claimed the WWE Championship once each.
While their early days may have been slightly heelish as they sold the 'Power of Positivity,' over time Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods became fan favorites and the faction never had a marked heel turn. Ten years after their creation, Big E has seemingly retired, or at least his future still hangs in the balance based on his recovery due to a serious neck injury he has been dealing with, while there has been speculation that either Kingston or Woods will soon have a heel turn and will turn on each other, creating a new storyline.
#2. John Cena
An iconic figure, John Cena is preparing for one final run with WWE before retiring in December 2025. The Cenation Leader briefly had a heel turn early in his career, but he thrived as a face.
The 16-time world champion was the face of the company for the majority of his career and even though WWE planned a heel turn, it didn't materialise. In addition to that, every time he returned to the ring, it was as a face.
With that in mind, it remains to be seen whether he will eventually have a heel turn during his retirement tour, which will start in January 2025.
#1. Roman Reigns
The original plan for Roman Reigns was to become the next John Cena, meaning that he would continue to wrestle as babybace. Reigns emerged as a top star in the business fighting top heels, like Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, but the creative team delayed his heel turn for a long time.
This heel turn eventually took place in the summer of 2020, when The Original Tribal Chief made his return to the Stamford-based company and became the Universal Champion.
As a heel, Reigns was unstoppable and held the title for almost three and a half years. He was champion for a record 1,316 days and lost the title to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 in early April this year.
His title reign is one of the longest ones in WWE history and Reigns has already cemented himself as a legend in the business and a future Hall of Famer.