5 Best heel turns in WWE history

#3 Andre The Giant (1987)

Andre The Giant squares off with Hulk Hogan

In January 1987, Andre The Giant was one of the most beloved wrestlers in the then-WWF. However, on a series of episodes of Piper's Pit, Andre gradually appeared to resent his friend, Hulk Hogan's success, finally turning on him in an unforgettable moment by ripping Hogan's crucifix off his chest.

The WWF's marketing strategy was in full effect as they promoted that Andre had never been defeated or body-slammed. Both claims were false, however, it mattered not. The mass audience believed it and over 78,000 (The WWF claimed the show pulled over 93,000 fans, this claim was false) fans packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit at Wrestlemania III.

The show drew an incredible 500,000 buys on pay-per-view. That is an even more astonishing number when you consider only a few million houses were wired for pay-per-view in 1987.

This would be the company's highest buy rate for 11 years until it was surpassed at Wrestlemania XIV in 1998. That fact tells you all you need to know about how successful Andre's heel turn was.