5 Big face turns that must happen in WWE in 2021

WWE is dominated by heels right now. Except for Bianca Belair on SmackDown and Rhea Ripley on RAW, every single champion on the WWE main roster is a heel.

Both the World Champions in WWE are heels and so are all three Tag Team Champions. Even the United States and Intercontinental Champions are heels. This isn't the first time that's happened in WWE, nor will it be the last.

Since things in WWE are often cyclical, there are periods when the Titles are dominated by babyfaces. While the objective of WrestleMania is normally to coronate several babyface champions, that wasn't the case in 2021.

There are a lot of big face turns that can happen in WWE in 2021, but none are bigger than these five:

#5. Bayley - WWE's MVP in the pandemic era

Bayley became the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion.

Bayley was undoubtedly among the five most important stars to WWE in the pandemic era. She was at the peak of her second reign as SmackDown Women's Champion - one that surpassed a full year in length.

It's hard to imagine WWE TV last year without Bayley because it wasn't just SmackDown that she was dominating. There was a point when she was a Double Champion and Sasha Banks won the RAW Women's Championship as a SmackDown star.

Bayley has been a heel ever since her turn in the summer of 2019 and it's been the best thing that's happened to her career in WWE. After undergoing a complete character revamp, she now looks more comfortable than ever from a character and promo-ability standpoint.

She was one of the big beneficiaries of the lack of crowds last year. Unfortunately for Bayley, the hard work she put in didn't lead to a WrestleMania match despite her claiming to have pitched several ideas.

She still had her moment being the "unofficial" host of WrestleMania 37, but a match would have been a better spot. While Bayley's run as a heel has been the best of her career, an organic face turn is possible if WWE invests the time.

All it takes is for Bayley to have regular TV time with a gradual shift in character over a few months.

#4. Mustafa Ali - A fresh start in WWE post-RETRIBUTION?

When Mustafa Ali turned heel in WWE for the first time and revealed himself to be the leader of RETRIBUTION, things seemed interesting. It was a different direction for Mustafa Ali and a big break away from his normal babyface character.

However, RETRIBUTION turned out to be the most underwhelming WWE faction in years - and that's saying a lot. It's perhaps because WWE put a lot of effort into the initial stages of RETRIBUTION, building a mysterious aura around the group. It didn't pan out. Week after week, Mustafa Ali and his faction would be on the losing end of things.

The group died a slow but sure death, and it was T-BAR and MACE who set themselves apart while the faction abandoned their leader. The big question is as to what's next for Mustafa Ali in WWE. There are a lot of different possibilities, but a face turn might be the best direction for him to go in.

#3. Sami Zayn - One of WWE's most consistent Superstars

The next three entries on this list will be a case of many WWE fans thinking, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's a hard sentiment to disagree with and it most definitely applies to Sami Zayn.

Sami Zayn has arguably been WWE's most annoying heel for the past year, and the fact that he has constant TV time is a victory in itself. He faced Kevin Owens in a good match at WrestleMania and was defeated, but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the most entertaining stars on the WWE roster.

Sami Zayn has been a heel for a long time now, with his last real babyface run taking place over three years ago. While part of that was spent on the sidelines with injuries, he reached new heights in 2020 and 2021.

He might be the most annoying character in WWE, but that's the perfect set-up for an organic babyface turn - hopefully when fans return.

#2. Seth Rollins - Time for another change for WWE's Messiah?

It isn't unfair to say that WWE did a better job with Seth Rollins' first big heel turn in 2014 than the second one from 2019 (to present). The big difference was that Seth Rollins was on the rise in the first heel run in 2014-2016, while his second one happened while he was already an established Superstar.

Even still, it hasn't been all bad. He put over Kevin Owens and Cesaro in back-to-back WrestleMania appearances - with both matches being memorable and fantastic.

Putting Cesaro over has been the biggest thing Seth Rollins has done on SmackDown. Apart from that, he has been a RAW guy for all of his WWE career. With no signs of a move back to RAW, Seth Rollins needs a big change on SmackDown.

Perhaps a babyface turn would help his WWE run in 2021 and he could end up as a Universal Championship challenger. It feels long overdue, with Seth Rollins' last World Championship success happening in 2019.

#1. Roman Reigns - Is 2021 the year WWE will try to turn him face?

This one is admittedly the trickiest face turn that WWE could potentially pull off in 2021. Between early 2015 and late 2018, fans were clamoring for Roman Reigns to turn heel. The forced babyface push that he received saw him become more controversial than polarizing. Many WWE fans knew that a heel turn was necessary to avoid making Reigns follow the John Cena route.

While going the John Cena route isn't a bad thing, the comparisons never helped Roman Reigns. When WWE finally pulled the trigger on his heel turn in 2020, it was a big sigh of relief.

Not only would he regain the Universal Championship after two years, but he would also go on to have the longest World Championship reign of his WWE career. With this reign alone surpassing his previous four in combined length, it's safe to say that Roman Reigns is having the best run of his WWE career.

A fifth WrestleMania main event since 2015 capped it off for him, and with crowds expected to return at some point, Roman Reigns could end up turning face sooner rather than later.

Edited by Zaid Khan