In today's WWE, the line between babyfaces and heels is more blurred than it's ever been.
Sure, the company still has its fair share of superstars who are clearly fan favourites, like Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn, and ones who are obviously villains, like Jinder Mahal and Samoa Joe. But with each passing year, more fans are cheering for whoever they want to cheer for regardless of whether or not that specific star is officially considered to be a face or a heel.
In many cases, that's because the star that WWE is attempting to push as a heel performs so well in that role that he becomes popular with the fans. When that happens, WWE has two choices: Either it will force that superstar to stay heel or listen to the fans and turn him babyface.
But when it comes to some stars, fan reaction will force WWE's hand and make bad guys go good, regardless of WWE's desire to portray them as villains. Here are five current heels that the fans will force WWE to turn face.
#1 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens is one of the best heels on the roster, a well-rounded performer who can talk and wrestle.
But as Owens showed during his partnership with Chris Jericho, he has incredible comedic timing, and despite his tremendous performances as a heel, it's, in fact, his exceptional abilities as a talker that will continue to make him an Internet favourite among WWE fans. Owens would thrive as a top-level babyface, with a little bit of comedy sprinkled into his character, in much the same mould as all-time great stars like Jericho, The Rock and Steve Austin.
Because Owens is so witty and sharp-tongued, he'd be perfect in a role as a main event calibre face who causes headaches for heel authority figures, should WWE choose to go down that route. For now, Owens is settled in as a heel, but as we've seen with so many elite talkers in the past, their unmatched mic work makes it a virtual inevitability that they turn face.
Owens will follow suit when the very vocal minority that currently cheers him will turn into the majority, much like we saw earlier this year with AJ Styles.
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#2 Alexa Bliss
Dynamite often comes in small packages: Exhibit A: Alexa Bliss.
Although Bliss was somewhat of an afterthought in NXT, she's taken the main roster by storm as one of the most charismatic female performers to come around in the last 10-15 years. While she's currently cemented as a heel, Bliss consistently generates some of the loudest fan reactions in WWE, and at times, has been overwhelmingly more popular than Bayley, who is supposed to be the purest babyface in the women's division.
Bliss possesses an amazing mix of qualities that make her so appealing to male and female fans alike. She is quickly improving as an in-ring performer, she's a great promo, she's incredibly attractive, she's small, and most importantly, she has the "it factor" that can't really be described but is easy to see when someone does have it.
Already a 3-time Women's Champion, Bliss has accomplished quite a bit as a heel, but because of her small stature and likability despite her best efforts to be a heel, she has huge potential as a face. And the fans may force her into that role sooner rather than later.
#3 Braun Strowman
If you were a casual observer watching Braun Strowman during his feud with Roman Reigns, you probably would have thought Strowman was the babyface based on crowd reactions alone.
Part of that is because Reigns is so hated, but it's also because Strowman, much like Brock Lesnar, has that undeniable mystique and aura that can't be taught but makes fans' jaws drop. That's because it's mesmerising to see a 6-foot-9-inch superstar display impressive feats of athleticism, agility and strength, which is something that Strowman does virtually every time he steps in the ring.
And if you look back at WWE history, the company often starts off its gigantic monsters as heels only for their quickly increasing popularity to force WWE to turn them babyface. That's happened with the likes of The Undertaker, Big Show and Kane, just to name a few.
With those stars either retired or on their last legs as a performer, Strowman is the new resident monster in WWE, and when he continues to be the most awe-inspiring performer in the company, WWE will have no choice but to turn him face.
#4 Lana
Essentially from day one, Lana has been one of the most popular Superstars in the women's division even though she's spent basically her entire career as a heel.
If you go back and watch Lana's recent return on SmackDown and listen to the crowd reaction, it's telling. As much as WWE is trying to pigeonhole Lana into a heel role (likely because of her real life and on-screen relationship with Rusev), the fans are having none of it. They love Lana and are going to cheer her no matter how much WWE tries to tell them she is a heel.
That's why you often hear "We want Lana" chants from the crowd, even during segments Lana isn't involved in. It's also why Lana's first main roster match came on pay-per-view for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
The bottom line is that fans have spent the last several years begging for a babyface Lana, and her recent return, which was met with virtual universal applause from the crowd, show just why it will be almost impossible for WWE to keep her as a heel much longer.
#5 Bray Wyatt
What exactly makes Bray Wyatt a heel? He's an elite talker, unbelievably charismatic, awesome in the ring and captivating in a way no one has been since The Undertaker.
Unfortunately, WWE has ruined the push of Wyatt as a heel by giving him far too many big losses to the likes of Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton and countless others. Yet, through all the disappointing defeats, Wyatt has remained one of the most popular superstars in the company, consistently generating some of the loudest pops in all of pro-wrestling.
Not surprisingly, some of the biggest pops Wyatt has ever received came when WWE was teasing that Wyatt would turn babyface. Take, for example, his staredown with then-WWE Champion Triple H on Raw prior to WrestleMania 32 or his tag team match with Roman Reigns on the post-WrestleMania 32 edition of Raw last year, when the fans blew the roof of the arena at the mere tease of a Wyatt babyface turn.
At least so far, all we've gotten is a few teases of a babyface Wyatt. But those teases, combined with Wyatt's clear likability even when he's a full-fledged heel, show us that WWE can't restrict him to a heel role forever.
"The Eater of Worlds" will be a babyface soon because WWE will have to have to listen to its fans eventually, right?
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