The WWE Universe has occasionally cheered for a heel Superstar
#3. AJ Styles was a fan favorite for the WWE Universe in his feud against John Cena
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AJ Styles pinned John Cena clean at WWE SummerSlam 2016
AJ Styles' heel turn in WWE was absolutely perfect. WWE totally nailed it in terms of creative direction when they turned The Phenomenal One into a bad guy for the first time since his arrival in the company.
Upon John Cena's return to the WWE, he made his intentions clear and claimed that the "new generation" would have to go through him. Up stepped AJ Styles and what initially felt like a babyface vs. babyface feud, quickly saw the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion hit Cena with a clothesline and establish himself as a heel.
With both Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson by his side, Styles quickly became an anti-hero in the eyes of the WWE Universe. During his matches against Cena at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam, Styles was cheered on by the WWE Universe despite being the heel.
It's no secret how the WWE Universe has always reacted towards Cena, but to have them cheer for a Superstar who was still quite fresh in the company against someone of Cena's magnitude was a big statement.
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About the author
Soumik Datta
Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.
In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.
In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. He is also being followed by John Cena on X (formerly Twitter).
Apart from his love for professional wrestling, Soumik also watches Football and has been a lifelong follower of Liverpool FC and Mohun Bagan. He has also been following the Indian Super League and remains the only content creator to have traveled across India to watch 7 ISL Matches in 7 Days, a video which currently sits at 26K views on his YouTube channel. His channel currently amasses over 120K views.
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