5 Times a heel turn saved WWE stars' career

Every WWE star has their own unique character. Some are good guys i.e... babyface, and others are bad guys i.e... heel. Mostly, WWE stars keep shuffling between being 'face and heel. If you want to know the reason, keep on reading.

If a WWE star continuously portrays the same character for a long time without adding anything new to the mix, it deteriorates viewers' attention for them. As you can easily figure out, that's not a good thing.

To overcome this concern and once again grab the attention of fans, a star must bring some changes to their character. Changes like a new attitude, fresh maneuvers, or perhaps debuting a new gimmick altogether.

In this listicle, we're going to talk about a few WWE Stars whose careers could've sunk if they hadn't turned heel and kept portraying their "good guy" gimmick. So, without further ado, let's get started.

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#5 WWE Star JBL

JBL stepped foot into WWE in 1995. He was never really pegged to be a main event star. At best, he was seen as a mid-card act. His first few gimmicks in the company didn't help his case either.

However, after joining forces with Farooq and forming a duo called APA, JBL caught the eye of backstage officials. Just as things began to change for good, Bradshaw and Farooq were surprisingly forced to separate and put on Raw and SmackDown respectively.

Soon, JBL was all alone. He struggled to find a decent feud on a very stacked roster. Instead of giving up, he took a chance and changed his character from a babyface into an arrogant Texan millionaire.

Surprisingly, this new gimmick did wonders for JBL and his career. One could even say it saved his career. As soon as his heel character debuted, JBL was pushed to become a main event star and put against stars like Kurt Angle, Booker T, and The Big Show.

He also won the WWE Championship from Eddie Guerrero and held it for 280 days before dropping it to John Cena at WrestleMania 21. For the next few years, JBL remained one of the main guys for WWE and won a few other titles before he hung up his wrestling boots for good and took on the role of a commentator.

#4 WWE Star Bayley

Bayley spent four years working in NXT. She was one of the female stars who helped build the women's division there. During her time at WWE's black and gold brand, Bayley received a solid push. She crossed paths with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and many others. Mostly, she came ahead of these stars. Bayley even held the NXT Women's Championship for 223 days.

While Bayley received a strong push upon making her debut on the main roster, after a while, she found herself adding wins to other stars' careers. Surprisingly, it went on for a while before Bayley took a different route and saved her sinking career in WWE. In 2019, Bayley joined forces with Sasha Banks and turned heel.

She wore off the good old "Hugger" character and debuted a new one. She even cut her ponytail just so she could portray her heelish character better. And it worked! Bayley became one of the most dominant stars in WWE history.

She held two titles at once, the Women's Tag Team and SmackDown Women's Championship. After losing the tag team title after 55 days, she went on to hold her world title for a record 380-days before dropping it to Banks at Hell In A Cell PPV. Since losing the title, Bayley is still going strong. She's currently out of action due to a torn ACL.

#3 WWE Star Neville

In 2012, Neville made his WWE debut and spent three years on its developmental territory NXT. During this time, he absolutely thrived as a star. He held the tag team titles twice and the NXT Championship once for a total of 287 days.

Because of such a great run, Neville is believed to have become one of the major guys upon his debut on the main roster. However, "The Guy That Gravity Forgot" got mixed up in the mid-card picture. While Neville could've remained as a mid-card act until his last day in the company, he refused to do so.

In 2016, he made some major changes to his character and turned heel to become a part of 205 Live. There, he literally became the king of that brand. His new character brought outside a new and fresh side of him, and it made fans pay huge attention to him as well as the cruiserweight division.

Within a few weeks of being on the brand, Neville won the Cruiserweight Championship and held it to a record-setting 197-days while defending it against a plethora of stars. Neville spent almost six years in WWE. He spent the better part of it as a babyface, but his best time in the company inarguably came when he turned heel.

#2 WWE Star The Rock

Dubbed as WWE's first 3rd generation star, Dwayne Johnson entered the company with a big weight on his shoulders. Making his debut as "Rocky Maivia" Johnson straight away got a big push from the officials.

Unfortunately, both Johnson and the fans weren't quite ready for such to happen. The crowd hated Johnson and his babyface character so much that the chants of "Die, Rocky, Die" and "Rocky Sucks" were heard every time he entered the arena.

Johnson's career could've ended if he had continued to portray the same stale "Blue Chipper" character. However, a blessing came in disguise for him when he suffered a legitimate leg injury. After fully recovering, he made his return as a heel.

Johnson started referring to himself in the third person as "The Rock" and regularly insulted the audience, WWE performers, and interviewers in his promos. He also joined forces with The Nation of Domination to bring out his bad side.

This change in character brought the best out of Johnson and skyrocketed his career. It also helped the fans realize the star's potential that they had been neglecting for so long. Nonetheless, Johnson's heel turn helped him reach the pinnacle of his career. It also made him one of the greatest stars in WWE history and helped launch his career in Hollywood.

#1 WWE Star Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan had a great career with WWE before it all came to a pause and "The Yes Man" had to hang up his wrestling boots. While Bryan got to make his surprising in-ring return after almost two years, his magic on the crowd and backstage officials had faded away by then.

Because of this, Bryan was given lackluster programs with the likes of The Miz and Big Cass. Since Bryan had been in the industry for so long he knew had to change up a few things about himself or else he wouldn't be able to make the most out of his return.

Therefore, for the first time since 2012, Bryan turned heel and introduced a character of a pro-environmentalist. To show how serious he was, Bryan even introduced a brand new WWE Championship that was made from sustainable materials.

Dubbing himself "The New Daniel Bryan," the star also trashed talked every single fan for not being with him on the road to his in-ring return. Surprisingly, this new attitude worked for Bryan. He, as you know, won the WWE Title and defended it against the likes of AJ Styles, Mustafa Ali, Roman Reigns before dropping it.

After such a great run, Bryan took a hiatus before making a comeback and going after the Universal Championship, although he failed to capture the gold. A few months ago, Bryan's contract with WWE ran out. Instead of inking a new deal with Vince McMahon's company, "The Yes Man" shook hands with All Elite Wrestling.