Let’s face it. From time to time a wrestler gets stale. Too many years as a face or too many years as a heel can often cause a wrestler’s character to become boring. Sometimes a heel or face turn can be just that the next big thing needs to make that transition into greatness.
Look at what a heel turn did for The Rock’s career? How about what turning face did for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s career? What about Hollywood Hulk Hogan changing the business by making the ultimate good guy an ultimate bad guy?
Every wrestler has potential but sometimes it takes a change to turn it into something special. Let’s take a look at 5 superstars who would use a face or heel turn to make them new again.
5. Kofi Kingston – Heel Turn
Kofi Kingston is another guy who has seemingly come close to shattering the glass ceiling a few times in his career but never really seems to make it to the next level. Kofi is very solid in the ring but he has never really had a character that the fans could get behind. Jumping around like a happy go lucky smiling face for 6 or so years can only get you so far.
Kofi showed during his feud with Orton a few years ago that when he turns up the intensity and gets serious he can be very entertaining. Turning Kofi heel would be easy. All you have to do it have him turn on a face in a tag match (R-Truth perhaps?) and then have him turn on the fans as well. If Kofi showed a little ruthless aggression and a desire to get to the top while he attempted to take out everyone who stands in his path to greatness it could work. An angry Kofi Kingston is something we’ve never seen before and Kofi desperately needs a change.
4. AJ Lee- Face Turn
AJ Lee is without a doubt the face of the Divas division. AJ is currently a heel which works great for her character but there’s no denying she’s the most talked about Diva in wrestling today. This one is pretty much a no brainer. AJ works great as a heel but the fans love her. All you need to do is a spend a few minutes on twitter to see that AJ has inspired a whole new generation on young ladies to get into wrestling.
AJ may be smaller than most of the Divas but what she lacks in size she makes up for in toughness. It’s too early to tell but it looks like AJ is destined to have a great career. AJ is currently the shining star of the Divas division and she managed to do what others struggled to do for years and that is make the division relevant again. All AJ needs is a good heel to go up against and reliving the Kaitlyn/AJ feud with their roles reversed could kickstart a lengthy AJ face run.
3. Sheamus – Heel Turn
Sheamus has been out with an injury for a few months now but when he makes his return there’s no doubt that WWE is going to want to make it as big as possible. What better way for Sheamus to make an impact when he returns that to return as a heel and take out a big superstar such as Daniel Bryan, CM Punk or John Cena?
Sheamus has always been much more entertaining as a heel and his face run that ran from last year earlier into this year left a lot to be desired. It’s hard to say what’s wrong with Sheamus as a face because his matches are still good but his character seems to be overly corny. WWE already has enough “super” good guys and that’s the wrong direction to go with Sheamus. The whole reason the crowd started to get behind Sheamus in the first place is because they enjoyed his intensity. Bring Sheamus back as a monster heel and he will get the crowd’s attention.
2. Brock Lesnar – Face Turn
Brock Lesnar is without a doubt a natural heel but there’s no denying that he can pull off a face run. The best thing about Brock Lesnar is that you really don’t have to change anything about his character. All you have to do is make him face heels so you can give the fans a reason to cheer for him. People want to cheer for Brock Lesnar and people still do chant for Brock Lesnar so when you encourage them to do it you have a win win situation.
Every time Brock has had a match since returning to wrestling he has been the heel. Since he only does a limited amount of matches per year it would be nice to see him make the role reversal somewhere down the line.
1. John Cena
A John Cena heel turn could change the entire landscape of WWE in just a single moment. Sad to say that it seems highly unlikely to happen in the near future. It’s obvious that John Cena enjoys playing the role of a good guy and enjoys dedicating so much of his life to living that to the fullest. What you see with Cena is what you get but imagine what it could be.
Whether you love John Cena or you hate him you can’t deny that he works his ass off. Returning from a tricep tear in two months is just insane and super human but he loves the business so much that he found a way to make it happen. You have to respect Cena’s dedication to the business but some character development could really help both him and others around him.
The fact of the matter is John Cena is beyond stale at this point. It’s not a knock on the man, his work ethic, or his abilities but he turned face 10 years ago and hasn’t turned heel since. Playing the same old character will get old no matter who the superstar is. Now obviously isn’t the right time for a Cena heel turn but when the right moment comes along it would definitely be a breath of fresh air for the WWE.
