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Heel turn – Back to relevancy?In professional wrestling, you have the good guys and the bad guys.Performs like “Superstar” Billy Graham and Roddy Piper were natural heels; sometimes, the characters become a mere extension of the person, and as such, it becomes easy for the individuals to portray their characters on – screen.Traditionally, professional wrestling has always been about suspending the fan’s disbelief, and giving them a completely different world they can invest in.Over the years, the characters have developed a grey area – an extra dimension in the art of theatrics, and as the business evolved, people started appreciating the bad guys more than the protagonists.From the times when the villains (or heels) used to be ushered out of towns, fearing a riot to now, when the bad guys are more appreciated than the good, simply because of the effort it takes to keep the fans invested and care about the good guys, the wrestling business has grown by leaps and bounds. As it is commonly said, there wouldn’t be good guys without the bad ones.In today’s scenario, WWE has a wealth of great faces (or good guys), and in this article, we take a look at five such performers who need to turn heel, to further grow in the company.
#5 Dolph Ziggler
The former world heavyweight champion had a breakout year couple of years ago but had to drop the world title due to a concussion.
However, he has since failed to win back the title, and has been lost in the shuffle. There were a few reports which blamed the WWE creative, and the management for holding back Ziggler, claiming that the superstar was in the “doghouse”.
The creative then included him in a program with Lana and Rusev, and that was when everything turned worse for all of those involved.
The feud was awfully booked, as no one gained anything from the rivalry. While the love triangle, which then turned into a game of who’s who with Summer Rae involved, was intended to put Ziggler over the Russian brute, the execution of the storyline did more harm than good for Ziggler’s career.
The only thing that can save Ziggler’s career at this point is a heel run. Ziggler is a natural heel, and his underdog character can only take him so far. The WWE needs to realize that Ziggler is more comfortable being the bad guy and needs to push him as a top heel in the company.
#4 Finn Balor
Finn has been having an incredible year, and down at NXT, he is one of the best talents on the roster. Balor, after his amazing run in Japan, has adapted well to the WWE style, and it is only a matter of time before he gets called up to the main roster.
However, Balor is at his best when he is working as a heel. His current program with Samoa Joe would’ve been the perfect opportunity to turn Balor heel, but all things point to the Samoan Submission Machine ending up being the bad guy, turning on Balor.
However, with Balor being the founding member of arguably the best stable in the business today – the Bullet Club, it will be interesting to see how WWE uses Finn in the future.
With WWE needing top heels and the fact that the WWE roster is stacked with babyfaces would work in Balor’s favor, as the company might end up turning Balor before bringing him up to the main roster.
#3 Cesaro
Cesaro at one point was one of the hottest superstars on the roster.
After winning the very first Andre the Giant memorial battle royal at WrestleMania, the next night on RAW, he joined forces with Paul Heyman, as the entire arena cheered for the duo.
Everyone thought that the WWE finally realized Cesaro’s potential, and paired him up with Heyman to elevate him to the next level. However, things turned out to be very different, and WWE managed to kill his momentum.
However, Cesaro was still popular with the fans, and everywhere the WWE went, the fans brought signs of the ‘Cesaro Section’. Cesaro’s popularity had nothing to do with how the company has booked him, but has everything to do with Cesaro’s talent and charisma.
Needless to say, Cesaro needs that one big moment to turn his career around and take him to the next level.
That can be achieved by turning Cesaro heel. While the WWE may not look at Cesaro as the next big superstar, adding an extra dimension to his character would help Cesaro immensely at this stage in his career.
#2 Dean Ambrose
During the days of the Shield, Ambrose was considered to be the glue that held the team together.
Everyone expected Ambrose to be the breakout star of the pack and thought the WWE would turn him heel, leading to the group disbanding. However, the WWE went ahead with Seth Rollins being the bad guy, and in the end, this has left Ambrose with no major feuds.
The fact that Ambrose played a second fiddle in Roman Reigns’ feud explains Dean’s situation. Ambrose has the “it” factor, and is one of the best talkers in the business. However, with WWE’s interest in Reigns, Ambrose has found it difficult to even make it to PPV cards.
Ambrose is a natural heel, and that is what is required to bring Ambrose back to being relevant in the company.
#1 Roman Reigns
Although this is a bit of a long shot, the fact that the fans are already tired of Roman’s character would highlight the importance of keeping his character fresh.
Roman Reigns is becoming the new version of John Cena, which isn’t a great compliment in all the aspects. With WWE pushing Roman Reigns to become the next face of the company, it is in everybody’s best interest to add an extra dimension to Roman’s character.
That can be achieved by turning Roman heel, which would work wonders with the hardcore fans and the online wrestling community.
It would be hard to imagine the entire WWE Universe agreeing with the company’s decision to put the WWE World Heavyweight title on Roman Reigns, especially after the terrible fan reaction he has received since the beginning of the year.
