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Faces and heels in wrestling are as old as the sport itself. The heel (bad guy) and the face (good guy) play defined roles in order to elicit the desired response from the audience who in theory will pay cold hard cash to see their favourite face beat the hated heel.
Traditionally, wrestling fans must engage with a face significantly to want to see them beat whichever villain has been so dastardly that they must get their comeuppance.
Many WWE Superstars have proved adept at playing both sides of the face/heel divide and many of the company's best moments have been when one-time heels embrace the light and become beloved faces.
This countdown looks at the very best face turns in WWE history.
#5 Shawn Michaels (1995)
At Wrestlemania XI, Shawn Michaels challenged WWF Champion Diesel for the title in the semi-main event.
To the surprise of most, the Royal Rumble winner did not leave with the gold, due in part to the backfiring interference of his bodyguard, Sycho Sid. Michaels hit Diesel with what would have been the match-winning super-kick, but Sid had the referee distracted preventing him from counting the pinfall.
As a result, Diesel recovered and beat Michaels to retain the belt. Many fans had begun cheering Michaels over the preceding few months due to the force of his personality and electrifying ring skills. The result at Wrestlemania also seemed unjust.
Cementing the face turn the next night on Raw, the previously cowardly Michaels stood up to the much larger, Sid but got powerbombed for his trouble until his former and soon to be once again, best friend, Diesel made the save.
It was a memorable moment and one that set in motion the build towards Michaels's eventual title win the following year at Wrestlemania XII.
With Michaels as Champion, business began to gradually pick up and keep the WWF afloat in a time of significant financial problems for the company.
#4 Batista (2005)
One of the greatest stories WWE ever told in the 2000's was Batista turning on his Evolution mentor, Triple H.
Interestingly, it was a tale that was never meant for Batista at all. The spot was originally planned for Randy Orton. However, such was the dearth of headline talent in WWE in 2004, with Brock Lesnar having left, Eddie Guerrero snapping under the pressure of being Champion and Kurt Angle suffering from his health, WWE prematurely turned Orton baby-face and had him defeat World Champion, Chris Benoit at Summerslam 2004.
Evolution split from him the next night on Raw. A six-month storyline played out in 48 hours. Orton's headline push was bungled and it would take him another three years to recover.
WWE turned to Orton's stablemate Batista, who gradually turned on Triple H over a period of months. When Batista learned of Triple H's plan to manipulate him to leave Raw so he could remain Champion, Batista let the "Game" know, that he was coming for the Champion for the title.
His face turn on Raw, prior to Wrestlemania 21, earned a booming ovation from the fans and a new headline superstar was born.
#3 The Shield (2014)
The Shield brought together three men from NXT in Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
The trio debuted toward the end of CM Punk's title defence versus John Cena and Ryback at Survivor Series 2012. The threesome, destroyed Punk's opponents, enabling him to walk away still WWE Champion.
From there, The Shield defeated everybody on the roster in matches and outside of the ring. They were credited with sidelining The Rock and The Undertaker for significant periods of time.
"The hounds of justice" however would later become "guns for hire" by The Authority. It was this role that disagreed with them and they grew increasingly tired of the antics of Kane and Triple H in particular.
It was the segment that took place on March 17, 2014, wherein The Shield officially completed their face turn when they turned on The Authority.
It was a hugely entertaining moment which later led to Seth Rollins once again siding with The Authority and turning heel on his Shield "brothers"; a development which turned all three into bonafide main-eventers.
No doubt, the most important face turn of the current era.
#2 The Rock (1999)
In April 1999, The Rock had just been defeated for the second pay per view in succession by Stone Cold Steve Austin.
No longer WWF Champion and having lost his re-match, Rock cut a frustrated figure.
Six months earlier, the crowd had turned Rock face only for the "People's Champion" to turn on them and become Corporate, aligning himself with the McMahon's.
However, Rock's hugely entertaining antics still endeared him to the WWF audience and he finally returned to the good side when he turned on Shane McMahon following his Backlash loss to Austin which he blamed on McMahon.
The fans were ecstatic, Rock was face once more. This time it was for keeps. Rock became a global mainstream megastar as the company's top talent.
A hugely successful face turn. Undoubtedly the second most significant in WWF history.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997)
There has never been a more memorable or more successful face turn in all of wrestling history.
At Wrestlemania 13, rebel heel, Stone Cold battled legendary Canadian hero, Bret Hart in a bloody, thrilling I Quit bout.
Austin's never say die attitude began to endear him to the capacity crowd as the match wore on. It was truly masterful storytelling by the WWF as at the same time, the fan's beloved hero resorted to more and more dastardly tactics in order to force the victory.
Eventually, Hart locked Austin in a sharpshooter which Stone Cold was unable to escape from, due to the significant blood loss he had suffered.
However, he also refused to give up. Austin continued to battle until he fell unconscious. An unsporting Hart then continued to assault him after the bell.
Stone Cold was now face and Hart heel.
Austin's every man character took the WWF to heights never seen before as his feud with WWF boss saw the company overtake WCW in the Monday night rating war before putting them out of business altogether.
Never before or since has one face turn had such a major, positive effect on any wrestling company.
