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Pro wrestling is a game of gimmicks, characters, and storylines. Character development and abilities on the microphone are as important as, if not more so, in-ring skills for WWE Superstars. Over the course of its rich history, we have seen WWE Superstars sway between their good and bad sides regularly throughout their careers.
Even the most charismatic babyfaces in WWE over the years like The Rock, Hulk Hogan, John Cena have occasionally have been the bad guys at some point in their careers, and it can be argued that without having a heel run, they wouldn't have got the popularity they did as the crowd favorites.
If we look at WWE's recent history, we have seen Superstars like Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens get huge pops when they turned face because of their tremendous work as heels in the past. On the flip side, we have seen Superstars like Daniel Bryan, Bayley, and Sami Zayn embrace their dark sides when their babyface characters lost steam on WWE TV.
Thus, it is surprising that some WWE Superstars have never turned heel and they still remained popular amongst the fans. Here we have a look at five such wrestlers.
#5 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews' journey to winning his first title in WWE has been one of the most memorable moments from this Pandemic Era, so to speak. The 32-year-old won the United States Championship from Andrade last month on the May 25 episode of Monday Night RAW.
Crews has a unique style of wrestling as he can perform high-flying moves and also outpower most of his opponents. Hence, it has always been surprising that up until now, Crews hadn't got a major push since making his main roster debut against Tyler Breeze in 2016. In the past couple of years, Crews was primarily used as an enhancement talent.
Crews has been a babyface ever since making his WWE debut at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015. At various points in his main roster run, fans have wanted him to turn heel to bring some much-needed depth and intrigue to his character and make him a relevant competitor on the main roster again.
However, we have never seen that happen and it is unlikely that we will see it anytime soon as Apollo Crews is enjoying a babyface title run and looks set to defend it with integrity in the near future.
#4 Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam is one of the biggest legends of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and hardcore wrestling. During his 5-year stint with ECW from 1996 to 2001, RVD won the ECW Tag Team Championship and ECW Television Championship. It should be noted that he garnered most of his popularity working as a heel in ECW.
After joining WWE in 2001, RVD was always seen as a babyface by Vince McMahon. He went on to win the WWE World Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, the Hardcore Championship, and the Tag Team Championship. RVD also won the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania 22 and challenged then WWE Champion John Cena at the One Night Stand PPV, an ECW themed PPV in front of a hostile (to Cena) crowd and won the title.
Given his history as a successful heel in ECW and his popularity in WWE in the early 2000s, it is a surprise that the WWE Creative never turned him heel. He was always the high-flying risk-taking good guy who won matches on his own.
In 2013, RVD returned to WWE for a short stint, six years after exiting the company in 2007. He later revealed that during his latest stint with the company, the Creative wanted him to be a 'Paul Heyman Guy'- a heel who would be managed by Paul Heyman on WWE TV- but he rejected the idea. RVD didn't want to go against his principles as he was "a symbol to people for a lot of different things" and turning him heel would change that.
Rob Van Dam is currently signed to Impact Wrestling and it remains to be seen whether he gets another run in WWE.
#3 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and popular Superstars in the history of WWE. Nicknamed 'The Charismatic Enigma', Hardy has made the high-risk style very popular in pro wrestling. He and his brother Matt Hardy (the Hardy Boyz), along with Edge & Christian and The Dudley Boyz brought the tag team division back to prominence between 1998 and 2001.
As a singles competitor, Jeff has enjoyed huge success in WWE and is a Grand Slam Champion. It comes as no surprise that he has achieved this feat as a face because, as mentioned before, he has always been over with the fans wherever he performs.
In 2003, Jeff did go through a brief 'conflicted' phase, where he hesitantly attacked his opponents after losing matches. However, a few episodes later, Shawn Michales intervened and took Jeff under his wing. The pair teamed up to win a tag team match, and from there on, he continued his babyface run before being released by the company a few months later.
It's true that during his second run in TNA, Jeff turned heel. But, the less we talk about that, the better. Plus, it wasn't WWE so it doesn't count for this list.
Off the screen, Jeff Hardy is a recovered drug addict and alcoholic, something which he has openly accepted and also actively advocated against. Thus, he is seen as an inspiration by many fans who go through similar problems and can be expected to remain a babyface in WWE in the future.
#2 The Ultimate Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior (real name James Hellwig before legally changing it to "Warrior") is one of the most recognizable WWE faces from the late '80s and early '90s. The Hall of Famer won over the crowd with his energetic entrance, unforgettable face paint, and a bulky physique.
Joining WWF in 1987, The Ultimate Warrior won the Intercontinental Championship and the Heavyweight Championship, pinning Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania 6 for the latter title and becoming the first Superstar to hold both the titles at once.
The Ultimate Warrior was a hero to fans at that time, and that possibly explains why he never embraced the dark side and became a villain. At WrestleMania 8, he gave us one of the most iconic WrestleMania moments when he ran down the long aisle way and helped Hogan fight off Sid Justice and Papa Shango.
Although The Ultimate Warrior never turned heel in WWE, he was certainly portrayed as a real-life bad guy in the company's documentary 'The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior'. Unfortunately, The Warrior passed away on April 8, 2014, just three days after being inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame.
#1 Rey Mysterio
Since his debut in 2002, Rey Mysterio has wowed WWE fans around the world with his high-flying lucha libre wrestling style and is considered one of the pioneers of the company's cruiserweight division.
The Master of the 619 has won several titles in the company including the Intercontinental, the United States, Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and WWE World Championships. Mysterio also won the 2006 Royal Rumble and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 22.
Before his arrival in WWE, Mysterio wrestled in WCW, primarily in the cruiserweight division. When he eventually joined WWE, because of his smaller stature compared to most of his opponents, he was billed as an underdog in most rivalries. This further endeared him to the fans, who always want the underdog to thrive. In addition to that, his finisher, the 619, is one of the most popular moves in WWE history.
Rey Mysterio is currently engaged in a feud with the Monday Night Messiah Seth Rollins in a rivalry which might result in Rey's son Dominik Mysterio make his debut in WWE. With Mysterio being in the twilight years of his WWE career and trying to get Dominik over with the crowd, it's tough to see him ever turning heel in the company.
