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When things get stale for a WWE character or if the heel side is heavier than the face side in WWE, performers undergo a heel turn or face turn. Sometimes the feuds for a performer as a heel have been exhausted, necessitating a change of persona for particular Superstars.
Recently on SmackDown, there was a need for new faces, so both Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro turned into good guys. Sometimes, that change of character can save a WWE Superstar's career. While his spot in WWE was never in doubt, Roman Reigns' recent heel turn has revitalized his career. Alongside Paul Heyman, he is doing the best work of his career.
Not every face or heel turn, however, has the same impact. Some performers act the same whether they are good or bad, like Charlotte Flair, Sheamus and Randy Orton. It's just who they feud with that essentially dictates if they are heels or faces. So which recent heel/face turns of the last few months have been effective? Here are grades for five particular character shifts in WWE.
#5 Heel turn - Sheamus
Sheamus has been in the WWE for over 10 years. In that time, he's experienced a heel turn and a face turn on several different occasions. More recently, however, he has leaned heavily into the heel facet of his character. With the Bar, he was a part of a heel tag team and when he and Cesaro split, his heel turn remained in place.
Returning from an injury last year, Sheamus did so as a bad guy, targeting Jeff Hardy. It was when he was shifted to RAW during the 2020 WWE Draft when things briefly changed. Since Drew McIntyre was his friend and they grew up in the business together, he was subtly changed to a face/tweener. The Celtic Warrior fought heels but still maintained heelish tendencies. He'd still Brogue Kick allies like Keith Lee after matches. Lee constantly told McIntyre not to trust Sheamus and the Limitless One ended up being correct.
Sheamus turned on McIntyre after the Royal Rumble and was looking for a shot at the WWE Championship. McIntyre was more than willing to give it to his long-time friend, but instead, both men were put into the Elimination Chamber. McIntyre retained his title but lost it to a Miz cash-in shortly after.
The reason why this heel turn wasn't anything special is because it was telegraphed for a while. Lee's constant warnings to McIntyre almost seemed like it would be Lee who would turn. Instead, Sheamus switched his allegiance again. His character is aggressive whether a heel or a face, so there isn't much of a difference for the Celtic Warrior.
Grade for Sheamus' heel turn - C+
#4 Heel turn - Chad Gable/Otis
Chad Gable has had both a heel turn and a face turn on the WWE main roster. Over the last two years, he's been the underdog babyface, even overcoming being called 'Shorty G.' Whereas Otis' entire run in NXT and WWE has been as a goofball face.
With the lack of depth across the tag divisions throughout WWE, it would have made sense to keep this new pairing as good guys. The SmackDown Tag Team Champs, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, are heels, so they'll need several teams of good guys to go against. The Street Profits are the former Champs and had their impressive run with the belts.
Other than those three teams, there are the Mysterios and Gable/Otis. The latter attacked the Mysterios during and after their tag match on SmackDown last week in a clear heel turn. Gable was smiling the whole time and cheering Otis on, as he beat up Dominik and Rey. Their actions got them disqualified but they continued the assault after the match.
The direction is new for both men as Gable can be the manipulator and Otis can be the instrument of destruction. A mindless/ruthless Otis could be a better direction, since his original meat-loving character hasn't netted him many accolades. He did win Money in the Bank, but lost the briefcase to the Miz. The heel turn could be a good move for both men.
Grade for Otis/Chad Gable heel turn - B+
#3 Face turn - Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura entered NXT and the WWE main roster as a face. He challenged for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 as a face but underwent a heel turn immediately after losing to AJ Styles. That was over two years ago and in that time, Nakamura has remained a heel. It has led him to runs as SmackDown Tag Team Champ, United States Champ and Intercontinental Champion.
While he had title success as a heel, he is someone that is usually loved by the fans regardless of what he does. He's like Daniel Bryan. Both are so good at the craft that it is hard to root against them.
Following the 2020 WWE Draft, the face side in the main event was left a bit lacking on the blue brand. The scene consisted primarily of Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Big E was thought to be rising up the card following the draft, but he has remained a mid-carder for the time being.
Because of the lack of face depth - and possibly because Reigns needed new challengers - Nakamura was essentially handed a face turn in a gauntlet match. The match was in order to determine the challenger for Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Nakamura was the iron man of the bout and displayed sportsmanship with Bryan after he eliminated him. Reigns and Uso then attacked Nakamura in order to have Adam Pearce win the gauntlet match.
Nakamura has stayed the course after his face turn, but has not received a title shot or any measure of revenge against the Tribal Chief and his lackey. Since Nakamura gets to be scrappier and more of an underdog as a face, it is an improvement over his character prior to the Draft.
Grade for Shinsuke Nakamura face turn - B+
#2 Heel turn - Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews is a WWE Superstar that has been on one side of the coin for his entire run in WWE, with seemingly no major heel turn to speak of until now. He's been a smiling good guy on both RAW and SmackDown, winning the United States Championship in 2020. His in-ring game has never been in question as Crews is among the most physically gifted performers in all of pro wrestling.
His main issue, however, has been connecting with the WWE Universe on the microphone and in promos. He's a very likable person, so it's easy to root for him in that fashion. But outside of vocalizing why fans should care about him, Crews only started to gain traction on the mic during his run as US Champ.
It was a short run, but it was still a chance for Crews to have more than a line or two to say in promos. While he didn't set the world on fire during those promos, it still allowed Crews to improve his mic game.
That became even more important following the WWE Draft in October 2020. He was still a face as he joined SmackDown once more. Things changed, however, as he lost match after match to Big E. The last straw came during a showdown with Nakamura as Crews brutally assaulted Big E - who was at ringside - after the bout. It cemented that Crews had undergone a dramatic heel turn.
It's a well-needed change of pace for the performer and it will hopefully propel him further up the card. Stars should always be allowed to change experience a heel turn or a face turn every now and then. If they are not, then things will always be stale.
Grade for Apollo Crews' heel turn - A
#1 Face turn - Cesaro
When fans, analysts, and fellow WWE wrestlers alike are asked about underrated performers, Cesaro's name always comes up. He has traditionally been one of the best and most consistent performers in a WWE ring whether a good guy or a bad guy.
For the better part of the last five years, Cesaro has been a staple of the tag team division in WWE. He's helped divisions on both RAW and SmackDown and even though he's supposed to be a heel, he's so good at what he does. It's that ability that makes it hard to root against a performer as talented as the Swiss Superman. His move set is exciting and hard-hitting and the Cesaro Swing always pops the crowd.
Cesaro is just too good at being a pro wrestler to root against him passionately. Someone like the Miz gets people to hate him because he's smarmy and tries to get out of things. Cesaro, on the other hand, is going to hit you just as hard and is willing to take the same punch.
Fans have tried to champion a huge push for Cesaro due to his ability in the ring and willingness to put others over. He slowly underwent a face turn shortly after his tag team partner, Nakamura, did the same before the Royal Rumble.
Cesaro and Bryan had a few matches and started to show a mutual respect for each other. Fans were also hoping that a face turn would mean a huge push up the card for Cesaro. He had a good showing in the Elimination Chamber but was unsuccessful in pulling out the win.
He may not get a Universal Championship shot and then again maybe he will. Cesaro is just so beloved by legions of WWE fans that any time he is a good guy, there will be huge expectations.
Grade for Cesaro's face turn - A-
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
