Despite its long history, WrestleMania has seen a surprisingly small number of heel turns. In fact, the five that are being highlighted in this article are pretty much all of them!
However, like in the picture above, some have major historical significance to the WWE, especially the top two entries on this list. They’ve spawned, or subsequently ended, an entire era in WWE, and have elevated stars to unimaginable heights. Perhaps, being the bad guy does help sometimes.
The 5 heel turns that occured on the Showcase of Immortals did indeed alter career paths and changed the landscape of WWE.
5). Bad News Brown turns on Bret Hart – WrestleMania IV
Heading into WrestleMania IV, Bret Hart and Bad News Brown were kayfabe friends, and in the Battle Royal that they were in, they worked together and became the final two. Brown would then turn on Bret, causing the latter to inadvertently turn babyface, and would win the match. Bret Hart destroyed his trophy right there, and his face turn would slowly but surely propel him up the WWE ladder, to what we know Bret Hart as today.
4). Triple H betrays DX and joins the Corporation – WrestleMania XV
Going into WrestleMania XV, Triple H was the leader of DX. Heading out, he was a member of the Corporation.
X-Pac had to defend his European Championship against Shane McMahon, a member of the Corporation, and Triple H cost him the match, joining the aforementioned stable, and becoming the biggest heel in the company. This would take him to unprecedented heights, and land him the WWE Championship, which is directly related to the next entry on the list.
3). Vince McMahon turns on The Rock – WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 isn’t the most popular WrestleMania ever, but its main event was pretty controversial. This is the only WrestleMania to have a heel turn just after there was one the previous year.
The main event featured Triple H defending the WWE Championship against The Big Show, Mick Foley and The Rock in an elimination match, the latter of which had Mr McMahon in his corner.
The Big Show and Mick Foley were eliminated, and when it came down to the final two, Vinnie Mac turned on The Rock and allowed his son-in-law to retain his championship.
2). The alliance that ended it all – WrestleMania X-Seven
What is considered by many to be the greatest WrestleMania ever also saw the end of what many consider to be the greatest time in WWE ever.
The backbone of the Attitude Era was always Stone Cold vs Mr McMahon. Everything revolved around it and when it finally came to an end here, so id the Attitude Era.
The Rock and Stone Cold met for the second time at WrestleMania, and their match was great. Towards the end, Vince McMahon came down with a steel chair, and Austin took it, used it, and won. And a completely unlikely alliance was formed, and the fan-favorite Steve Austin turned heel.
1). The double turn – WrestleMania 13
Of course, this had to be on top.
Bret Hart’s heel turn, causing Austin to turn face, shook WWE completely, and opened up new chapters for both men.
For Hart, it was a brand new chapter in the WWE, one in which he wasn’t the fan favorite and he was a top class heel champion. For Austin, it was the beginning of the ascent to the top, and made him the company’s top babyface, and the face of the entire company, heading the Attitude Era and giving WWE the edge in the Monday Night Wars.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
