00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most shocking times
00:10beloved babyfaces at WWE betrayed their morals and fans by turning heel and becoming wrestling
00:17baddies.
00:17After famously putting his thumb down on Triple H in 2005 and igniting a feud with his former
00:34Evolution teammates, Batista enjoyed a long reign as the company's hero and developed
00:39into one of WWE's main event stars.
00:42During that time, The Animal teamed up with his best friend Rey Mysterio and even picked
00:47up the WWE Tag Team Championship.
00:59At 2009's event, Bragging Rights, the duo faced off in a fatal four-way for the World Heavyweight
01:04Championship.
01:06Their relationship could survive anything, even Batista losing the title after Mysterio
01:11broke up his pin on The Undertaker, right?
01:15After the match, he told Mysterio he was going to rip his head off and viciously attacked him,
01:20leaving fans heartbroken.
01:229.
01:23CM Punk In the early 2010s, there was perhaps no bigger babyface
01:27in the WWE than CM Punk.
01:39After the infamous pipe bomb promo, he rose rapidly up the hero ranks after feuding with
01:44John Cena, resulting in Punk winning the WWE Championship.
01:48And then, WWE Raw 1000 happened.
01:52After The Big Show interrupted Punk's title defense against Cena, The Rock, who was set to
01:57face the winner at the Royal Rumble, came to the ring to defend Cena.
02:01However, just as he was set to lay the people's elbow down, Punk dove in with a lariat on him.
02:11Booze rained down on him as their beloved hero was taken out.
02:15The final nail in Punk's face run was hitting Rock with the GTS.
02:19See him, Punk with Rock on his shoulders!
02:21See him, Punk!
02:22Oh!
02:23And a go to sleep to The Rock!
02:268.
02:27Kevin Owens 2014's NXT TakeOver R Evolution was special for two reasons.
02:33Firstly, Kevin Owens was making his in-ring debut for the brand.
02:37Secondly, Sami Zayn was taking on Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship.
02:42However, if he lost, Zayn had to leave NXT.
02:47So imagine everyone's joy when he beat Neville.
02:50Owens even came to the ring to celebrate with his real-life BFF.
02:54The show was over as the corner title card came up, and then it wasn't.
02:59Despite the two having a long history in Ring of Honor, no one expected Owens to viciously
03:04attack Zayn as he did.
03:06After tossing him to the floor, causing gasps to ring through the arena, Owens powerbombed Zayn
03:12on the ring's apron, setting off his iconic NXT heel run.
03:167.
03:17The New Day
03:18Born with a goofy gospel gimmick, The New Day found a new lease on life after leaning
03:23into the power of positivity, turning them into fan favorites.
03:27The team of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E took the tag team division by storm, and
03:33the world title scene too, when Kofi Kingston became the WWE Champion in 2019, as did Big
03:40E in 2021.
03:41However, tragedy struck in 2022, when E broke his neck during a match, seemingly ending his
03:59wrestling career.
04:01Woods and Kingston kept the New Day going with E there in spirit, but in 2024, that changed.
04:14While celebrating their 10 year anniversary, Woods and Kingston verbally attacked E and
04:19then kicked him out from the group, fans will never get over this betrayal.
04:35After struggling to find his feet in the WWE, Mark Henry became a monster heel in the late
04:412000s, leading to him winning the World Heavyweight Championship.
04:45However, in 2013, after a series of injuries, rumors emerged that he was set to retire.
04:51Any heel that prematurely has to hang up their boots instantly becomes a face.
04:56Dressed in a salmon blazer, Henry gave a tearful speech to the WWE Universe, causing even John
05:02Cena to cry as he said his goodbyes.
05:11Then, Henry picked up Cena and did the World's Strongest Slam on him, immediately demonstrating
05:16the retirement was a ruse.
05:23The masterful performance not only turned Henry into a star, but it also made him hugely
05:27hated due to successfully duping everyone.
05:345.
05:35Sergeant Slaughter While dressed in army gear, there was nothing
05:38more red, white and blue than Sergeant Slaughter.
05:42Beyond Hulk Hogan, he was the American hero in the WWE during the 80s, battling villainous
05:47foreign wrestlers like the Iron Sheik.
05:50However, everything changed in 1990, when he did what many thought was impossible.
06:07With the backdrop of the Gulf War on the horizon, Slaughter betrayed the US, putting his support
06:12behind Iraq, and teamed up with General Adnan and later the Iron Sheik.
06:22Immediately, he was the most hated wrestler not just in WWE, but the entire world.
06:27Away from the ring, Slaughter even had to wear a bulletproof vest due to threats on his life.
06:404.
06:41Seth Rollins In 2013, one of the WWE's most hated factions
06:46formed when the Authority came together.
06:48Soon after, The Shield joined them as enforcers.
06:52Despite this, they were seen as super cool.
07:04With Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns, the trio would later turn on the Authority,
07:10launching an epic feud.
07:12At 2014's payback, The Shield defeated a reunited Evolution who represented the Authority.
07:18The next night, hope seemed lost for Triple H when Batista quit.
07:23However, when he mentioned a Plan B, confusion quickly morphed into fury for the fans.
07:34Rollins battered his Shield teammates with a chair, especially Ambrose, before joining Triple
07:39H. fans were devastated, some even refusing to forgive him over a decade later.
07:453.
07:46Stone Cold Steve Austin In a double turn at 1997's WrestleMania 13,
08:00Steve Austin became face as Bret Hart turned heel.
08:03From there, the Texas Rattlesnake became one of the biggest stars to grace the industry,
08:09as his anti-authority behavior and feud with Vince McMahon became legendary.
08:20In 2001, Austin was sent to take on his longtime rival, The Rock, for the then-named WBF Championship
08:27at WrestleMania 17.
08:29The promo package alone with Limp Bizkit's My Way was iconic enough, but this match was
08:35special.
08:36With Austin getting more and more desperate, things took a turn when McMahon went to the
08:41ring.
08:42Shockingly, he helped Stone Cold to destroy The Rock and win the title, sealed with a handshake
08:48that reverberated through the industry.
08:502.
08:51Hulk Hogan We'll include this one since WCW was absorbed
08:55by WWE.
08:56In 1983, Hulk Hogan returned to the then-named WWF as a babyface, igniting Hulkamania and becoming
09:04one of wrestling's biggest stars, capturing the hearts and minds of adults and kids alike.
09:18By 1996, Hogan, then at WCW, was still the same character people loved.
09:25However, his legacy was forever altered at Bash at the Beach.
09:29In the event, The Outsiders, with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, took part in a six-man tag,
09:35with them having a mystery third-person.
09:37As the match got out of hand, Hogan came down to the ring.
09:40While fans cheered, expecting him to battle with these non-WCW brutes, Hogan attacked Randy
09:46Savage.
09:47Hogan laid into the crowd during his promo, as the three formed the New World Order, changing
09:53the industry.
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10:171.
10:18John Cena Hustle, Loyalty, Respect A mantra that John Cena lived and breathed
10:24for two decades, becoming perhaps one of the greatest wrestlers to ever get in a ring.
10:30Both in and out of the squared circle, Cena was an incredible role model.
10:34While some fans had begged for another heel run for him, it never came to pass.
10:39It became even more unlikely when Cena announced his farewell tour in 2024.
10:50At 2025's Elimination Chamber Toronto, Cena won the main event, earning an undisputed WWE
10:57Championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
11:01Yet, with the villainous rock there, he made a gesture that unlocked something in Cena as
11:06he attacked Rhodes, leaving fans with their jaws on the floor as Super Cena became Satan
11:12Cena.
11:13Are there any other shocking WWE heel turns that we missed in the video?
11:22Let us know in those comments below.
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