10 Amazing Heel Turns That WWE Immediately Ruined

2. Rikishi

Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

Yes, we all know he did it for the Rock, he did it for the people...

The heel turn of Rikishi towards the end of 2000 stands as one of the most memorable moments of the Attitude Era. With WWF programming spending the best part of a year unravelling the whodunnit saga of who ran over Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1999, it was finally revealed that Rikishi was the one behind the wheel on that November '99 night.

At the time, this revelation was a huge deal, with such a development the sort of thing to take a talent to the next level as a character; even more so when said development had you butting heads with Stone Cold. If WWF handled this right, Rikishi would be a made man as true top heel.

Of course, this whole situation became cluttered and bungled - at least for Rikishi - when it was later explained how Triple H was the real mastermind behind the Survivor Series attack on Austin. With that, Rikishi became nothing more than a side dish.

Sure, Rikishi got a PPV match against the Texas Rattlesnake at No Mercy 2000, which itself was followed by a PPV bout against the Rock, but Rikishi was an utter afterthought by the turn of the year. In fact, by May 2001, the big fella had already turned back babyface.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.