10 Dumbest Wrestling Heel Turns Ever

2. Goldberg

Jeff Hardy Abyss Jeff Jarrett
WWE.com

Going into to 2000's Great American Bash and already on the defensive after a grand April reboot had already stuttered out of the blocks, Vince Russo out-and-out promised to drop a bomb on the wrestling industry at the June supercard. He did just that.

Bill Goldberg's return to the company following his idiotic self-inflicted glass wound earlier in the year came as the organisation was entrenched in a muddled Millionaires Club/New Blood turf war. Already stymied with a confused heel/babyface narrative, the angle didn't really offer a home for Big Bill, a 'young' WCW talent to make a fortune from his and the company's brief success in the late-1990s.

If anything though, this should have aided his comeback. The creatively-reset Goldberg could have torn through both parties at will en route to the WCW World Title as the organisation's only safe draw not yet tranquillised by Russo's lethal pen. Not yet.

It was a bomb, alright. When Goldberg speared Kevin Nash to hand the top strap to Jeff Jarrett in the main event, Big Bill sneered alongside the evil Bischoff/Russo union, but few bit on the turn. Least of all the man himself. Evidenced by his 2016 WWE return, being an action hero got him out of bed at times. The snarling villain suited nobody, and he was a p*ssed off and p*ssed on babyface again by the end of the summer.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett