10 Horrible Decisions That Gave Us Great Wrestling
6. The Rock Turns Heel Weeks After Turning Babyface The Rock had finally gotten over. Having been booed mercilessly as a white meat babyface, hed turned heel, begun wiggling his eyebrow and insulting people while speaking in the third person. It was great, and the crowd loved it - the same crowd that had hated him before. The sheer density of The Rocks new fans at every live event began to tell, and The Rock began to be cheered despite being a villain. That led to the WWE deciding to turn him babyface and capitalise on the reactions he was getting. But then, only a few short weeks later, The Rock was booked to go over Mankind and initiate a double turn, becoming the Corporate Champion. What a disaster - ruining an organic, grassroots babyface turn due to bad timing... Except it didnt, and it wasnt. WWF head writer at that time, Vince Russo, has confirmed that the swerve turn at Survivor Series 1998 was planned out more than eight weeks in advance. The babyface turn was always part of the plan. It was a trick played on the audience, both at home and in the arena. The Rock had been a heel all along.