10 Popular WWE Babyfaces Who Went To Another Level As Heels

7. CM Punk

Edge WWE
WWE.com

CM Punk's first World Title reign was a place-holding experiment from WWE in 2008. They weren't actually serious about pushing him as a top guy, and it showed; even Punk's feud with JBL revolved around the heel's refusal to buy the champ as an equal. That said it all.

As a heel? Different story.

After capturing the WWE Title at Survivor Series 2011, Punk went on a tear for 434 days. During that time, nobody could match his confidence on the mic or ability to play both world-travelled warrior and cowardly sneak during matches. His chemistry with manager extraordinaire Paul Heyman was also stunning.

This is when Punk arrived as a top liner in the company. The guy's biggest critics couldn't deny that he was hot sh*t, and he knew it. The genius of a shoot-style promo in June '11 started bearing fruit by the time he won the belt - it was beautiful to see.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.