10 Recent WWE Character Turns That Didn't Make Sense

Looking at 10 of the more egregiously bad flips in recent years...

Ryback John Cena Raw April 2013
WWE.com

It's often said that nice guys finish last. Just like life, in WWE, that sentiment is often true as very few characters go their entire professional wrestling career without making at least one change to their allegiances.

Good guys turn into bad guys, bad guys turn into good guys (and gals) and sometimes they do both. Currently, there's a huge deficit in the number of bad guys, or heels, on WWE's main roster and it's lead to some pretty questionable decisions.

With some recent character changes surrounding some of the top WWE superstars, it may be a good time to look at some of the more poorly handled character turns over the past few years.

From natural born heels being cast as heroes to unlikable "good guys" and everything in between, WWE has had no shortage of bungled character turns, be it heel-to-face or face-to-heel. For every successful Austin/Hart double-turn, there's at least five failed Dusty Rhodes heel turns, and recent developments in WWE has done little to improve that ratio.

More than they'd care to admit, WWE has made some head-scratching calls over the past several years in an attempt to "shake things up" but the following 10 character changes top the list.

10. Lana

Ryback John Cena Raw April 2013
WWE.com

Last summer, WWE produced a storyline that became the most disastrous and bungled of the year.

The company had successfully built up the Rusev and Lana duo over the previous year, which included a lengthy run with the United States Championship and a victory over John Cena for the big Bulgarian. Admittedly, Rusev's heat suffered coming out of Spring 2015 (that tends to happen when you're booked to lose 3 PPV matches in a row), but the idea of going with a Rusev/Lana breakup and a Lana babyface turn at that juncture was completely the wrong call.

Over the weeks that followed the initial break-up, Lana went from being a strong, confident, independent leader to a meek, lost, love-scorned girl that needed to latch on to another man (Dolph Ziggler) to improve her self-esteem.

Where were all the characteristics from this bada*s chick that lead Rusev to the US title? Why did she suddenly go from being above the fans to caring about and wanting their adulation? Why did she drop the blazer for an acid-wash jean jacket?

All these questions were left unanswered and, sure enough, Lana would be reunited with Rusev before the year was through. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

Contributor
Contributor

A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling, technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible. Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard. As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.