10 Signs Your Favourite Wrestler Was Turning Heel

8. Shawn Michaels Screws The Undertaker

Cody heel
WWE

What a f*cking finish this was.

WWE used to be the absolute best at all of this, and though it wasn't really until 1998 where they were commercially rewarded, a series of Hall Of Fame-worthy twists, turns and finishes in 1997 put all the credit in the bank.

SummerSlam 1997 offered up a monster main event with arguably even bigger stakes.

Bret Hart was finally getting a straight up singles WWE Title shot he'd craved since returning the prior November, having bitterly turned on his North American fans in the process. He had to go all in on that here too - he'd hubristically promised to never wrestle on US soil if he lost.

Champion The Undertaker was harbouring the hassle of Kane's impending arrival while trying to be the broad shouldered hero the organisation needed.

Shawn Michaels - no friend of 'The Deadman' but a hated, loathed and despised rival of 'The Hitman' - was to referee, but offered the same guarantee as Hart if he showed bias or favour. This put him in quite the predicament when, following a red mist directed at 'The Hitman' he took The Undertaker's head clean off with a steel chair.

The Champion was down and out, and Michaels had to decide whether to gift his enemy the belt or never again work in the country that he loved. He counted the fall, acting selfishly and earning scorn that fuelled a crucial next stage in his complex character's journey.

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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