10 Stupidest Reasons Wrestlers Turned Heel

4. Dusty Rhodes - "That's Tradition"

Dusty Rhodes Scott Hall nWo
WWE

WCW's Souled Out 1998 pay-per-view was obviously a play on words. It was fitting too, because iconic former NWA man of the people Dusty Rhodes sold out by joining the already-inflated ranks of the nWo during a match between Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko, and it was very poorly worked.

Rather than giving a good reason for his double cross, Dusty grabbed a mic on TV the next week and yelled "That's tradition!" over and over. Nobody really knew what he was talking about; explaining away a sudden heel turn (one booked just to, you guessed it, provide another shock swerve) as a dig against WCW for sticking to tradition made little sense.

Legendary old-timers accidentally-on-purpose elbowing Zbyszko and then revealing an nWo t-shirt wasn't exactly established practice in WCW, so fans just sat on their hands upon hearing Rhodes' excuse. Mere months later, he stuck it to his new cronies in the New World Order and rejoined WCW.

His turn was stupid and served no purpose.

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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.