10 Wrestler Allegiance Switches That Must Happen In 2022

Some wrestlers just need to see what life is like on the other side of the fence for a while.

CM Punk Bryan Danielson
AEW

In Wrestling, for the most part, stars will either play the heel or the face and it is a crucial part of telling a solid story.

A common story that is often told is the turn, where fan favourites become dastardly heels and dastardly heels become fan favourites. They happen all the time and with good reason, as it helps keep both the product and the talent themselves fresh and continually evolving. Some stars never turn, ala John Cena, others only turn once before finding their niche such as Roman Reigns and there are people like Big Show, who will turn at the drop of a hat.

There are some stars in the current wrestling landscape that would absolutely benefit from changing up their act. Some need to turn to the dark side in order to take their status to the next level, while others need to embrace the fans cheers to avoid becoming stale. Either way, there is a number of wrestlers that need to make that specific turn in the next year to truly be the best that they can be.

10. Cody Rhodes - Heel

CM Punk Bryan Danielson
AEW

Despite continuous refusals that he will ever turn heel, Cody Rhodes NEEDS to turn. The crowds have soured on him and soured badly. Once being heralded as the antithesis of Triple H, in the sense that he builds up younger stars instead of burying them, crowds now believe he is AEW's version of The Game. The All Elite fans have grown tired of his ever-growing Nightmare Family dominating television time and constant need to defeat any new stars that have come into the company such as Andrade and Malakai Black.

However, watching his character lately, you have to feel as though it's all an act in an attempt to make his eventual turn even more cathartic. He is now aware of the boos and plays into them perfectly, playing the delusional face that still believes the fans love him, ignoring the fact that they can't stand him. You could argue that in that sort of sense he already is a heel, just not officially. In 2022, the EVP of the company needs to make that heel turn official, with a vicious turn, running down the entire Nightmare Family, Arn Anderson included and give a big f*ck you to the fans.

Cody has always worked better as a heel than a face, whether that was in WWE, ROH or NJPW, so it is time to add AEW to that list of companies where he has been one of the most despised heels on the roster.

Contributor

Just an Australian wrestling fan who grew up admiring the sport that we all know and love. All round wrestling fanatic, wouldn’t mind if you just sat down and listened to his humble opinions on the wrestling world.