10 Wrestlers Who Turned During Championship Reigns

8. The Young Bucks (2021)

CM Punk
AEW

The Young Bucks' heel run at AEW Tag Team Champions will be fondly remembered as one of the great in-ring runs in wrestling history, but the actual turn took place in one of the most exhausting matches in the company's short and illustrious history.

Matt and Nick were conflicted, and it stunk.

A heel-turned Kenny Omega was digging ever deeper into his megalomaniacal side alongside Don Callis and The Good Brothers in order to try and permanently see off former Champion Jon Moxley, and The Bucks had aimed to stay on the righteous side of the divide with Mox until they made the realistic choice to side with their Elite brother and former Bullet Club comrades.

Fortunately, if making the choice was excruciating, the consequences were immediately spectacular. Both Matt and Nick immediately leaned into being as insufferable as humanly possible in matches and promos, extending out to how they dressed and interacted with other members of the roster.

A title reign that looked a little indifferent as a result of their flapping suddenly grew to epic proportions thanks to the thirst for them to lose, and lose badly. When they eventually did, it infomed one of AEW's most dramatic contests.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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