10 Wrestling Face/Heel Turns That Shouldn't Have Worked (But Did)

At the character's genesis, everything about 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin screamed "heel." He was a loud, obnoxious rule-breaker with no respect for anyone but himself, and thought nothing of using extreme violence and underhand tactics to get his way. The character was almost entirely devoid of redeemable features, but he'd eventually become an era-defining babyface, and the benchmark against which all pro-wrestling anti-heroes would be judged.

Nobody could've foretold the success 'Stone Cold' would have in this role, and it started with his notorious double-turn match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. Trapped in a Sharpshooter and bleeding profusely, Austin's spirit and struggle turn the crowd's support away from 'The Hitman,' and onto him. He lost, but he became a huge fan favourite from that moment onward, and a permanent main event fixture throughout WWE's most successful period.

Austin's legendary feud with Vince McMahon followed. Little about his character changed, and he was still the same unruly rebel as before, but 'Stone Cold' perfectly captured what the audience wanted from the product at the time. It's hard to imagine WWE pulling through the Monday Night Wars without him, and he became the company's top face with a character who exhibited few traditional "good guy" traits.