10 Wrestling Face/Heel Turns That Shouldn't Have Worked (But Did)
4. Roddy Piper "Retires" On A High
Most of 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper's most memorable moments came while working heel. The man was an outstanding villain, and his feud with Hulk Hogan was one of the Golden Era's most important, making him the promotion's top heel for much of this period. It was tough to imagine a man who'd spent much of his WWE career warring with the company's larger-than-life icon ever going babyface, but that's exactly what happened in 1986, and it was a roaring success.
'Hot Rod' took a leave of absence following his loss to Mr. T at WrestleMania II, and returned to find that his Piper's Pit talk show had been replaced by Adrian Adonis' Flower Shop, who'd also taken 'Cowboy' Bob Orton - Roddy's former bodyguard.
An apoplectic Piper returned to television, but was assaulted by Adonis and his cronies, cementing him has a mega-face. This all led to a Hair vs. Hair match between the two at 'Mania III. Billed as Piper's retirement bout, it saw fans who'd spent much of their fandom booing 'Hot Rod' create a white-hot atmosphere for their newfound hero, who scored a cathartic victory over Adonis, ending his career on a high.
He'd return two years later, but Roddy's initial babyface run was close to perfect.