10 WWE Superstars That Turned Heel/Face The Most

4. CM Punk

Brie Bella Nikki Bella
WWE

'The Voice Of The Voiceless' tried in vain to add a bit of pro wrestling villainy to his 'Pipe Bomb' promo in 2011, but the die was already cast for him as soon as he began ticking terms off the banned list in screen-melting fashion.

Punk's attempts to get over and stay there in WWE were as noble as they were bleakly depressing. His try-hard babyface stint had ran its course long before he finally turned on Jeff Hardy in 2009, but the peak of his heel powers weren't really exploited until a listless de-push resulted in him embodying a near-the-knuckle zealot character guiding the careers of followers in his 'Straight Edge Society'.

The babyface turn proper came after a quasi-turn as leader of The Nexus in a last-ditch effort to make that stable mean something. Despite WWE's 'Summer Of Punk' collapsing within itself, 'The Straight Edge Superstar's rigid efforts to make it work ensured he remained over as both a hero and villain as he embarked upon a legendary 434-day reign with the Championship.

He turned once more before his controversial 2014 exit but many fans considered him the biggest babyface of all for actually walking away - few performers had his deft touch for character work in such an ever-changing universe, or the pride to leave it all behind.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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