11 Surprising WWE Heel Turns You Never Saw Coming

5. Neville On The Cruiserweight Division (2016)

Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

It's impossible not to laugh at the way Neville switches from applause to assault without breaking stride following his long overdue return to WWE television in 2016.

It's as if he has elected to use the bodies of Rich Swann and TJ Perkins to take out the frustrations he'd felt from the sidelines; missing a WrestleMania, not being fit enough for a groundbreaking Cruiserweight Classic, being neglected for inclusion in an upcoming UK expansion - it all exploded in a cynical beatdown on those he felt most deserving of his scorn.

It triggered an amazing run for the 'Man That Gravity Forgot', in which he'd briefly relight Cruiserweight fires in pay-per-view contests that stole the monthly shows with the greatest of ease despite the lack of direction.

Developing an infuriated drawl that forced the words out of his mouth with bilious rage, Neville's North East accent was at long last a benefit rather than a drawback. It was as though he was regressing as a human being if only to channel his rage and viciousness into the fights in front of him.

His 2016 walkout during the problematic period of Enzo Amore: Cruiserweight Champion came after months of being insultingly overlooked - though he ironically remains trapped in stasis by his frozen contract with the company to this day.

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