11 WWE Heels That Were So Good They Became Babyfaces

by Andrew Pollard

1. The Rock

Surely there€™s no greater example of a good heel-turned-great babyface than The People's Champion, The Rock. As generic as they come, 'The Blue Chipper' Rocky Maivia was dying a slow and painful death as fans just refused to take to him. Then came one of the greatest transformations in professional wrestling history as Maivia joined The Nation of Domination, turned heel and began referring to himself simply as The Rock. The Rock quickly became one of the standout talents in the WWE as his ascension to the main event began. Rocky would change between good guy and bad guy over the years, but his babyface run during Steve Austin€™s injury absence at the turn of the century made him the biggest star in the industry at that time and his unmatched charisma opened doors for him in Hollywood. Simply put, Rocky had the perfect mix of effortless cool, vulnerability in the ring when selling, and unparalleled charisma to elevate him to legendary status - something which still shows to this day, as whenever The Rock makes a WWE appearance he brings the attention of millions around the world with him.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.