12 WWE Face & Heel Turns That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
11. Faarooq Falls Flat As A Face (1998)
It's easy to forget that walking charisma machine The Rock was only placed in the heat-seeking Nation Of Domination faction to give him a prayer of working out on the WWF roster in 1997. Before that, young poodle-haired Rocky Maivia had been about as popular with fans as a Kurrgan vs. Giant Silva 60-minute 'Iron Man' match would've been. They were chanting, "Die, Rocky Die" at the poor kid!
Joining the Nation and morphing into a cocksure heel turned out to be a blessing for The Rock. He gained in confidence, started quelling the doubters (backstage and in the bleachers), and everything looked like it was heading in the right direction. Sadly, Rock's rise means that original NOD leader Faarooq had to be unceremoniously booted out of his own faction. Not to worry though, eh, because a babyface run awaited Ron Simmons.
That face sprint between March-November 1998 felt more like a marathon.
It was seriously tepid, because the Faarooq character was a natural heel and Simmons wasn't a patch on the worker he'd been in WCW beforehand. It was crystal clear during even his first few matches as a so-called good guy that fans didn't give a toss about ol' Ron as a hero. Plus, it was super-weird to see him still sporting the usual Nation attire as he awkwardly high-fived fans en route to the ring.
Realising the error of their ways and keen to correct it, the WWF returned Ron to a heel role as part of The Acolytes alongside Bradshaw later in '98. They had to - he defo wasn't going to pan out as a face. Not until he started chain smoking and sinking beers in an office without walls, that is.