8 Best WWE Heel Turns (Where The Wrestler Changed Nothing)
6. CM Punk
"Straight edge means I'm better than you."
That was the mantra that we'd heard from CM Punk from the moment he debuted on main WWE TV. Hell, to be fair, we'd be hearing that same thing throughout the Second City Saint's pre-WWE career. Either way, the point here is that the CM Punk character seen during his WWE tenure was largely the same person, whether he was positioned as a babyface or a heel.
To hone in on a particular heel turn of Punk's, here we're showcasing his 2009 turn involving Jeff Hardy.
After winning the Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania XXV, the Chicago native soon had the SmackDown brand's World Heavyweight Championship in his sights. For Hardy, he found himself on the receiving end of a Punk cash-in mere seconds after the Charismatic Enigma had just won that title from Edge at June's Extreme Rules PPV.
From the standpoint of the Money in the Bank cash-in, Punk did nothing underhand or outside of the rules. Likewise, this rivalry and ultimately the heel turn of CM Punk saw Punk fall back on the same straight edge lines that he'd been spewing for years.
On the other side of the fence, Jeff and his very real-life drug issues were opposing the Straight Edge Superstar. Despite Punk technically having a moral high ground of sorts on this one - because drugs are bad, kids! - the heel turn was so warmly received by the audience for the sheer fact that Jeff Hardy is a naturally likeable, engaging presence - regardless of his plentiful misdemeanours.
The fallout of this this feud would lead to Punk embarking on one of the great heel runs of the modern era, and he didn't change a thing about his character until he formed the cult-like Straight Edge Society in December of that year.