8 Best WWE Heel Turns (Where The Wrestler Changed Nothing)

2. Chris Jericho

CM Punk Jeff Hardy
WWE

As one of the company's most entertaining babyfaces for several years prior, the Chris Jericho heel turn of 2001 didn't particularly change anything major about the Jericho character.

For those 1999 - 2001 babyface years, the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah was a trash-talking, cocky, eccentric, aggressive competitor who was never afraid to take a shortcut if the opportunity arose. The only thing that really changed about Jericho's ascension to becoming the then-WWF's top heel and first ever Undisputed Champion at the 2001 Vengeance PPV, was that the shortcuts he was taking were handed out by the McMahons.

That Y2J character never really altered during that Undisputed Champ heel run. Previously, we'd seen Jericho use weapons or steal illegal pins when necessary - only now it was Vince or Stephanie handing him these weapons and singing his praises.

So similar was Jericho's heel character to his babyface shtick, it was largely a seamless transition for him to fully revert back to babyface mode once more in 2004 following his WrestleMania XX contest against Christian.

Of course, Jericho would go on to reinvent himself at several points over the next decade or more, proving why he's one of the most versatile performers that the wrestling business has ever seen. But that 2001 heel turn?

That was one where nothing much at all was altered in catipulting Chris Jericho to the top of the WWF.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.