9 Wrestlers WWE Never Turned Heel

3. Rey Mysterio

Roman Reigns John Cena
WWE.com

Even WCW barely bothered with a Rey Mysterio heel turn.

Though his Filthy Animals stable were ostensibly heels in a feud with the Southern-centric West Texas Rednecks during the Atlanta outfit's later years, Mysterio himself was still too popular to truly earn audience anger - even with his mask off and devil horns glued on.

When Vince McMahon acquired Rey's services in 2002, he put the hood back on for the good of the game he was always a master of - wrestling merchandise. Masks and toys with the 'Biggest Little Man's likeness sold in their millions as Mysterio endeared himself to a generation of fans that missed him first time around.

Rey was occasionally too lovable for his own good. McMahon never stopped booking Rey like a cruiserweight - as in, with total and utter disdain - even when he won the World Heavyweight Title in 2006, but the arc of his pathetic run with the title was designed to exhibit the incredible sympathy he was able to draw from crowds regardless of his supposed success.

The boos Rey received upon entering the 2014 Royal Rumble told the biggest story about the audience's infuriation with the lack of push for Daniel Bryan - in no other world as broken as WWE's real one could he invite such hatred.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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