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- In wrestling Fanfic, John Cena and Randy Orton get hit with this one a lot, but not as much as the Launcher of a Thousand Ships of wrestling fandom, Shawn Michaels. You can pretty much count on his various addictions and personality quirks to be RetConned. Then add in the fact that he wears leather pants as part of his character...
- Then there's Michaels' longtime friend Triple H. From 2002 to 2006, the WWE rode the hatred among the IWC for him being Stephanie McMahon's husband to make him their biggest heel. Then he was booked to face John Cena at Wrestlemania 22, and many fans began supporting him despite him being the heel in that match. By mid-year, he underwent a full Heel Face Turn by getting into an on-screen feud with Mr. McMahon and reforming DX with Michaels.
- The internet fanbase generally orients themselves towards wrestlers who are good workers. Sometimes, though, a wrestler who's just plain bad in the ring starts getting over. Maybe he got some good writing behind him, maybe it's just the weird X Factor that causes things in pro wrestling to catch on when they shouldn't or not catch on when they should. Cue internet fans doing somersaults trying to figure out ways to explain why, say, Big Daddy V is a superior worker.
- WWE's Maryse might be worth noting. Since her debut she has yet to display one redeeming quality. Even when she appeared to be nice to Gail Kim she was really laying down insults in French. True she is a Rudo, but Maryse doesn't generate the animosity as other heels such as Michelle McCool or Layla, either from crowds or internet commentators despite the latter being better in the ring and actually having behaved decently before a Face Heel Turn.
- As Raven put it, "There's a reason why Ric Flair keeps getting turned face - who wouldn't want to party with the Nature Boy?"
- As of early 2010 Chris Jericho has been doing a form of this on WWE NXT, a show where eight "rookies" are paired with a "pro" mentor as they wrestle in hopes of winning a WWE contract. On the first episode he was rather displeased at his rookie Wade Barrett's verbal sucking up when introducing Jericho, but when it was Barrett wrestling on the fourth episode, Jericho at ringside went well above and beyond to put his rookie over, leading to this amusing exchange with the commentators as Barrett ground down his opponent that got Internet fans cheering:
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Jericho: "Look at him meticulously wearing down the back of--" |
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- Back in '08-'09, they were trying to turn Randy Orton into a Complete Monster by having him vicously attack his opponents family members, and then punting them in the skull. Except he was cheered when he did it to John Cena's father, and when he did it to the McMahon family while Triple H was handcuffed to the ropes, he got what was probably the loudest pop of the year (especially when he attacked Stephanie). Rumours were that the angle with him and Legacy was meant to have Ted Di Biase turn face but the fans rooted for Orton anyway which had him being booked as a face despite retaining many of his heel characteristics. Although he did team with John Cena and Triple H in a couple of matches seemingly laying his differences aside for them.
- As it turns out, beating the crap out of the McMahons gets roughly the same reaction in 2009 as it did in 1999.
- Plus he brought back The Pose.
- On a recent episode of Raw, Edge called Orton out on this; claiming that his (apparently insincere) dedication to the fans following returning from a career-threatening injury didn't net him the same kind of fan support Orton had, although Orton was playing the same selfish jerkass character he always was. Hell, immediately before Edge spoke, Orton got a massive pop for RKOing guest host Wayne Brady.
- Established to possibly surreal levels when, in the midst of his face turn, he punted Jericho in the face and put him on the shelf. The crowd was actually calling for, "PUNT! PUNT! PUNT!"
- Dave Batista who at one point, long after turning his back on the fans, said that when he looks out into the audience he doesn't see people, just money. The next week fans were still showing up with Batista supporting signs because he's a good looking man.
- Not just because he's a good-looking man. Most smarks were of the opinion that he was no good as a face, and that "Douchetista is the Best-tista". His final performances were almost sublime.
- Mickie James has never actually been booed in the WWE. Her initial character was a face who was Trish Stratus's biggest fan ever and she became increasingly obsessed with Trish even kissing her and saying she was in love with her. When Trish finally told her to back off Mickie went psycho and turned heel. However the crowds still cheered her and when she faced Trish at Wrestlemania 22, the fans cheered for Mickie and booed Trish whenever she got offence in. Trish was never turned heel and Mickie remained a heel until after Trish's retirement in which she became a face by default when she feuded with Lita. She has always received brilliant reactions from the WWE fans so much that there was a near-riot at the Extreme Rules 2010 PPV which took place three days after her release.
- The Fabulous Freebirds are likely the Trope Codifier, if not the Ur Example of this in wrestling. Despite being heels in the kayfabed 80s, they got cheered pretty much everywhere they went in the southern territories (except when they went up against a local favorite like the Von Erich's in Dallas). Their gimmick was that of a southern rock band in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd and they even used "Freebird" as their entrance music before recording their own song, "Badstreet, USA." Of course, it didn't hurt that they had a charismatic "frontman" in Michael P.S. Hayes (who actually was fond of wearing leather pants) as well as Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy, one of the greatest big men in the history of wrestling.
- If the Freebirds were the Trope Codifier or Ur Example for the 80s, the example for the 90s would be Stone Cold Steve Austin. Following his Heel Face Turn on Bret Hart, commentators like Vince McMahon and Jim Ross would often express astonishment as to why people went crazy over Austin despite his lack of morals and respect for anyone and anything. In fact, Austin would even admit that he did not care whether the fans cheered for him or not, but he did like the merchandise residuals that resulted from his sudden popularity.
- Austin himself didn't even want to believe that his loss to Hart was a Heel Face Turn. Immediately after the Wrestlemania 13 loss, Brian Pillman teased him by shouting "Stone Cold's a babyface!" across the backstage area, much to his displeasure.
- ODB has never been a successful heel in TNA. She initially was one in 2007 but her trailer park Ladette character proved popular with fans and she was turned face. She was brought back as a heel in 2011 to feud with the very over Velvet Sky but after that was over she was turned face yet again because of how popular she was.