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John Cena And The 10 Biggest Heel Turns In Pro Wrestling History

John Cena's heel turn has entered the conversation as the biggest heel turn in pro wrestling history.
Sid Pullar III|
WWE.com

The entire wrestling world is still stunned and abuzz after watching John Cena turn heel for the first time in 22 years and align with The Rock at WWE Elimination Chamber 2025.

The shocking betrayal of Cody Rhodes at the hands of Cena has started a major discussion among professional wrestling fans about its place in the history of the business already. Over the course of the past four decades, there have been some landscape-shifting turns that have changed the trajectory of where the industry is today.

Based on the shock value, how memorable it was, financial results, impact and legacy, here are the 10 biggest heel turns in pro wrestling history.

10. The Von Erichs vs. Fabulous Freebirds rivalry is born (WCCW Christmas In The Cage 1982)

This list will feel incomplete without acknowledging one of the earliest and most significant heel turns in pro wrestling. The Von Erichs are often regarded as the first family of the business who were beloved in their home state of Texas and their promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling throughout the 1980s.

In 1982, Kerry Von Erich battled Ric Flair in a bloody steel cage match, with Michael P.S. Hayes as special guest official and Terry Gordy outside the cage looking on. After a tussle where Von Erich accidentally pushing Hayes out of the cage, Terry Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry's head, inciting a riot with the rowdy Texas crowd that The Fabulous Freebirds barely escaped from.

This kickstarted the legendary Freebirds vs. Von Erichs rivalry that took WCCW to new heights. The iconic feud was recently chronicled in "The Iron Claw" film starring Zac Efron released in 2023.

MORE: 10 Greatest WWE Women's Wrestlers Of All Time

9. Andre The Giant turns on Hulk Hogan and aligns with Bobby Heenan (WWF Superstars 2/7/1987)

There might not have been a more beloved big man in the history of the business than Andre The Giant. After cementing himself as the ultimate special attraction in the early 1980s, Andre returned to WWF in '87, but he was no longer the top babyface.

In his place was his rival-turned-friend Hulk Hogan. Appearing on an edition of "The Piper's Pit" hosted by Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre felt disrespected when Hogan received a trophy for being WWF Champion for three years, while The Giant got a much smaller trophy for being "the only undefeated wrestler in history, " which led to Andre walking out during Hulk's speech.

This led to the February 7, 1987 WWF Superstars where another edition of "The Piper's Pit" saw Andre align with Hogan's arch nemesis Bobby Heenan and rip off Hogan's shirt and crucifix chain causing him to bleed from the chest. This set the stage for the historic WrestleMania III main event where in front of 93,000 in attendance Hogan slammed and beat Andre to retain the gold.

8. Stone Cold Steve Austin makes a deal with "The Devil" Mr. McMahon (WWF WrestleMania X-7)

Heading into WWF WrestleMania X-7, there was no bigger match in wrestling than Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock. With the WWF Championship up for grabs, Austin made it perfectly clear that he had to win back the title to reclaim his top spot after a year on the shelf.

Fans had no idea vhat that meant until that fateful night in Houston's Astrodome. Despite the Texas crowd being firmly behind their home state hero, Stone Cold turned his back on the fans by making a deal with "The Devil" and his long time rival Mr. McMahon.

Thanks to the assistance of Vince and 16 vicious steel chair shots, Austin defeated The Rock to regain the WWF Championship. Then, the two sworn enemies stood over "The Great One" to shake hands and share a beer to the shock of everyone watching.

In what has to be the most debated and polarizing heel turn in history, this is often regarded as the end of the boom period known as "The Attitude Era" and led to an almost immediate decline in the overall business for the company.

7. The Rock aligns with Mr. McMahon & The Corporation (WWF Survivor Series 1998: Deadly Games)

From one all-time great aligning ith Mr. McMahon to another, WWF Survivor Series 1998: Deadly Games is often mentioned among the best booked pay-per-view events ever produced by the company.

Heading into the show, The Rock had gone from a hated heel to the second biggest babyface in WWF by fighting against Vince McMahon and The Corporation. It looked as if the company's owner would try anything to deny him from winning the Deadly Games tournament for the WWF Title.

The finals of the tournament came down to McMahon's charge Mankind facing The Rock. With a simple "People's Eyebrow" shared between Vince and himself, The Rock locked on the Sharpshooter and McMahon recreated "The Montreal Screwjob" by forcing the timekeeper to ring the bell to crown a new champion.

On this night in St. Louis, The Rock won his WWF Championship and aligned with Mr. McMahon's Corporation in the process. Going from "The People's Champion" to "The Corporate Champion," The Rock officially arrived as a main event level superstar and never looked back.

6. Shawn Michaels throws Marty Jannetty through the Barber Shop window (WWF Wrestling Challenge 1/12/1992)

When looking back on an iconic heel turn, a lot can be said by a simple line that made the moment memorable. There might not be a better example of that than "The Barber Shop window."

Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, better known as The Rockers, were among the most exciting and popular tag teams in WWF from the 1980s into the early 1990s. The duo put on spectacular matches that helped to innovate tag team wrestling.

After weeks of dissension between the two long-time tag team partners, The Rockers tried to resolve things on "The Barber Shop" hosted by Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake that took place on the January 12, 1992 WWF Wrestling Challenge.

Following an apparent reconciliation of the tandem, Michaels dropped Jannetty with a superkick before throwing his partner through "The Barber Shop" window. This kickstarted "The Heartbreak Kid" character and his rise to superstardom that led to him becoming a two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

5. Mega Powers explode as Macho Man sees lust in Hulk Hogan's eyes (WWF The Main Event II)

At WWF WrestleMania IV, Hulk Hogan assisted Macho Man Randy Savage on his way to defeat "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase and win his first WWF Championship. This solidified a partnership between the two all-time greats that became known as "The Mega Powers."

Combining two of the biggest babyfaces in the company, "The Mega Powers" fought off various heels, such as Million Dollar Man, Andre The Giant and The Twin Towers. However, jealousy began to rise between Hogan and Savage with Macho Man's real life wife and valet Miss Elizabeth at the center.

On the WWF The Main Event II special in 1989, "The Mega Powers" faced Akeem and Big Boss Man, but an accidental collision of Macho Man and Elizabeth led to Hogan taking their manager to the doctor in the backstage area.

With the then-WWF Champion seeing "lust in the eyes" of his friend, Macho Man snapped and attacked "The Hulkster" in the medical room after the bout, accusing him of desiring his woman. This set the stage for "The Mega Powers Explode" when Hogan challenged Savage for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania V.

This battle saw Hulk Hogan capture his second world title in the company, but it also led to massive business for WWF after the intricately laid out year-long arc and a longstanding feud between both legends that lasted the rest of their careers.

4. Seth Rollins turns on The Shield & joins The Authority (WWE Raw 6/2/2014)

Debuting at WWE Survivor Series 2012, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns formed The Shield by attacking and laying out Ryback to help CM Punk retain the WWE Championship.

The Shield took the entire company by storm and went on to become the most dominant faction of the modern era by going on an undefeated streak against a who's who of the top talent of that period. From John Cena and Randy Orton to Team Hell No and The Wyatt Family, Ambrose and Reigns knocked down every obstacle ahead of them.

After pulling off the biggest victory as a unit over Evolution at Payback 2014, Triple H enacted "Plan B" and delivered one of the most shocking and significant heel turns of the past decade. "The Architect" Seth Rollins stabbed his Shield brethren in the back by literally hitting Reigns with a steel chair shot heard around the world on the June 2, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw.

MORE: 20 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time

The look of horror on Ambrose's face preceded Seth battering him with the chair and officially joining forces with "The Game" and Randy Orton in The Authority. This one heel turn created three main-event level superstars for WWE with Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose all going on to become multiple time world champions in the company and beyond.

The ramifications and fallout of Seth's betrayal is still felt to this day, with Roman choosing revenge for that chair shot that led to Cody Rhodes ending his historic 1,316 day Undisputed WWE Universal Title reign at WrestleMania 40.

3. Mr. McMahon screws Bret Hart in "The Montreal Screwjob" (WWF Survivor Series 1997)

For years, WWF Chairman Vince McMahon was known by most fans as a ring announcer and commentator. Meanwhile, Bret Hart carried the promotion as one the top babyfaces and consummate company man.

This is the reason that McMahon signed Hart to an unprecedented 20-year contract with WWF in 1996 after he declined an offer from WCW and promised to make him the highest paid wrestler as well as give him a position in management when he retired. However, everything changed by mid-1997 when the company experienced financial issues caused by the rise of WCW.

After deferring payments to Hart and looking at future plans that did not include him, McMahon encouraged Bret to go back to then-WCW President Eric Bischoff to reopen negotiations. "The Hitman" went on to sign a $3 million a year deal with WCW. The only problem for Vince now was that Hart was the WWF Champion.

Bret had no issue dropping the gold to almost anyone except for the one man McMahon wanted him to lose the title to: Shawn Michaels. For months leading into WWF Survivor Series 1997, Hart and Michaels got into verbal and physical backstage fights, leading to "The Heartbreak Kid" telling "The Hitman" that he would not do the same for him after Bret said he was willing to lose if Vince requested.

Fearing Bret would leave to go to the competition with the WWF Title and Hart's refusal to drop the gold to Michaels, McMahon orchestrated a plan that became known as "The Montreal Screwjob." After making Hart believe the WWF Survivor Series 1997 main event would end in a DQ finish, McMahon ordered the bell to be rung when HBK applied Bret's finisher, The Sharpshooter to him.

The 20,000 fans in attendance were left in shock after witnessing Canadian hero Bret Hart embarrassed. This one evening in Montreal changed the course of pro wrestling history and created the most dastardly, evil heel character ever in Mr. McMahon. The blend of real life drama and storyline coming to our screens has never quite been matched again.

2. John Cena turns Cody Rhodes to align with The Rock (WWE Elimination Chamber 2025)

Recency bias be damned, John Cena's turn to the dark side has to be considered one of the very best heel turns ever. For over 20 years, Cena was widely regarded as the "prototype" for the white meat babyface in wrestling.

The ultimate good guy known for his "Never Give Up" mantra set the record for the most wishes granted for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. While being loved by kids around the world, the adult male fans had a more hostile relationship with Cena for being "The Face of WWE" for over a decade.

Many fans wanted Cena to turn heel for years, but WWE resisted because he was a cash cow and massive merchandise mover for the company. After becoming more of a part-time star over the past few years, the 16-time world champion announced his retirement tour for 2025.

WWE could have easily allowed Cena to go out the beloved hero with all of the fans more open than ever to cheering the legendary star on his way out, but Triple H, The Rock and the creative team took a risk that has paid almost immediate dividends.

Kicking off his farewell tour on the WWE Raw on Netflix premiere, Cena proclaimed his goal to win a record-breaking 17th world championship. After coming up short in the Men's Royal Rumble Match, "The Doctor of Thuganomics" declared himself for the Elimination Chamber Match, stating that it was "Best For Business" for him to headline his final WrestleMania and win the WWE Title.

Cena desperately capitalized on CM Punk being stomped by Seth Rollins to win the Elimination Chamber and earn the right to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. Following Rhodes coming out to congratulate Cena, they were joined by The Rock and Travis Scott.

Cody went on to turn down The Rock's offer to take his soul before Cena hugged him and looked at "The Final Boss." Cena's smile dropped as The Rock gave him the cut throat signal, leading to the shocking heel turn. The scene with Cena, Rock and Scott beating down a bloody Rhodes has already become a pop culture moment that will never be forgotten.

1. Hulk Hogan joins the N.W.O. (WCW Bash At The Beach 1996)

While John Cena had a longer period as a babyface and his heel turn taking place during the viral era of social media, it can't top the original white meat babyface of wrestling, Hulk Hogan, becoming the biggest villain of his era before our eyes in 1996.

Hogan reached heights never seen before in pro wrestling as the number one babyface for WWF during their first boom period in the 1980s. "The Hulkster" helped the business go from dark buildings to arenas and stadiums, while revolutionizing the entire industry by crossing over to a mainstream superstar.

After reaching the point that he had transitioned to Hollywood and began making television shows, Hogan left WWF in 1993 and then signed with WCW the following year. While Hulk helped to legitimize the company upon his arrival, they were still the number two promotion in wrestling.

In May 1996, Scott Hall hopped the guardrail to kickstart one of the most important storylines in the history of the business. Bringing in two of WWF's top superstars in Hall and then Kevin Nash, WCW had fans intrigued, believing an invasion was taking place before their eyes.

A huge six-man tag team match was set up for the main event of Bash At The Beach 1996 with "The Outsiders" Hall and Nash teasing a mysterious third man would join them against the WCW trio of Sting, Lex Luger and Macho Man Randy Savage.

Hall and Nash started the bout on their own against the three babyfaces before Luger was taken out during the match. After a low blow to Savage, the Dayton Beach, Florida crowd came to their feet when Hulk Hogan marched down to the ring.

Their enthusiasm quickly became horror when Hogan dropped an emphatic leg drop on Macho Man to reveal himself as the third man and the leader of the New World Order. The audience in attendance were disgusted by the actions of Hogan and showered the ring with garbage.

To put the cherry on top of this unforgettable moment, Hogan cut a scathing promo telling the fans to "stick it" and dubbed his trio, the N.W.O. This launched WCW to unprecedented heights that led to them eclipsing WWF as the number one wrestling promotion in the world.

Hogan's heel turn impacted the business and absolutely shook the foundation of what it was at that time.

Published
Sid Pullar III
SID PULLAR III

Sid Pullar III is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who has been covering the business for the past eight years. Starting off as a podcaster and creator of the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling YouTube channel, he made the transition to news and feature writing with Sportskeeda and WrestleTalk in 2020. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as Fightful, WrestleTalk, The Takedown and more. Follow him on X @TruHeelSP3

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