5 WWE Superstars Who Need To Turn

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose
Image Source: Bleacher Report

Since NXT took over as the developmental label for WWE, they’ve produced a slew of great superstars, and also groomed independent talents into main roster stalwarts and in a few cases, main eventers. More often than not, WWE arrivals go through the NXT pathway en route to Raw or Smackdown Live. But sometimes, despite success with deep characters in complex feuds in the developmental league, some wrestlers reach the main roster and stagnate on one side of the face/heel dynamic for far too long

We’re going to examine those superstars who for one reason or another, should have a turn in their near future.

 

1. Rusev

Rusev WWE

The Bulgarian Brute has done his time as a generic foreigner bad guy. Time to give him a shot at garnering some of that WWE fan support.

Rusev has shown time and time again during his WWE tenure that he can be counted on to get the most out of the bare-bones “evil foreigner” gimmick he’s been saddled with, to the point where he genuinely has some low-key simmering support from the WWE fans that would likely translate into a face run that exceeds all his work up to this point.

Rusev’s major attribute that sets him apart from standard “evil foreigners” is that the guy has comedy chops that endear him to the audience whether they agree with his current gimmick or not. His timing in various segments has caused natural laughter, which is a brilliant trait WWE has so far failed to capitalize on. Now, we’re not advocating he become a comedy character, far from it. But when you’ve got someone of that size and stature, who moves very well and has also shown some of the best selling and psychology when called for, Rusev is a dark horse contender to potentially be a player as a WWE mega-face due to those factors coupled with his likability. If Rusev can break out of the “evil foreigner” mold and capture that spark of fan support, he could very quickly find himself tapping into the top tier.

There has even been a recent hint of this in his encounter with WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on Smackdown Live, so you know WWE has to at least be considering it.

 

2. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt WWE champion

We’re well past the point of Bray Wyatt’s spooky speeches helping anyone, least of all himself.

The Eater Of Worlds has shown glimmers of hope towards being that “Next Undertaker” character many thought he could be. But it’s gotten to the point where even his most resilient supporters have got to be checking their watches and wondering when it’s all going to click. Perhaps what he needs is to simply end this phase of the riddle-speaking bayou preacher experiment and do what the Undertaker was forced to do: evolve. The first thing he’ll need is a fresh perspective that a face turn easily provides.

Bray now has a WWE Title run and Wrestlemania Championship Match under his belt (albeit with more spooky projections than anyone could legitimately excuse) so he’s at least legitimised at a certain level within WWE and not likely to ever fall down to the low or mid-card. With that safety net, let him turn over a new leaf and begin preaching virtues and redemption rather than demonic nonsense. He has the delivery to make those essential face traits not seem so hokey and maybe could capitalise on that to reach those heights so many have long predicted for him.

The moment Bray finally does something unexpected and sides against a heel wrestler, the crowd will eat it up and potentially revitalise a character that is currently meandering towards irrelevance.

 

3. Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks
Source: Wrestling Rumours

Sometimes WWE does the right thing and realises that a popular heel could work as an even more popular babyface. Sasha Banks fell into that category but it has run its course, and then some.

While Sasha has far from failed in the face role since coming to Raw, it is a far cry from the excellent heel work she displayed in NXT that got her to the main roster in the first place. Sasha was so good that she was the perfect foil for not only Charlotte, but Bayley and the entire women’s division in NXT. Many credit the rise in standards of women’s wrestling to the Four Horsewomen as a unit, but it was The Boss who elevated the feuds with her tremendous heel work so that the fans invested as hard as they did in her opposing faces.

Sasha Banks at this point in her WWE career is simply spinning her wheels. She is not any particular character except “Bayley’s friend” and seems to disappear from Raw relevance for every alternate month until she returns to lose a title shot or match, or win the title only to lose it again in short order. As The Boss, Sasha is every bit the heel that Alexa Bliss is and maybe more, except she’s also a higher class of wrestler between the ropes. The Boss needs to find her original heel character and reinvigorate the Raw women’s division from its current doldrums.

 

4. Bayley

Bayley
Image Source:
Cageside Seats

A month ago, Bayley wouldn’t have made this list. Now, with crowds actively, loudly turning on her family friendly persona, perhaps this is a time WWE could take the initiative and ride a wave of hostility to something productive.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean Bayley has to go heel forever. She definitely has a likable charm that serves her well, but right now the main roster presentation of her is doing her no services and perhaps a turn to the dark side for a while could give her that chance at a do-over down the track when they realise where they went wrong the first time. Even Bayley’s NXT support has dried up if the boos from the NXT Takeover Brooklyn III crowd are any indication.

Bayley tapping into a more vicious persona and less of an ”I’m scared to hurt people while fighting them” credibility killing one surely is a better solution upon her return from injury. If she comes back all smiles and essentially the same thing she was when she left, the apathy towards her could return with even greater resentment and then all WWE will have on their hands is a Roman Reigns for the women’s division.

Unless that’s inexplicably what they want, which given their track record is strangely possible.

 

5. Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose drunk

While Dean Ambrose did indeed break onto the main roster as a heel within The Shield, his solo existence has been 100% babyface due to the manner of that breakup. And whether or not you think he’s still got more to offer as a babyface, his heel potential is staggering.

Dean has been compared favourably to Roddy Piper, Mick Foley, and Brian Pillman, and above all, it’s the volatile quality that stands out as the common factor they share with the Lunatic Fringe. All three were potential powder kegs waiting to explode at any moment, making their every word and action captivating. As heels, they have the more complete scope to express that volatility, and Ambrose can only benefit from that same freedom.

His recent antics with The Miz were solid work, but right now as he and Seth have been circling each other and the pull of their former partnership has once again gotten the WWE universe behind their alliance, Dean is again at the epicenter of perhaps the most compelling story on WWE television. Now as a Tag Team Champion, WWE’s newest Grand Slam achiever has quite literally done it all on one side of the ledger and now has no reason not to explore his opposite alignment potential.

Most importantly though, Dean Ambrose has that uncanny ability to make feuds he is in matter, whether a belt is involved or not. With that in mind he could be invaluable as one of Raw’s top full-time heels, opening up a huge amount of new match ups and revitalising old ones with his new heel leanings. There is a reason people gravitated towards Dean as the leader of The Shield initially, and it was his magnetic presentation when he opens his mouth. In hindsight it’s not a coincidence Smackdown was the premier wrestling show in WWE while Dean was a mainstay on it, and when he jumped to Raw during the superstar Shake-up that quality seems to have jumped with him. What he can accomplish now on Raw when he loses his morals and truly lets loose as a major heel player should be scintillating.

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