A "heel" is a villain or bad person that most fans just love to hate. There are few aspects as important to wrestling as a "good" heel since they are required to help add stakes to matches. There is no Hulk Hogan without Roddy Piper, no Cena without Edge. In the past 5 years, some of the greatest heel turns have helped keep WWE talent interesting, while also helping to build out new stars at AEW.
PWI's top two wrestlers of 2021 were both major heels and both of them broke bad in the last few years. This list examines those two stars and all the best heel turns of the past five years.
10 Becky Lynch
"Big-time Becks" has become one of the top heels in wrestling. In 2021, she returned from pregnancy at SummerSlam and turned heel upon her arrival. It was the second heel turn in the past few years as she also attempted in 2018. Whereas in 2018, she was more beloved as a heel, this time around, Lynch has become a true heel that is despised by many fans.
A lot of this has to do with the rise of Bianca Belair as a face, but she is also more arrogant than ever and has set herself up to be a major heel in the women's division for the foreseeable future.
9 AJ Styles
AJ Style's run in the WWE has been a huge success. After a great championship reign and a ton of great feuds, it seemed a way to inject steam into AJ was a heel turn. After WrestleMania 36, Styles turned heel and added a new level to his WWE persona. He helped the O.C. become a top tag team in the WWE.
His heel turn not only gave Styles a new dimension in this second half of his career but also helped Gallows & Anderson ascend to the top of the card. His run with Omos was less impactful, but he did hold the Tag Team Championship with the stable.
8 Edge
Edge has already established himself as one of the greatest heels of all time. When he returned to the WWE in 2020 after retirement, he was way too loved by fans to be a heel. He fought as a "good guy" in all of his returning storylines and it seemed the old "rated R ultimate opportunist" was gone for good.
Before he feuded with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 38, Edge turned heel and has begun a new faction, Judgment Day, which is a clear attempt to put over new talent with a person in both the heel and WWE Hall of Fame.
7 Jey Uso
Jey Uso's feud with Roman Reigns was one of the most deep-rooted storylines WWE audiences had seen in years. The layered battle between the two family members added depth to a show that was lost in one-dimensional characters and stories. The feud also showed Jey had potential as a solo star.
Still, Jey's eventual heel turn and aliment with Roman helped morph him and his brother, Jimmy, from "Roman's cousins" into the WWE's top faction. Jey's heel turn was also the first step to a unified WWE title, held by Roman, and the unified tag title that the Usos hold.
6 Sasha Banks
Sasha had the rare, slow-burn story in the WWE. She was a constant staple in the women's division that always teetered in the middle never feeling like she belonged as a face or a heel. In 2019, when she turned her back on Natalya who was just talking about her deceased father, The Boss has been on a tear.
Although she will always be loved by fans, she's one of the best WWE heels of the 2020s, and judging on what happens with her current WWE drama she could have a long run as a "bad person" ahead of her.
5 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan made an extremely unlikely return to the WWE. It seemed impossible for him not to be loved by fans since he was always an underdog, and now he had another major obstacle. Even the most fickle fans had to root for Bryan upon his return.
When he cheated to beat AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, he became very hated. He was booed by even the most loyal Bryan fans. He played the role well and wrote an amazing chapter to an already great legacy.
4 Charlotte Flair
Flair's 2020 heel turn helped put her back in the main card. Although she does lack the charisma of a ton of her heel contemporaries, she's a legacy star that fans love to hate. She has always existed in the shadow of her father's legacy, (that's what happens when you dress like Ric Flair and are named Flair) a heel turn seemed like a tough sell for Charlotte even despite Ric Flair's legacy as a "bad guy."
She has struggled to establish her identity even after multiple title runs. This heel turn seems to be fitting and if Flair can stay the course has a chance to pull it off.
3 Ronda Rousey
Rousey has been a star since her WWE debut. Her rise to the top of the women's division was inevitable, but her heel turn seemed less likely. A big part of her whole persona was how likable Ronda was every time she took the mic. Compared to many of her contemporaries she was at the top of the list in terms of adoration from fans.
Her heel turn in 2019 was arguably the most interesting turn of the year. It also helped her feud with Becky Lynch become a beloved fixture of wrestling and their rivalry has rewritten the history books for women in wrestling.
2 Bayley
Bayley spent the first seven years of her career as a babyface. Somehow, even winning the WWE Women's Championship, failed to help Bayley rise to the top ranks at the WWE. There was always something left to be desired from Bayley until she turned heel in 2019. She changed her entire persona and went all-in on the change. It paid off well for Bayley.
Her turn helped catapult her to the top of the entire wrestling world. Her feud with Becky Lynch is one of the best clashes of characters in the history of the women's division. Her turn was so great it is often considered one of the greatest turns of all time.
1 Roman Reigns
Roman was one of the most hated wrestlers of all time. His time on top of the wrestling world has not been easy, but his heel turn in 2020 has helped establish him as a true blockbuster star. Reigns became so much more respectable when you are "supposed to hate him."
His feuds with Lesnar have been hit or miss, but overall he and Paul Heyman have become great wrestling heels. Was the turn long overdue? Absolutely, but so far it has paid off well for Roman and the Bloodline.