Despite being a relatively young company, AEW has had its fair share of both heel and face turns. Some of these have been met with much more success than others.
Turning heel gives a wrestler a chance to reinvent themselves. It’s usually particularly beneficial for wrestlers who were seen as bland or boring by the audience. In a business where evolution is an absolute necessity, it’s important to get each heel turn right. Here are 10 AEW heel turns, ranked from least to most successful.
10 Matt Hardy
When Matt Hardy debuted in AEW, he brought with him a new character to the Broken Universe. This new essence was named Damascus and was effectively a reboot of the old Broken Matt Hardy’s essence, Zenith.
When Matt Hardy turned heel, he did so by changing his essence from Damascus to Big Money Matt, the swindling, arrogant businessman. His two prodigies, Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy of Private Party turned heel with him. Since turning, Matt Hardy created the HFO stable and is most known for his dragged-out feuds and repetitive promos. Hopefully, we see a new essence from him soon.
9 QT Marshall
The former friend of Cody Rhodes and tag partner of Dustin Rhodes turned heel by creating his own faction called the Factory. The group consists of Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto, and former Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo.
Though the group started with some decent heat and momentum, their continuous losses to the Nightmare Family, combined with their lackluster charisma, have greatly lowered their value to the AEW roster.
8 The Gunn Club
When Billy Gunn came to AEW, he brought his sons Austin and Colten with him. The trio initially started as a part of Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Family. They didn’t have any especially notable feuds during their face run, but Austin and Colten were able to gain some experience in the ring.
The trio turned heel when Billy Gunn hit Paul Wight with a steel chair. Since then they’ve been on a comedic heel run featuring a social media feud with Danhausen, who’s dubbed Austin and Colten the "Ass Boys.”
7 Serena Deeb
Serena Deeb is arguably the most technically proficient woman’s wrestler in AEW. Before her heel turn, she didn’t have much of a gimmick besides the fact that she’s a technical wrestler and yoga teacher. After turning heel, though, Deeb has dubbed herself as “The Professor of Professional Wrestling,” an apt nickname considering her veteran status.
During her heel run, Deeb has featured more painful-looking submissions that make her matches more exciting. She does have a considerable lack of charisma, though, which makes her character difficult to appreciate outside the ring.
6 Taz
When AEW started, Taz was a play-by-play commentator. After Brian Cage debuted in AEW, Taz took on the role of the Machine’s new manager. He named Cage the inaugural AEW FTW champion and the first member of Team Taz.
Taz’s faction now consists of Will Hobbs, Ricky Starks, and Taz’s son, Hook. They’re a definite fan favorite of the AEW factions, to the point where they may not be heels much longer.
5 Will Hobbs
Before he joined Team Taz, Will Hobbs was a student of Cody Rhodes and the Nightmare Factory. Betraying Cody is arguably the best thing Hobbs has done in his AEW career so far; it freed him from what was a pretty bloated, mid-card stable and gave him a more featured spot alongside some very popular stars.
Since Brian Cage was kicked out of Team Taz, Hobbs has become the resident beefcake of the group. He plays this part extremely well and gives a nice balance to the presence of Ricky Starks and Hook.
4 Anna Jay
Few may remember Anna Jay’s AEW debut. She was originally called “The Star of the Show,” and wore what looked like a magician’s outfit. It was a cute gimmick, but a pretty generic one. Joining Dark Order brought out a more brutal side of Anna Jay and greatly elevated her status in the company.
Now, Anna Jay and the Dark Order are beloved babyfaces, but her time on the dark side most definitely allowed Anna Jay to grow more comfortable in the ring and behind the scenes.
3 Britt Baker
Of all people in AEW who’ve turned heel, Britt Baker arguably needed it the most. Her performances in the ring were pretty average, and her whole character was fairly bland. If Baker was going to be a top star of the women’s division like AEW clearly wanted her to be, something had to change.
Britt Baker turned heel in early 2020, debuting a new cocky attitude and aggressive in-ring style. Throughout AEW’s stay in Daily’s Place, Baker only got better (even through injuries). Her violent feuds with Big Swole and Thunder Rosa made her the star that AEW hoped she would be.
2 The Young Bucks
While most wrestlers turn heel out of anger, The Young Bucks did so out of an almost tragic sense of loyalty. They were already tag team champions, so their turn wasn’t done for the sake of winning gold. Rather, they turned heel by choosing to stand by Kenny Omega’s side as they have since 2015.
Kenny, at this point, was world champion and always accompanied by his manager Don Callis. Though the Bucks despised Callis and disapproved of his and Kenny’s new way of doing things, they gave into the Canadians’ guilt-tripping and eventually embraced their heel-side.
1 Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega is undoubtedly the ace of AEW, whether he’s a face or a heel. His heel turn, though, signified the beginning of a new era for the Cleaner. After a months-long fall from grace wherein Kenny lost his tag team championship with Hangman, his closest friends, and the majority of his confidence, Kenny listened to the guidance of Don Callis.
Shortly after turning heel, Kenny became world champion with the help of Callis’ nefarious tactics. He would go on to claim the IMPACT title while also holding the AAA title. These championships and his series of incredible defenses made Kenny’s heel run even further proof that Omega is one of the best the world has ever seen.