The world of professional wrestling is an ever-changing one. To keep things fresh and the audience interested, almost every Superstar has to keep evolving with time by incorporating new traits into their personality. This urge to change often leads to top babyfaces turning into heels and vice versa.
However, a character change doesn't always guarantee big things for a wrestler. There have been countless instances of WWE Superstars going from the good side to evil (and vice versa) only to turn back after the completion of a feud or in some cases during the storyline itself. Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 heel and babyface turns that only lasted one rivalry.
10 Face Turn (vs. D-Generation X): Owen Hart
There's no denying that Owen Hart's most memorable moments in WWE were when he was playing a heel. However, that doesn't mean he never got to shine as a babyface.
Shortly after the Montreal Screwjob incident in 1997, The King of Harts turned babyface to feud with D-Generation X. After unsuccessfully challenging Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship, Hart claimed Triple H's European Title before dropping it back to The Game less than two months later. A few weeks later, the 1994 King of the Ring winner became a heel once again when he joined the Nation of Domination.
9 Heel Turn (vs. Charlotte Flair): Becky Lynch
Hailed as one of the best WWE Superstars currently, Becky Lynch's journey to the top has been a fun one to follow. After some initial setbacks, it finally started looking as if the odds had shifted in The Man's favor when she secured a shot at Carmella's SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2018.
Enter Charlotte Flair, who not only entered the aforementioned match but also ended up winning it, ruining what should have been Lynch's career-defining moment. Immediately following the bout, The Man attacked the new champion and turned heel. However, instead of siding with The Queen, fans continued supporting The Irish Lass Kicker, forcing WWE to turn her babyface again within a couple of months.
8 Face Turn (vs. Chris Jericho): Edge
Given the overwhelming success he achieved as a top villain, it would have made complete sense if WWE had never turned Edge babyface again. However, once The Rated R Superstar got sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury in the summer of 2009 and his then-tag-team partner, Chris Jericho started berating him on the mic, it became clear that a significant change was on the horizon.
Fast forward to Royal Rumble 2010, Edge made his highly-awaited return as a surprise entrant during the namesake match and won it. Having turned face for the first time in over five years, he went right after Chris Jericho and feuded with him through that year's Extreme Rules event. 24 hours later, he would attack RAW's top babyface, Randy Orton, reverting to the dark side once again.
7 Heel Turn (vs. The Shield): Braun Strowman
Strowman's booking following his extremely gripping feud with Roman Reigns in 2017 was questionable at best. Every time The Monster Among Men seemed to have both momentum and fans' support on his side, he got the rug pulled from under his feet. In the summer of 2018, with the Money in the Bank briefcase in his possession, all signs were pointing to Strowman finally getting his moment in the sun.
After a failed cash-in attempt on Roman Reigns courtesy of Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose, Strowman turned heel and aligned with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to feud with The Shield. However, the short-lived trio broke up after multiple losses to The Hounds of Justice. His split from Ziggler & McIntyre, coupled with Reigns relinquishing the Universal Championship due to his returning Leukemia, would prompt WWE to turn The Greatest Royal Rumble Match winner into a fan-favorite again.
6 Face Turn (vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks): Lacey Evans
Who would have thought a Superstar boasting natural heel charisma could play a believable babyface in their rookie year on the main roster? This is where Lacey Evans proved her versatility. Shortly after Survivor Series 2019, The Sassy Southern Belle did a complete 180 and started a program with the duo of Sasha Banks and then-SmackDown Women's Champion, Bayley.
The inclusion of her daughter in the said storyline greatly helped Evans in getting accepted by fans as a heroic character. This feud would continue until the summer of 2020, after which Evans would go back to being a heel.
5 Heel Turn (vs. The New Day): Big Show
Given how many times Big Show switched between a face and heel during his WWE career, it shouldn't come as a surprise that his name is mentioned here. One of the instances where The World's Largest Athlete became a bad guy for just one rivalry was when he aligned with The Bar on the 1000th episode of SmackDown (October 2018).
The trio of Sheamus, Cesaro, and Big Show feuded with The New Day for over a month before the seven-time World Champion ended this impromptu partnership by knocking Cesaro out cold. He would then go on a short hiatus and return as a babyface.
4 Face Turn (vs. Alberto Del Rio): Batista
Batista's long-awaited return to WWE in 2014 didn't turn out well. Batista left as a heel in 2010, WWE tried to turn him face for his 2014 comeback story, but that didn't work out for The Animal. The fact that he won the Royal Rumble match over Daniel Bryan at 2014's namesake PPV encouraged fans to despise someone who was supposed to be the top babyface on the road to WrestleMania XXX.
Despite getting heat from the crowd on a regular basis, the two-time Royal Rumble winner stuck to being a good guy until he wrapped up his feud with Alberto Del Rio. Following the culmination of that rivalry, The Animal turned heel and stayed that way until his departure in June 2014.
3 Heel Turn (vs. Seth Rollins): Dean Ambrose
Ever since The Shield's first split, fans had been clamoring for a Dean Ambrose heel turn. Their wish was granted in the fall of 2018 when The Lunatic Fringe brutally attacked his tag team partner, Seth Rollins. However, this change in character proved to be a major disappointment.
The build to Rollins's and Ambrose's match at TLC 2018 was packed with wacky, and at times, tasteless segments. On the post-Royal Rumble 2019 edition of RAW, The Architect silenced his on-again, off-again rival for good. During this time, fans also found out about Ambrose's impending departure, and thus, they started showing their appreciation for him. And the only logical way to move forward was to turn The Lunatic Fringe babyface once again, which is exactly what ended up happening.
2 Face Turn (vs. AJ Styles): Randy Orton
Throughout his illustrious professional wrestling career, Orton has aligned with and betrayed a plethora of Superstars. So, he isn't a stranger to the concept of switching sides. And even though he works better as a cold-hearted villain, he has played a face multiple times.
Following a stellar feud against Kofi Kingston and an unsuccessful outing as the leader of Team Flair, Orton turned face in November 2019 to feud with AJ Styles. The two would share the ring on multiple occasions on the road to Royal Rumble 2020, immediately after which The Legend Killer would set his sights on the returning Edge and go back to his evil ways.
1 Heel Turn (vs. Hulk Hogan): Shawn Michaels
After playing a fan favorite for nearly three years, Shawn Michaels decided to remind people how good of a bad guy he was in his prime. That's why in July 2005, he laid out his then-tag team partner, Hulk Hogan with a devastating Sweet Chin Music.
From attacking Roddy Piper to impersonating The Hulkster, The Heartbreak Kid left no stone unturned to make his short-lived heel run impactful. At SummerSlam 2005, Michaels lost to Hogan and became a face once again by shaking the latter's hand before the event came to a close.