The history of face and heel turns showed just how quickly things changed in WCW. It is no secret that WCW was obsessed with beating WWE in the Monday Night Wars. They often ran shocking angles that changed the landscape of the company. These face and heel turns would completely change the trajectory of the wrestlers involved. Fans never saw the most memorable turns coming.
We will look at the ones that stand out from both the heel and face side. Heel turns would see the audience lose a beloved hero to the dark side. The face turns were more surprising to see a formerly hated character transition into a new fan favorite. All turns would come as a shock to the audience. Find out which moments you should watch back. These are the five most surprising heel turns and face turns each in WCW history.
10 Heel: Scott Steiner
The long run of Rick and Scott Steiner as the Steiner Brothers tag team made them an iconic act for WCW. Both wrestlers worked perfectly together to dominate the tag division. Fans loved the duo and were crushed when Scott turned heel.
WCW teased it in the past, but no one actually expected the top tag team to end their run in such brutal fashion. Scott attacked Rick during their tag title shot against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The heel turn saw Scott join the New World Order and embrace his Big Poppa Pump character.
9 Face: Kevin Nash
The New World Order was quite popular despite playing heels. WCW decided to capitalize on that by splitting the group into two different factions. Hulk Hogan remained the leader of the hated nWo Hollywood faction.
Kevin Nash was the one to turn face by forming the nWo Wolfpac rocking the red and black colors. The Wolfpac became a popular act with Nash winning over the fans. Nash’s naturally cool persona made him a great face shortly after the shocking turn.
8 Heel: Scott Hall
Kevin Nash’s time as a face leading the Wolfpac would see him run into problems with his best friend Scott Hall. The former tag team struggled to get on the same page when Hall returned from some time away from the company.
Hall’s return would see him turn on Nash when they teamed together against Sting and The Giant. Nash was betrayed by his best friend as the audience watched in surprise. Hall decided he was going to become part of Hulk Hogan’s nWo Hollywood and stabbed Nash in the back.
7 Face: Larry Zbyszko
The wrestling career of Larry Zbyszko continued for WCW in the early '90s as part of the Dangerous Alliance faction. Paul Heyman led the group of future legends like Steve Austin, Rick Rude, and Madusa. Zbyszko was a secondary member of the faction for most of their run.
Heyman demanded that Zbyszko intentionally loses to his stablemate Austin when they were forced to face each other. The shocking face turn saw Zbyszko refuse and take a shot at Heyman. Austin and Zbyszko wrestled their match with Larry now playing a face moving forward.
6 Heel: Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig made an instant impact in WCW by joining the Four Horsemen in Arn Anderson’s spot. Fans loved the touching moment of Anderson ending his career and handpicking a talented wrestler to replace him in the legendary faction.
Hennig would turn his back on the Horsemen just a few weeks later at War Games. The match ended with Hennig attacking his teammates and joining the New World Order. Hennig slammed the cage door on Flair’s head to cement the shocking heel turn.
5 Face: Perry Saturn
Perry Saturn's run in WCW saw him start off as a member of Raven’s Flock. Saturn was starting to stand out on his own leading to conflict with Raven. The tension would see Saturn refusing to follow Raven’s orders of injuring other members of The Flock.
Saturn denied Raven’s demands and eventually stood up to him. Fans started to show love for Saturn with his popularity growing. The big match between the two would see Saturn defeat Raven in a huge match to end the Flock once and for all.
4 Heel: Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff played a face character primarily as a commentator for Nitro and PPVs. There would eventually be a presence of Bischoff as an official representative of WCW when the New World Order started their hostile takeover.
Bischoff shocked everyone when Roddy Piper called him out. The lies of Bischoff were exposed when the nWo made their way to the ring. Bischoff revealed he was the one calling the shots for the nWo once again. The heel turn surprised the audience and showcased Bischoff’s talent as a personality.
3 Face: Goldberg
WCW made a bold move turning Goldberg heel in 2000 against Kevin Nash. The alliance with Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo only lasted a few months. Goldberg turned face to return to his former role by “refusing to follow the script” and calling out Russo.
Fans started rallying behind Goldberg again with his new goal of making life miserable for the hated Russo. The face turn allowed Goldberg to return to the role that he was most comfortable with. No one saw it coming since he was relatively new as a heel before the change.
2 Heel: Hulk Hogan
The biggest heel turn in wrestling history came at WCW’s Bash at the Beach 1996 event. Hulk Hogan was revealed as the third man in the New World Order, aligning with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form a group looking to take over WCW.
Fans were stunned as Hogan played the face role for over a decade after his rise to the top of WWE. The heel turn was not only surprising, but it led to the biggest success in company history. Hogan’s new heel character led to WCW taking over in the ratings war.
1 Face: Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page started to gain momentum as a heel in the mid-card picture for WCW. Despite the heel role, fans began to cheer DDP for his fun matches and entertaining character work. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall started recruiting Page to join the New World Order due to their past friendship.
The massive face turn would see DDP put on the nWo shirt before attacking them and running off. Fans were in love with him from that point on. The success and popularity of Page continued to grow as one of the leading WCW stars combating the New World Order. DDP’s face turn was a surprising and highly successful one for WCW.