Traditionally, faces prevail in long-term rivalries with heels. However, in WWE, there have been many instances with the heels ending up on the winning side!
Many wrestling feuds between faces and heels are usually three-match series. Ultimately, faces usually come out on top and go on to kickstart a feud with another heel. However, that is not always the case, as there have been many heels who have surprisingly dominated the feud.
It creates compelling storytelling when heels come out on the winning side of a rivalry as many fans expect the faces to go over. Without further ado, let's revisit 10 heels who you totally forgot were on the winning side of a rivalry.
10 Mark Henry Vs Randy Orton
Mark Henry turned heel in 2011 and The World's Strongest Man was a man on a mission. He inducted Big Show, Kane, and Sheamus into his Hall of Pain. At Night of Champions, 15 years after his debut, Henry upset Randy Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Many fans were in disbelief as they thought that it was a foregone conclusion that Orton would retain the title. Nonetheless, Henry was there to stay as he beat Orton once again inside Hell in a Cell to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Their matches were solid and it did Henry a world of good to gain two successive wins over an established star like Orton.
9 John Bradshaw Layfield Vs Undertaker
2004 saw John Bradshaw Layfield fill the void as the top heel on SmackDown and became the WWE Champion. JBL's toughest test was against none other than The Undertaker. Their high profile match at SummerSlam saw JBL win the match by disqualification.
However, The Deadman got the last laugh as he put Layfield through the roof of his own limo. Nonetheless, they clashed once more at No Mercy 2004 in the first-ever Last Ride Match. The Phenom was closing in on a fifth WWE Championship but Heidenreich interfered and allowed JBL to retain the title. It was huge for Layfield to go over here, and Undertaker even offered to lose cleanly to his real-life friend at SummerSlam.
8 Brock Lesnar Vs Kurt Angle
The greatest rivalry in 2003 on SmackDown saw Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle feud over the WWE Championship. Both men were a face and a heel at one point in their rivalry. The Next Big Thing was a face when he defeated Angle for his second WWE Championship in his maiden WrestleMania main event at WrestleMania XIX.
However, Angle was WWE Champion by the time the two clashed at SummerSlam. Lesnar reverted as a heel weeks prior and The Olympic Gold Medalist won that match. The two legends' rivalry culminated in arguably the best Iron Man match on free television history. Lesnar outlasted Angle at the score of 5-4 and claimed his third WWE Championship on the September 18th edition of SmackDown.
7 Shane McMahon Vs X-Pac
Shane McMahon became a part-time in-ring performer in 1999. The Boy Wonder was a massive figure in the Attitude Era, and he captured the WWF European Championship from X-Pac. Shane was the co-leader of The Corporate Ministry alongside The Undertaker, and he had a lot of stroke around WWE.
Credit has to be given to X-Pac, who made Shane look brilliant. Their feud was entertaining and Shane as a cocky heel held his own. McMahon retained the European Championship in an excellent match at WrestleMania XV which saw Triple H turn on X-Pac to join The Corporation. Shane brought the European Title out of retirement, and he earned another huge win over X-Pac at No Mercy held in the UK to end up on the winning side of his feud with X-Pac.
6 Chris Jericho Vs The Rock
In the midst of the Invasion storyline, Chris Jericho and The Rock feuded in the fall of 2001. Both men represented the WWF but that did not stop them from fighting each other. Jericho proved the naysayers wrong as he defeated The Rock for the WCW Championship at No Mercy to finally win the "Big One."
The two briefly held the WWF Tag Team titles together but Rock regained the WCW Championship from Jericho. Nevertheless, Y2J did not dwell too long on that loss as he went on to dominate the rivalry. At Vengeance 2001, Jericho defeated both The Rock and Steve Austin to become the first-ever Undisputed WWF Champion. Their rivalry culminated at the 2002 Royal Rumble with Jericho once again scoring a third victory on pay-per-view over The Great One which was a rare feat to do over The Rock.
5 Randy Orton Vs John Cena
Randy Orton and John Cena are two of the greatest Raw superstars of all time. The two dominated the red brand between 2007-2009. Whilst they traded the WWE Championship and victories against each other in that time frame, they renewed their rivalry in 2013.
Understandably, fans had grown tired of their feud as they had seen it all before. Nonetheless, The Viper defeated Cena at TLC to unify both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship. Moreover, Orton ensured that his victory was not a fluke as he gained another huge win over Big Match John at the 2014 Royal Rumble to walk out still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
4 Kane Vs Undertaker
In 2010, Kane was enjoying a late-career resurgence as he won the blue brand's MITB match at the inaugural Money in the Bank event. That same night, Kane cashed in his contract and defeated Rey Mysterio to clinch his first WWE World Championship in 12 years. However, Kane and The Undertaker renewed their feud as Kane was revealed to have left Undertaker in a vegetative state.
Unfortunately, their feud was incredibly lackluster and did not catch fire like it did in 1998. Although, Paul Bearer was reintroduced and turned on Undertaker by siding with his son. Surprisingly, Kane dominated this rivalry and scored three successive victories over Undertaker, first in a No Holds Barred match at Night of Champions, then inside HIAC at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, and finally in a Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights to hold onto the World Heavyweight Championship.
3 Randy Orton Vs Shawn Michaels
Randy Orton was finally the WWE Champion in 2007. The Legend Killer waited three years to be a world champion again and seized the opportunity that was presented to him. During the early months of his second WWE Title reign, Orton had an incredible rivalry with Shawn Michaels over the title.
Orton and Michaels were not strangers to each other as The Viper defeated Shawn at Unforgiven 2003 while part of Evolution. Orton defeated HBK once more at Judgment Day 2007 earlier via a referee stoppage. Despite Michaels picking up a win over The Viper at Cyber Sunday by way of disqualification, Orton put The Showstopper away at the 2007 Survivor Series in an incredible WWE Championship match. Their matches were always good and it further solidified Orton as the top heel on Raw.
2 Edge Vs John Cena
Edge was finally elevated into the main event scene when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on John Cena. The Rated-R Superstar claimed his first WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution 2006. Unfortunately, Edge's reign lasted just three weeks as he dropped the title back to Cena at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Nevertheless, Edge and Cena traded victories at SummerSlam and Unforgiven, both held in each other's hometowns. However, their feud finally came to an explosive end at Backlash 2009 in a Last Man Standing match. The Ultimate Opportunist overcame Cena in an outstanding and brutal affair to win his ninth World Heavyweight Championship. All thanks to Big Show chokeslamming Cena through a spotlight.
1 Shawn Michaels Vs Undertaker
Shawn Michaels' rivalry with The Undertaker began when he accidentally cost The Undertaker the WWF Championship at SummerSlam 1997. The two legends made history by competing in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House.
HBK was victorious and he became the number one contender for the WWF Championship. However, their feud culminated at the 1998 Royal Rumble in a Casket match. Whilst, Michaels picked up another huge win over The Phenom to retain the WWF Championship, it came at a huge cost as he sustained a major back injury after his back hit the casket. Shawn would be ruled out of action for four years after WrestleMania XIV, which was a huge blow for the Heartbreak Kid.