Heel/face turns that flopped when the reasoning made sense
By Scott Keith on 18 November 2023
Scott,
I always thought the Austin heel turn at WM17 wasn't the worst idea and it made sense from a storyline perspective: After a year of being on the shelf, Austin was so paranoid about the Rock taking his spot so he went to the one guy who could guarantee he would stay on top. Obviously, as Austin has said, the fans just weren't ready to boo Stone Cold and it failed…but the idea was there. Can you think of any similar heel/face turns that made sense from a storyline perspective but the fans just didn't buy into for whatever reason?
And vice versa…any heel/face turns that made no sense but worked out in the end anyway? Thinking maybe Taker in 1992…kind of weird he suddenly gained a conscience the year after trying to kill the Ultimate Warrior but he clearly benefited from that turn. Hogan in 2002 really made no sense either as he hit the Rock with an 18 wheeler and then became his buddy…but I guess you could just chalk it up to “I heard the Hulkamaniacs brother.”
Not quite the same, but when Eddie Guerrero turned on Tajiri in 2003 the fans refused to accept it and cheered Eddie instead. I think the most famous “That doesn't work for us, brother” turn was Goldberg in 2000, though.