WWE’s 5 Greatest Double Turns

3. Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler

The idea of a heel Dolph Ziggler and babyface Alberto Del Rio engaging in a feud over the World Heavyweight Championship sounds insane, right?  Well, that’s exactly what went down in the spring of 2013 as the two men were entangled in a vicious feud over the “Big Gold Belt”.

Since his repackaging after leaving the Spirit Squad in the Fall of 2008, Ziggler had been seen as a heel.  He had all the characteristics.  Cocky, cunning, manipulative,and narcissistic.  He was a perfect for the role.  The problem was that the WWE fans had different feelings about “The Showoff”.  They loved his in-ring capability and slick mic work and by the time he feuded with John Cena over the Money In The Bank briefcase he captured at the pay per view’s namesake in 2012, he was all the way over as a baby face yet still operating as a heel.

This sentiment was all but echoed the night after Wrestlemania 29 when Ziggler, to the crowd’s delight, cashed in the aforementioned briefcase against Del Rio on RAW.  Del Rio at the time was in the middle of a brief run as a face based on Creative trying to freshen up what had become a pretty stale heel character from ADR.  However, shortly after Dolph took the belt he was struck with a legitimate concussion and was off TV for close to a month.  His return match was also his first title defense at Payback in June, against Del Rio.  During the bout, Del Rio, although he walked in as a babyface, employed the heel role as he repeatedly targeted the head of his recently concussed opponent and walked out a heel.  But Ziggler would not give in and showed more courage in his 15 minutes with Del Rio then he had in his whole career.  By the end of the tilt, Del Rio was champion again but Ziggler was the fan favorite of the two.

Since this double turn, Ziggler has unquestionably been one of the most popular superstars in the WWE while Del Rio has been cut loose twice.  This double turn, proved inconsequential for ADR’s career, but was a major jump start for “The Showoff”.