WWE: Ranking the top 5 heel turns of 2019

2. Bayley

At one point, it seemed laughable to even suggest that Bayley would turn heel, but many fans have wanted to see The Hugger pull off a move to the dark side. She’s been one of WWE’s best all-around performers for years, and 2019 has been her most successful on the main roster.

Bayley won the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank after cashing in on Charlotte Flair and proceeded to have a brilliant run as a babyface with the title.

And now in her second run with the championship, she’s been even more brilliant as a heel. Bayley turned and aligned herself with her best friend Sasha Banks, debuting a new look with shorter hair and a piercing gaze. Bayley is driven by being at the pinnacle of success on Friday nights, and her  promo on MizTV was one of the best of the year. Oh, and she destroyed her Bayley Buddies and won her title back on that same night. Perfection.

1. Sasha Banks

Bayley’s heel turn can only be surpassed by Sasha Banks, because Banks’ heel turn was an all-timer. Fans had been on the edge of their seats for four months, waiting for one of the greatest wrestlers of all time to return from a much-needed break from wrestling. Her absence led to so many wild rumors and speculation, which only made fans more intrigued to see her back. In short, she played everything perfectly.

And when she did return on the first episode of Raw after SummerSlam, she made her presence felt. Sasha savagely attacked Natalya and Becky Lynch, revealing a new blue wig as a visual representation of her new attitude.

Like Seth Rollins, fans had been waiting to see Banks as a heel in WWE. She’s been a fantastic babyface and is one of the most well-liked wrestlers in WWE, but her heel work in NXT as The Legit Boss was beyond genius. It was her true self.

Banks has two of the best five matches of 2019 despite taking time off for almost half the year, and her impact on pro wrestling is difficult to sum up in a sentence. But if you want a brief encapsulation of what she means to WWE, go watch her heel turn segment again.