1 day Ago By Graham GSM Matthews
Every new year provides WWE and AEW the opportunity to hit the reset button with certain competitors and get them off to a strong start. A change of character can go a long way in accomplishing that. Ricochet has already proven to be the biggest beneficiary of that over in AEW.
Despite floundering as a face in his first few months with the company, his recent attitude adjustment has not only made him the most interesting he's been in years but also landed him a high-profile program with Swerve Strickland. He has a much brighter outlook for 2025 than he did several weeks ago thanks to the turn, and there are plenty of others who could soon follow in his footsteps. In WWE, Kevin Owens returning to his roots as a heel back in October immediately established him as a main-event player again and earned him a spot in the Undisputed WWE Championship scene.
He's another individual who has been better off since turning. With WWE and AEW both on the fast track to the Royal Rumble and Revolution respectively, anything can happen and thus fans should expect to see some significant shifts. These are the six stars who need to go heel or babyface before the year is through.
While not yet set in stone, all signs sure seem to point to Tiffany Stratton being a babyface going forward in 2025 after everything that's transpired between her and Nia Jax as of late. The two had been teasing tension from the moment Stratton became Ms. Money in the Bank in July.
There were countless opportunities where Stratton could have cashed in her contract for a guaranteed opportunity at Jax's WWE Women's Championship, but it wasn't until the first SmackDown of the year that the former NXT Women's champ finally pulled the trigger. The execution of the cash-in with Stratton first helping Jax defeat Naomi to retain the title before attacking her with the briefcase from behind indicated she'll be flying solo as a fan favorite during her reign. Although Stratton's pompous character makes her a natural heel, she's endeared enough herself to the audience as a sympathetic figure that she can excel as a babyface for the foreseeable future, especially if she works with detestable opponents such as Jax and a returning Charlotte Flair.
A total Tiffy Time takeover of the blue brand's women's division is underway. Even during their original run in WWE, The Hurt Syndicate were hard to hate simply because of the "cool" factor they had as heels. WWE dropped the ball by breaking them up prematurely and refusing to reunite them at any point thereafter.
AEW now has the chance to give the group a proper ending and allow them to be what they weren't in WWE. Introducing them as heels was logical for their initial feud with Swerve Strickland, but it won't be long before they're getting completely cheered by fans. Sooner rather than later, The Hurt Syndicate will have to embrace the audience with Bobby Lashley leading the charge.
Lashley has yet to do much in AEW beyond beating Strickland in his singles debut match at Full Gear and knocking off The Acclaimed on the Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite. He's shined as a main-event-level heel in the past, but the organic crowd reactions will eventually force a face turn for him and the rest of The Hurt Syndicate. By then, Lashley should find himself in contention for a top title, ideally the AEW World Championship.
CM Punk has been the bane of Seth Rollins' existence since The Second City Saint's return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. The bad blood between the two is at an all-time high heading into their heavily-touted clash on Raw's Netflix premiere, and regardless of who wins, it's safe to assume their feud will be far from over. Rollins has constantly called out Punk for being a hypocrite and representing everything he once hated, only for the fans to chant his name, anyway.
That clearly hasn't sat well with Rollins, whose frustration is bound to boil over imminently. Heel Punk has to happen someday, but heel Rollins appears to be much more of a possibility for 2025. Rollins hasn't portrayed an antagonist since the fall of 2022.
The best part of his character evolution throughout the years is that he's always turned whenever necessary, and he has just about reached the point where he would benefit from a character change. Rollins rekindling his rivalry with Roman Reigns—this time with the roles reversed—would be especially interesting. He feels his own actions are justified and might be willing to turn his back on the audience if it means ensuring justice is served.
Bianca Belair has been WWE's quintessential babyface for so long that it's easy to forget how great of a heel she was during her run in NXT. She was slotted in the babyface role upon arriving on the main roster in early 2020 and never looked back. It's understandable why the company wouldn't have already attempted to turn her.
She's the perfect role model for the younger demographic and has an unbreakable bond with the overall audience. There has also been little reason from a booking standpoint for fans to want to boo her. However, there will come a time when Belair is back in heel mode and that should be before 2025 is through, specifically for a feud with her absentee tag team partner Jade Cargill.
A Belair vs. Naomi rivalry is expected after Naomi is inevitably revealed as the one who attacked Cargill prior to Survivor Series, but once that runs its course, WWE can begin building toward Belair and Cargill colliding one-on-one. Cargill was excellent as the undefeated, unstoppable heel in AEW, but Belair's jealousy of Cargill being the catalyst for a heel turn would make much more sense and set up a must-see storyline for the second half of the year.
Kazuchika Okada shocked the world in 2024 by not only leaving his longtime home of New Japan Pro-Wrestling for a full-time deal with AEW in 2024 but also debuting as a heel and immediately joining The Elite. Despite being involved in a high-profile angle out of the gate and quickly capturing the AEW Continental Championship, he never quite lived up to the lofty expectations fans had for him, at least up until his outstanding outing against Will Ospreay in the finals of the 2024 Continental Classic. His thrilling face-off with Kenny Omega at Worlds End gives viewers something to look forward to later on in 2025, presumably at All In this July.
Until then, Okada must continue to prove why he is among the best in the world, and the most effective way he'd be able to do that would be as a babyface. He's undoubtedly developed more of a personality as a heel while with The Elite, but being a babyface is his bread and butter. He's too talented to cheer against as he tends to let his exceptional abilities in the ring do the talking for him.
It could be after he and Omega meet for their match, but babyface Okada is needed in 2025. Kevin Owens beat Randy Orton to the punch when it came to who would be the first to betray Cody Rhodes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's off the table for The Viper at some point. Seeds were planted for Orton eyeing Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship and potentially turning on him long before Owens entered the picture and did just that.
The Owens vs. Rhodes rivalry has dominated the last few months of SmackDown programming. Meanwhile, Orton is on the back burner until it's time for him to exact revenge on Owens for putting him on the shelf with a piledriver two months ago.
Orton vs. Owens is apparently the plan for WrestleMania 41, and from there, Orton can shift his focus back toward The American Nightmare. Rhodes vs.
Orton will work best if Orton is in his element as a heel again. Rhodes had a tremendous dynamic with Roman Reigns for that very reason, and Orton will only be able to go full-fledged heel if he has an adversary as beloved as Rhodes to oppose him. Orton's next heel run is guaranteed to be something special, and like a well-timed RKO, it will hit hardest if it's out of nowhere.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content..
