30 Day Wrestling Challenge - Day 27 Favourite Turn

May 15, 20205 min read

Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well... wrestling is a absolutely full of shocking turns, from bad guys finding the light to good chaps gone evil. But what are the WSBF nerds favourites?

BRUM - BOBBY ROODE (TNA - 2011)

When people talk about the the best tag teams of our generation, a name that will get lost in the shuffle is Beer Money.

However, at their pomp they were maybe the most entertaining tag team in the world. Two well formed characters & seasoned hands with good chemistry that could tell a story in and out of the ring: they were a highlight of this period of TNA.

In their initial face run, they got crazy over and their heel run gave us the excellent series with the Motor City Machine Guns. It was still TNA so they weren't always booked perfectly, but compared to a lot of their contemporaries, they thrived.

As well as they came together, their dissolution was even better.

After winning the Bound For Glory series, Roode was on the verge of becoming the company's no 1 star. This is the way it was built: we were just waiting for his coronation. Then at Bound For Glory 2011, Roode lost his big title match to champ KurtAngle in a hokey finish.

I was furious. Everyone was furious. Why did they do this? Either give Roode his big moment or at least have Storm be the one to ruin it?

But no. TNA, the forever mad bastards, had something else planned.

On the next Impact, rather than Roode getting a rematch, Storm got a shot at the belt and won. He bloody won. SCENES. This was genuinely a great moment and came out of nowhere.

On the next night, Roode beat Joe to make him no 1 contender and give us Roode vs Storm for the title. This was massive.

The match was actually pretty good. But when Roode found himself on the outside, the cameraman zoomed in on Storm's beer bottle. I'm sure some people would see this as hokey. I thought it was great.

Well, only in retrospect. At the time, I was too busy shouting "NO" at my TV. But Bobby ignored me and did the unthinkable and smashed his partner on his noggin to turn heel, break up Beer Money, and win his first world title. Bastard.

The weeks proceeding Bound For Glory 2011 could be described as an overbooked mess which saw 3 different champions in less than a month. You could also describe a crumpet as an overbooked pikelet but you'd be wrong.

This period was the dying embers of a company I fell in love with in 2005-2008. This isn't to say that the company never did anything again.

The Spud ECIII feud was dynamite and people who still watch it tell me it's good but now it's like hearing stories about an ex-girlfriend. I'm really glad to hear she's doing well but that was a different point in my life. I've moved on.

Though I've moved on, I do look back on that time fondly and I think that's because we parted on good terms. ROH in 2019 was an ugly breakup that I'm still hurting from.

Whilst the Roode heel turn was the equivalent of break up sex. You know you're not going to really see each other again but you might as well go out with a bang.

ROSS CASEY - THE ROCK SURVIVOR SERIES 1998

Much as been said and written about Vince Russo and his style of writing for wrestling, it is perhaps summed up best by Jim Ross, who says that Russo is only interested in the sizzle - and not the steak.

For me you need a combination of the two and in the wrong hands, Russo's booking was borderline abhorrent, but Survivor Series was his crowning night. A one night tournament booked stupendously well.

To give you context, the WWF Championship was vacant and and by the end of the night The Rock was about to turn heel and be crowned the champion thanks to some devious cahoots amongst the Corporation.

The best part about it is, that thanks to layers of deception, no one saw it coming. In order for their pan to be successful, this is how the show was booked:

Mankind is trying to win the love of Vince, clean shaven and suited. Vince clearly has contempt for him but is willing to help him if it means Austin doesn't get the title. So he hands him a first round match against Duane Gill.

Big Boss Man then gets DQ'd on purpose so he can give Stone Cold an epic post-match beating, softening him up for later rounds.

The Rock's opponent was supposed to be Triple H, but he 'no shows'. The Corporation replace him with another stooge - The Big Boss Man - making us think that they are afraid of The Rock in this tournament. However, The Rock easily rolls him up in seconds and runs for the hills out of harms way. Deception #1.

During The Rock's next match The Big Boss Man returns to the ring to throw his nightstick to Ken, only for The Rock to 'intercept' it and use it for himself for the win. The crowd loved it and the Corporation were furious. Deception number #2.

Stone Cold then gets eliminated by Shane turning on him. Austin hit a stunner and looked to have the match won, but Vince leaps into the ring and beats up the referee.

Austin stayed in charge and made another cover. This time, Shane ran in, but instead of counting to three, he counts got two and flipped Austin the bird. Gerald Brisco then hit Stone Cold with the weakest chair shot in known history, a third referee came in, and this one was over.

The Rock then defeated The Undertaker by DQ after future Corporation member Kane came out and chokeslammed The Rock, eliminating his brother in the process. Deception #3.

The final deception was in the final. It looked like The Rock was the slippery one that the Corporation could not catch after eliminating both The Undertaker and Stone Cold and pitting the wannabe Corporate Foley against him had the fans cheering for him in the last match.

Rock and Mankind went back and forth inside and outside of the ring until Rock slapped on the Sharpshooter and Vince pulled Montreal Redux - Foley didn't tap but he called for the bell. The rock was champ and hugging the McMahons and we were all duped.

It was beautiful storytelling and like any great whodunnit, once you follow the journey you ask yourself, how did I NOT see this coming? They turned Rock heel and created two feuds in the process, which would headline Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania in 1999.

Yes Vince, that was incredible. Usually, your stuff had all the grace of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on, but on this night, magic was in the air as WWE fans witnessed the greatest turn in history.

30 DAY CHALLENGE

DAY 1 - FAVOURITE MALE WRESTLER

DAY 2 - FAVOURITE FEMALE WRESTLER

DAY 3 - FAVOURITE MOMENT YOU'VE SEEN LIVE

DAY 4 - FAVOURITE TAG TEAM

DAY 5 - YOUR FIRST WRESTLING MEMORY

DAY 6 - FAVOURITE FACTION

DAY 7 - FAVOURITE PROMOTION

DAY 8 - FAVOURITE MANAGER

DAY 9 - FAVOURITE COMMENTARY TEAM

DAY 10 - FAVOURITE ENTRANCE THEME

DAY 11 - FAVOURITE MATCH