4 WWE Heel Turns In 2026 That Have Failed & 2 That Have Worked

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While the jury is still out on how successful his turn to the dark side will be, other turns have been mixed. The next four heel turns in 2026 have failed, while two others have been successful.

#6. Maxxine Dupri is in high school

Maxxine Dupri chose Austin Theory and the Vision over Otis and Akira Tozawa. The group was at a crossroads after Chad Gable emerged as a good guy after losing to El Grande Americano.

Otis and Tozawa wanted to forgive Gable, but Dupri was understandably upset with how he treated everyone. She eventually betrayed Alpha Academy in favor of making out with Theory each week.

The turn ups her profile and gets her on RAW each week, but she’s little more than eye candy most weeks. She lost a Money in the Bank triple threat qualifier last week as well.

If she focused more on tormenting women instead of kissing someone, the turn would be more successful. The public displays are annoying, but some fans don’t care because she’s attractive.

#5. B-Fab and Michin didn’t change much

B-Fab and Michin sided with Jade Cargill after months of losing out against The Storm. It was a case of “if you cannot beat them, join them,” and has led to some matches at Saturday Night Main Event.

The duo is featured on SmackDown, but they’re still booked toward the bottom of the roster. They only win matches alongside Cargill or if she interferes. It also feels like they’ve been feuding with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss for months.

Michin is the veteran glue holding things together, but the promos are all the same. If the characters changed or vastly improved, then the turns would be better. For now, it was just to give them something different to do.

#4. Sami Zayn’s delusions made him WWE Champion

Some people don’t like Sami Zayn, and that’s fine. What they may not get is that he’s a master of the craft. If fans are booing him and he’s complaining or blindsiding people, he’s doing his job.

His act works because some of his comments have shreds of truth. He did get screwed out of the WWE Title the first time around. Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce always consulted CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns when champion.

Neither did that for Sami. Another reason it’s been successful is that Zayn won the WWE Championship twice this year. The first reign was disappointing, but it luckily led to his second win.

#3. Lyra Valkyria deserves better after turning heel

Lyra Valkyria had a great 2025 as Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Her feud with Becky Lynch provided some of the best in-ring action of the year. Adding Bayley to the mix added another wrinkle.

When Lyra started teaming with Bayley, however, it led to nothing. They unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles a few times, including at WrestleMania 42.

The endgame was for Valkyria to turn on Bayley, which she did at Saturday Night’s Main Event ahead of SummerSlam. Bayley was absent for several weeks. In that time, Lyra lost match after match.

Creative made her look as if she had been living in a box. The heel turn was fine, but the decisions after it haven’t done Lyra any favors. If she was the dangerous war goddess aspect of the Morrigan, the Irish deity, it would make more sense.

#2. Royce Keys is working in the main event

Royce Keys joined WWE in the 2026 Royal Rumble. He was presented as a good guy at first. He won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and backed up Solo Sikoa against the Bloodline.

His relationship with Jacob Fatu has been instrumental to his booking. Fatu destroyed Keys after SummerSlam. When the former AEW star returned, it was with a vengeance.

He was done trying to make nice with friends who cared more about the Bloodline. Forming his own group shows that officials have some faith in him. The group is dangerous and formidable, so much so that Fatu and Solo are hesitant to engage them.

#1. Ruining Randy Orton

Randy Orton is a future WWE Hall of Famer, so he just needs an opponent and the rest will fall into place. A large portion of fans wanted to see The Viper win his 15th World Title.

Instead of leaving him alone against Cody Rhodes, WWE higher-ups thrust Pat McAfee into the feud. It dragged things down so much that McAfee bailed. Even when Orton talked, fans cheered him and booed McAfee.

Part of the issue is that The Viper has been around forever, so we’ve seen everything he has to offer. Adding McAfee was an overestimation of his popularity. He’s more annoying than watchable. The problem was rectified during the match when Orton hit McAfee with an RKO.

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