Norman The Lunatic & 9 Other Wrestlers We Can't Believe Were Babyfaces

Wrestling can be a weird business in how heels and faces become interchangeable. It's easy to see why some heels can become so popular thanks to the performer that they turn face and some are pretty good at it. Others may fail, yet it at least made sense to try to test the waters. Many of those still go back to heel status as they're so good at it and fans enjoy booing them. It can be tricky as some are simply better at being bad than others.

RELATED: 10 WWE Babyface Turns We Forgot About

But there are some performers it's hard to believe were ever babyfaces. In some cases, it's because they were so perfect as heels that trying to get fans to cheer for them felt off. Other cases are because they never seemed the type of worker for fans to cheer at all. These are ten workers it's hard to believe were ever babyfaces to show how odd wrestling can be with this sort of thing.

10 Jim Cornette

"The Louisville Slugger" was an absolute genius getting fans to hate him. With his obnoxious promos, that tennis racket and constant cheating, Cornette was a great heel and fans loved seeing him get his comeuppance. But in 1988, the Midnight Express feuded with the Four Horsemen and actually got cheered for it.

Then, Cornette was laid out by Paul E. Dangerously, and fans backed him and the Express against Dangerously and the "Original" Midnights. While he returned as a heel later in his career, Cornette somehow got cheers for once in his career.

9 Alberto Del Rio

Trying to turn a top heel into a face can work with the proper care. WWE didn't do that with Alberto Del Rio. The first problem was the guy just made a better heel with his arrogance and showing off his wealthy background. The second was trying to make him a Latino hero against Jack Swagger with no build.

RELATED: Alberto Del Rio & 7 Other Wrestlers Who Had Too Many World Title Reigns

Finally, Del Rio didn't really change his act, still the arrogant jerk, yet WWE expected fans to cheer him on. To little surprise, this entire run flopped with Del Rio turning heel again, but bouncing around the card before his troubles got the best of him. It shows some guys just aren't suited to being faces.

8 Kevin Sullivan

While his "devil worshipper" act was daring, Kevin Sullivan was a great heel in his prime. He was a twisted figure with his deep voice, often seeming more a cult leader than a wrestler with various stables and feuds with scores of faces.

Trying him as a face was odd enough, but odder was WCW in 1994 having Sullivan show up to aid his kayfabe "brother" Evad against the Nasty Boys. Sullivan as a good guy was simply weird, not as fun in promos even as he held the tag team titles. He turned on Evad to form the Dungeon of Doom as being a heel fit Sullivan so much better.

7 The Boogeyman

There are some weird characters fans latched onto, but the Boogeyman is something else. The idea was that he'd been a TV show actor in an accident, believing he was his bizarre character. Nothing about him should have worked - the makeup, the smoke, the weird "dancing" and especially the bit of eating worms.

Yet, somehow, Boogeyman was booked over heels like Miz and Booker T, gaining a Little Boogeyman sidekick and pops when he came out. He could still get cheered in later appearances to show how some odd characters win people over.

6 The Nasty Boys

The very name of The Nasty Boys is obvious for heels. Brian Knobbs and Jerry Saggs were two rough and tumble guys who loved talking trash with bits like stuffing their opponents' faces in their armpits. That heel turn served them well in WCW and WWE as tag team champions, as they were not guys ready to be heroes.

But in 1992, WWE tried it as Jimmy Hart betrayed the duo for Money Inc. The Nasties were faces, yet had little reason for fans to cheer them on and sunk down the rankings. In WCW, they were in an odd "tweener" spot as champs as cheering the Nasties just felt off.

5 Nia Jax

Her reputation isn't the best now, but Nia Jax was a powerful presence in WWE in her time. It was easy to see her as the monster crushing all in her path and could have been a dominant champion. Yet her face turn in 2018 was an odd one with the idea of Nia being bullied by diminutive Alexa Bliss, because of her size.

The problem being, it's hard to sell the six-foot-tall woman as the sympathetic figure. Her poor promos didn't help, so it's little wonder she went back to the "mean monster" heel afterward. Her exit has been a cloud on her reputation, but a reminder that Nia's face run didn't work for her.

4 Rick Rude

If anyone was a natural-born heel, it was Rick Rude. An arrogant jerk who could back up his boasts as a great wrestler, Rude was a master of getting fans to boo him hard anywhere he went. That carried to WCW, Rude was terrific, holding several titles and riling up a crowd.

That's what made it odd that in 1993, they tried him as a face going against Vader. True, Rude had tried being a face earlier in his career, but this was a bad move for him at this time. It didn't last long as Rude was simply too good being a heel, yet intriguing how he briefly got fans cheering for him for a time.

3 Vader

Vader was one of the most legitimately feared figures in all of wrestling. Incredibly stiff in the ring, he could really hurt guys and his monster persona was key to getting over. WCW teased him and Hulk Hogan becoming allies, but Vader left the company before that could happen.

Related: Every Version Of Vader, Ranked Worst To Best

After time as a heel in WWE, Vader was suddenly turned face by going after a heel Bret Hart. Buying Vader as a good guy was hard given how threatening he could be and even in a time of "tweeners," he just fit a heel persona better. It didn't last long, but Vader's face run was one of the more forgettable parts of his career.

2 Kamala

For years the "Ugandan Giant" was an easy go-to heel monster in World Class Championship Wrestling and later WWE. Notable for that huge belly and makeup, Kamala was sold as a bit out of it, but still an obvious heel.

WWE shifted that up by having Kamala befriended by Reverend Slick, who tried to "civilize" him. That included anything from bowling to etiquette lessons and being nicer in the ring. It didn't quite take, yet it was interesting giving Kamala a try as a good guy despite his savage exterior.

1 Norman The Lunatic

Honestly, pushing a guy openly calling himself "The Lunatic" was weird even by WCW standards. Mike Shaw started out as a heel, a troubled figure pushed by manager Teddy Long. Yet his silliness got fans on his side to hear more cheers.

He finally beat down Long and became a popular figure, often carrying a teddy bear to the ring with fans taking to him well. This being WCW, they ended it fast, making him a trucker and then a lumberjack. Shaw later became known as Bastion Booger, yet this first act was a surprising babyface.