Turn (professional wrestling) - Definition and Overview

In professional wrestling, a turn occurs most frequently when a wrestler develops a new "gimmick" (persona) and changes, frequently from face to heel or sometimes vice versa. A perennial fan favorite is tag-team partners turning, often on each other, especially if they are related either in real life or in the storyline.

See also: professional wrestling slang

Selected Famous "Turns"

• Circa 1990 - Former American patriot Sgt Slaughter re-emerges as an Iraqi sympathizer during the Gulf War
• July 7, 1996, Bash at the Beach Pay-Per-View, Hulk Hogan turns on Randy Savage and Lex Luger and joins Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the NWO.
• March 23, 1997 (WrestleMania 13), Stone Cold Steve Austin becomes a face during his match with Bret Hart by impressing the crowd with his determination and drive to win, even passing out from pain and blood loss rather than submit to Hart's signature hold, The Sharpshooter. Bret subsequently becomes a heel by ruthlessly attacking Austin while he is unconscious. This match, and its included double-turn, is held up by wrestling fans as being one of the finest examples of in-ring storytelling in recent memory.

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