Ten Best Face/Heel Turns of the 200s
(By PWTorch reader C.S.)

(10) Shawn Michaels heel turn of 2005. It only lasted a month, but it was most memorable for HBK's Summerslam match with Hulk Hogan and a scathing Raw promo in Montreal.

(9) JBL heel turn of 2004. Bradshaw was, up to this point, a tag-team wrestler without really having a name to his own. He then had a lengthy World Title run and became one of the most prominent characters of the middle of the decade.

(8) John Cena face turn of 2003. The turn itself isn't remembered much today, which is why it's only #8 on the list, but the ultimate result was the creation of the Cena character that is WWE's biggest draw today.

(7) Randy Orton face turn of 2004. It was an ill-fated turn that lasted about six months, but it was certainly memorable. One night after Orton won the World Title from Chris Benoit at Summerslam, and moments after successfully defending it on Raw, Triple H, Batista, and Ric Flair attacked Orton and bloodied Orton. This ironically cemented Orton as a top start.

(6) Steve Austin heel turn of 2001. It didn't last too long, but it sure showed the world a new side of Stone Cold. After having what may be one of the most famous feuds in WWE history with Vince McMahon for years, Austin turned heel to side with him and his old arch-nemesis Triple H. However, once Triple H was out of the picture six weeks later, the turn began to fizzle and Austin turned back to face after Survivor Series.

(5) C.M. Punk heel turn of 2009. We don't often see a slow-burn heel turn like this one, especially from a champion, but the turn with Punk against Jeff Hardy was executed quite well.

(4) Triple H face turn of 2006. I know the vast majority of hardcore fans despise DX, but no doubt Triple H's turn was one of the most memorable of the decade. After Triple H was the most-despised heel in the WWE for nearly the entire decade, Vince McMahon pushed his buttons one too many times, and Triple H pedigreed him in the middle of the ring and reformed DX with Shawn Michaels, who up to that point had been his nemesis for the past five years.

(3) Edge heel turn of 2004. Fans had been booing Edge for some time in fall 2004, and it was time to make a change. This heel turn is what really put Edge on the map and in the World Title picture permanently, leading to him winning nine World Titles as one of the best heels in the business. Now it looks like he'll be turning face again - a much bigger star than he was six years ago.

(2) Batista face turn of 2005. After Orton's failed turn, WWE decided to give an "Evolution breakup" a Take Two. We all knew it was coming, yet it was huge when it happened. Batista went on to have an intense feud with his former mentor, Triple H, and win the World Title.

(1) Chris Jericho heel turn of 2008. Jericho was never really given a shot at top stardom during his first run in WWE, and it seemed like his second run was going to fizzle out as quickly as it started. But what was intended to be a short one-month mini-feud with Shawn Michaels was extended into a year-long program that ended up with Jericho turning into one of the best heels in the company and being part of one of the best - if not the best - feuds of the decade.

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Ten Best WWE DVDs of the 2000s
(By PWTorch reader Jeff Patrus)

(10) Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses: Hardcore Edition (2007)
(9) The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the '90's (2009)
(8) The Rise and Fall of WCW (2009)
(7) Starrcade: The Essential Collection (2009)
(6) Heartbreak and Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story (2007)
(5) The Rise and Fall of ECW (2004)
(4) Macho Madness: The Ultimate Randy Savage Collection (2009)
(3) Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (2008)
(2) Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be (2005)
(1) The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection (2003)

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Top 10 WWE Finishers of the decade
(by Alex Busutil)

(10) Undertaker's "Hell's Gates" submission
(9) Evan Bourne's Shooting Star Press
(8) C.M. Punk's "GTS (Go To Sleep)"
(7) Rob Van Dam's Five-Star Frogsplash
(6) John Morrison's "Starship Pain"
(5) Jeff Hardy's "Swanton Bomb"
(4) Steve Austin's "Stone Cold Stunner"
(3) Brock Lesnar's "F-5"
(2) Randy Orton's "RKO"
(1) Shawn Michaels' "Sweet Chin Music"

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In the 1990s in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, we used to run weekly Reader Top Ten Lists on any subject. Some were serious, some were irreverent, others were bitingly sarcastic. This week we are inviting PWTorch reader to submit Top Ten Lists related either to 2009 or the decade of the 2000s. They can be on anything, but here are a few random ideas to give you an idea of what these lists might be based on...

-Ten Most Underutilized Tag Teams of the 2000s
-Ten Most Unintentionally Funny People of the 2000s
-Ten Worst Vince McMahon Personality Traits of the 2000s
-Ten Best Things About Being a Pro Wrestling Fan in 2009
-Ten Best PPVs of the 2000s
-Ten Worst Haircuts of the 2000s
-Ten Worst Ring Outfits of the 2000s
-Ten Worst Indy Wrestling Names of the 2000s
-Ten Best Announcers of the 2000s
-Ten Best Facial Expressions from Lauren in 2009
-Ten Wrestlers I'd Least Like To Be Stuck on an Elevator With from the 2000s
-Ten Biggest Controversies of the 2000s
-Ten Biggest Out-Of-Ring Scandals of the 2000s
-Ten Biggest Egos on Display
-Ten Best DVD Releases of the 2000s

And so on... We will run Top Ten Lists throughout Christmas to New Years. You can email them to pwtorch@gmail.com. If you're willing, please format with numbers listed like this (10) and please begin at 10 and count down to 1. So your list would look like this...

(10) Jim Ross
(9) Michael Hayes
(8) Eric Bischoff
...
(1) Shane McMahon

[Torch art credit Joe Borzotta (c) PWTorch.com]

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