WWE Hell in a Cell 2018: AJ Styles and the Most Likely Heel and Face Turns

Few things in wrestling are more exciting than a turn. A happy-go-lucky babyface gives into temptation and cheats, becoming a conniving villain. A long-standing monster heel finds his heart and intervenes in an attack, beginning his road to redemption.

These moments define WWE because they often lead to a dramatic shift in storytelling. Every new character turn is a fresh opportunity for talent to stand out, and they can sink or swim, becoming a top star or falling into the background.

Hell in a Cell 2018 may not be the prime position for a huge turn, but the summer of WWE is over, which means new stories are needed to freshen up the product. With Super Show-Down and Evolution on the horizon in October, Sunday's pay-per-view might be the best opportunity for some important surprises.

Multiple heel turns in the last few weeks have laid the groundwork for more interesting stories, but more changes are needed to make WWE interesting again. Face turns and heel turns are coming soon, and they may begin at Hell in a Cell.

These are the most likely turns that could begin Sunday, from an expected betrayal by Nikki Bella to a surprise violent explosion from AJ Styles that would help take several WWE stories to the next level.

Becky Lynch

It is rare, if not unprecedented, that a wrestler turns heel on one show and then turns face on the next, but Becky Lynch's story has been anything but typical.

Turned at the height of her popularity, The Irish Lass Kicker seems to be more of a fan favorite now than she was at SummerSlam.

Her feud with Charlotte Flair has been great, with Lynch getting more violent while largely avoiding turning on the crowd. WWE has to understand that fans are not going to accept the most popular woman on SmackDown as a clear villain, especially with a new care-free character that is almost Stone Cold-like.

Hopefully a clear turn back to a babyface role won't take anything away from her new more confident persona, but it would be good for WWE to acknowledge at HIAC that Lynch is still a potential hero for the fans.

If WWE wanted to go all out, this could even be a moment for a double turn with Charlotte losing some popularity in her role as the top star of the division. It is easy to see The Queen pulling a cheap trick like her father, Ric, to avoid losing to a woman who has made Charlotte tap out in their last two singles encounters.

There's money in a Four Horsewomen of WWE vs. Four Horsewomen of MMA fight in the near future, so it may be best to keep Lynch and Charlotte as faces.

However, the stories here are endless, and they should all lead to a firm declaration that Lynch is not an outright heel.

Nikki Bella

It feels inevitable that Nikki Bella will turn on Ronda Rousey. While Brie Bella is already tied to a story with Daniel Bryan that means she cannot turn with her sister, The Bella Twins have always played the heel role better, especially Nikki.

Moreover, they continue to be tied awkwardly to Rousey, who just doesn't seem like a fit to stand by either of them. One potential match for Evolution is Rousey vs. Nikki for the Raw Women's Championship, and few are going to buy that as two friends fighting for gold.

If Nikki begins to show signs at Hell in a Cell that she's jealous of Rousey or even tries to cost her the title, it would not take long for The Baddest Woman on the Planet to see through The Fearless One's games. They have to work together up to Super Show-Down, but Sunday's PPV could start the turn in force.

Raw has a surplus of talented faces, with Sasha Banks and Bayley always waiting in the wings and Natalya by Rousey's side. The brand needs more imposing heels, and Nikki could instantly take up Alexa Bliss' mantle as The Goddess takes some time outside the spotlight.

Aiden English

Credit: WWE.com

With Rusev Day earning a tag team championships opportunity against The New Day on SmackDown, this unlikely team has been thrust into the spotlight.

Aiden English has been a part of a long story with Rusev in which he has been repeatedly belittled and ridiculed for trying to help his friend.

This opportunity only came about because English asked for it, and it feels like The Artiste took all the punishment to earn the wins. It would not be out of the realm of possibilities that the former Vaudevillian has set all this up to make The Bulgarian Brute pay for turning his back on him.

While Rusev has long been in need of a fresh face turn, English comes off more natural as a heel. His tale of redemption is nice in small bursts, but he cannot just be The Super Athlete's hype man for his whole career. This may be the only time an English face turn would make a true impact.

That said, it may just be too soon after the team reformed. While it would be more natural down the line after Rusev Day starts struggling again, it would not be as big a moment as at Hell in a Cell. Rusev already has a manager in Lana, so he does not need a whole entourage.

It may just be now or never for The Drama King to step into the spotlight.

The Revival

Credit: WWE.com

The Revival have a simple message: Save the tag team division.

When The B-Team were Raw tag team champions, that meant belittling the goofballs, but the pair will need to rally behind those two as well as the rest of the division to take the titles now they are held by Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler.

McIntyre and Ziggler basically stole the belts from the entire division, making one of their clearest statements by destroying Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder backstage. In order for The Revival to get revenge, they will have to take a new stance in the division.

As good as they are, the new champions cannot be the ideal figureheads for this division. They cheated their way to the top and barely give any regard to the fundamentals of tag team wrestling. The championships were basically a consolation prize with the Intercontinental Championship not available.

It is easy to imagine Dawson and Wilder rallying the division behind their message for a better tag team division and serving as the greatest test for the new champions. Especially at a time when most of the heels have chosen to work with Ziggler and McIntyre, The Revival need to be faces to start this revolution.

All it would take would be a post-match attack on the current champions to spark fan excitement. If it is well-executed, a Revival face turn could be the best thing to happen to the duo.

AJ Styles

Samoa Joe has been playing AJ Styles effortlessly for over a month now, and it seems to be starting to turn the WWE champion into someone he doesn't want to be.

Their match at Hell in a Cell could be the final straw, with The Phenomenal One losing it and ultimately turning into a violent hypocrite.

Heels have a tendency to sprinkle truth into their promos, and The Samoan Submission Specialist has not been entirely wrong about Styles so far. Despite saying how much he cares about his family, the champion continues to put wrestling above protecting his family.

This is expecting perhaps too much of a simple story of a heel playing mind games with a face, but the tale gives significant space for a dramatic change in The Phenomenal One's character. Even if he did not become a straight heel, his continued outbursts would not be fitting of the babyface he has been until now.

This feud needs a real spark to get it moving. Joe winning the WWE Championship is one potential answer, but it is not the only way this story can go to be satisfying. It is likely Daniel Bryan will be the next man up to challenge Styles after Joe if he remains champion, and WWE is not big on face vs. face rivalries.

This could be the first step in setting up a face Bryan dethroning a heel Styles, who has completely lost his sense of honor and sportsmanship due to the repeated threats and cheap shots by those around him.