What a Mother Wouldn't Do: Reviewing Shayna Wayne's Heel Turn

Seriously, if you didn't see this coming, then I don't know what to tell you.

Two months have passed since Nick Wayne turned heel on Darby Allin at WrestleDream, doing so in favor of joining Christian Cage and the then-named Luchasaurus, now known as Killswitch. Prior to this, a few of Nick's battles against his now-allies have included the presence of his mother, Shayna Wayne, in the crowd cheering on her son. However, when Nick joined the dark side, the woman known as "Mama Wayne" to AEW fans was shocked at what her son had become.

However, those same fans, myself included, had the same question on our minds: "When will Mama Wayne turn heel?"

It was inevitable. Shayna could only play the broken hearted mother for so long before finally deciding to join her son on the side of evil. I was 50/50 regarding my hopes, and I'll admit this: I wanted Shayna to turn heel solely because I love villainesses, and I wanted to see her as one. I believe Shayna could get massive heat as a villainess in AEW, plus she has the look and the acting chops to pull off being a completely wicked character. It was easy for me to be patient for this because the opportunities weren't really there. The door wasn't open for it, which allowed me to be patient. And then, the match was made for the TNT Championship: Christian Cage defending against Adam Copeland, who had been plaguing Christian's faction, known as The Patriarchy, for several weeks.

And there it was: the open door. In the near week that passed since the challenge was made, I was excited for this, because I knew this would be the forum for Shayna Wayne's heel turn. It's too perfect, especially with the match being in the main event. The only thing that surprised me was that Christian entered alone. No Killswitch. No Nick Wayne. I had envisioned Shayna celebrating her heel turn with her son and the entire faction, but even with Christian entering on his own, I still knew this was the night for Shayna to make her swerve. I was nervous as hell. The last time I was that nervous was on Sunday--the last five seconds of that Chiefs/Packers game.

Finally, with the official down and out, Shayna Wayne made her appearance, and took possession of the TNT title belt, while portraying herself as conflicted. We all knew what was coming; I absolutely beamed when she appeared, and at that moment, the evil Shayna Wayne attacked Copeland with that title. There it was--nice, simple, and awesome. Shayna made her inevitable heel turn, and it's followed by the woman known as Mama Wayne wasting no time acting out her new heel persona--displaying a stoic yet arrogant expression and slowly walking out of the ring, allowing Christian to do even more damage to his longtime former buddy.

Like I said, this was beautiful. I loved everything about Shayna's heel turn. First off, her look. Shayna knew that this would be the night that she would turn villainous, and her look and attire, in my view, fit her newfound villainess character. The attack was done very well, and then we saw Shayna's cold expression. That told the story, as well as the motive she'll give for her evil actions: Nick. I can definitely see Shayna claiming that her heel turn was done for Nick, with the added bonus that she can finally see Christian as a "father figure," and that she remembers Copeland's attacks towards her son.

Shayna will be an amazing villainess from this point on, I just know it. We may see hear act as a manager (or a "momager"; that's a thing) for Nick in his bouts, and she'll definitely do whatever it takes to help her son. I hope we get Shayna's first heel promo as soon as the next episode of Collision, though we may have to wait until next week's Dynamite. In any event, I know this: Shayna Wayne's heel turn was epic, and what she'll do next as a villainess should be spectacular!