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It’s amazing to see how much the landscape of the quintessential heel in WWE has changed since the ‘golden days’ of Rowdy Piper, Ted Dibiase, Bobby Heenan, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Jake the Snake along with others to the ‘Attitude Era’ days of The Rock, Triple H, Mr. McMahon, HBK, Chris Jericho, and others to boot, right up to today. I would have to say that in this day and age with cheering heels being the ‘cool’ thing to do or because people just can’t help but to cheer for the bad guy; it’s definitely a task in getting over as a true blue heel. Look at the most recent example in CM Punk. Sure Punk was arguably the top heel in the company for some time, but we knew that at some point the inevitable would happen in him being so over with hardcore/casual/IWC fans alike, that he would get cheered more and more. But his ‘heelness’ began to wear off the more he told the truth in his recent feud with Cena.

From a kayfabe point of view (and logical standpoint) a person who threatens to leave the company with the top title doesn’t exactly deserve to get cheered for it. Yes, it’s rebellious and a good number of people love to indulge in it but it’s not very ‘face’ of someone to do such a thing. When someone is calling you out on spending your hard earned money and basically calling you idiotic, it’s not something to be cheered for. It took CM Punk to call Cena the “New York Yankees” for him to even get his heat back. Even then some people still cheered here and there. I have to say with what Punk was given, he still defined what a true heel is and needs to be. Let’s look at the typical “emotions” of a classic heel.

First, a heel is expected to show no remorse for his/her actions. If a wrestler comes down to the ring and smashes a babyface in the back with a steel chair…And proceeds to do it over and over again…Then that said person doesn’t need to turn around the next week and say “What I did, was wrong.” That said person doesn’t need to show even an inkling of remorse when said action is committed at the moment. That person has to truly believe that what he or she is doing is the absolute right thing to do…Even if it defies morals. Fear is another emotion that is usually key as well. Whether it pertains to a monster heel striking fear into others, or being fearful themselves; it’s a lost element today and is shown every now and then. Mark Henry is a great example of a monster heel at the moment with his beastly run as of late. Like him or not, Henry is one of the top heels at the moment in WWE…Yes you read right…One of the top heels (hopefully it goes somewhere for him soon). Sheamus, when booked as such, can make for a great monster heel. But again, his questionable booking as of late (a face reaction this past Friday Night Smackdown for Brogue Kicking Wade, who is also a heel) doesn’t help if that’s what he is made out to be.

It seems that heels are catching it left and right at the moment, as it pertains to ‘overness’ as a heel. The Miz who is still one of the more solid heels in WWE, is seeing more face reactions by the week. His catchphrase “Awwweeeessoomme” has been echoed repeatedly now and his patent “Really?” is continuing to grow on fans. Of course there are the smark crowds here and there; but there is no denying that a potential Miz face turn could very well be in the works. Even as soon as in time for Wrestlemania 28. Although I see much more with him as a heel at the moment, I believe that if WWE plays their cards right, Miz can be HUGE as a face in the future to help even out the scale for Cena. It’s not hard to imagine the guy could be a top face for time to come in the next few years folks, so don’t be surprised when it happens.

Another emotion a heel should be able to draw from crowds and faces is frustration and ultimately anger. A true heel can bring out the anger even from the most patient and calm of people. Someone like John Cena is known to be standup, calm, and professional in hostile situations (see ECW One Night Stand and Money in the Bank of this year). Wade Barrett did an excellent job in doing just that to Cena during the Nexus run. Cena showing anger would be a sign that a nerve had been struck by the heel. It’s something that we do see but not followed through enough. I enjoy when a babyface gets pushed to the breaking point mentally and goes into complete ape s**t mode, ie Kofi Kingston, John Cena, Randy Orton, and a few others, and treading heel territory themselves. They stoop to the heel’s level and thus shifting power into the heel’s hands. It’s classic heel tactics to say the least.

I remember reading an interview in Pro Wrestling Illustrated about Chris Jericho and his outstanding heel work before he left. He mentioned very crucial things that have been lost in today’s heels. Things like not playing to the crowd (him doing his entrance pose and countdown like he did before), walking out with no emotion on his face, being smug in his dealings with fans, and being just that…A heel. One of the things that stood out the most was that he mentioned how you have to be the complete opposite of what a face is. A simple enough statement right? Not so much actually. If you go back to Jericho’s heel run, you will see exactly what he’s talking about. There were no catchphrases (he mentioned that “The Best in the World at What I Do” was never meant to be caught onto by fans), no frills, no jokes, no cool merchandise for fans; just no face appeal at all. He was even asked to have his own merch added to WWE Shop but declined because he felt that it would make him ‘likable’ to the fans. Just tailored suits worn to the ring was all he needed. That may be a ‘small thing’ to some people, but the small things add up people. That’s what made Jericho the best at what he did. He took his art seriously.

He didn’t pander to the fans about how someone was a “Sleezy, easy, slutty, trashbag, bottom-feeding, whore”, he was straight to the point in his promos. No more Y2J. He dropped the RAW is Jericho as well. All of these things are what made Jericho the classic heel in this era of pro-wrestling. Now I am not saying that heels today have to wash, rinse, repeat what Jericho did at all. That would be very detrimental for some who do. But following that mindset and method is what can help many struggling heels in today’s landscape of WWE. I long for the day of true strong heels to make a return with a vengeance someday. I just hope that they do it their own way and with the effect that greats such as Jericho, Punk, and many others in the past have done.

*shrugs*

Bravo! Bravo! Bravisimo!

How about Edge? He was heel for years and legitimately too. Remember the reaction that 'smarks' at ECW 2005 gave him? JBL was a great heel too.

The merch is also part of the point, he had it, but he still could get a whole arena to boo him.

"I have two words for you.....Matt freakin' Hardy!" rofl

I don't think Fox gets the quote...