May 3, 20205 min read

30 Day Wrestling Challenge - Day 15 Favourite Face

Yes, we all have learned to love the cool heels in a smarky world where kayfabe has been betrayed, but what about the good guys? Here, WSBF pick their favourite faces in wrestling...

BRUM - BAYLEY IN NXT

I was really split with my pick today. My initial shout was Eddie Guerrero's "Lie, Cheat, and Steal" run on the basis that it subverted the dastardly heel trope by using those characteristics to make him a lovable babyface.

However, perhaps a more subversive take on a babyface was Bayley's NXT run from 2014 to her departure to the main roster in summer 2016.

On the face of it, this was the opposite of subversive: she was on paper a total babyface and also booked as one. But this is the modern era. Post Austin, for better or worse, antiheroes prevail and schmaltzy good guys get booed.

But Bayley wasn't even your average smiling babyface, she was way way more saccharine than that. Next to WWE's most archetypal good guy of the last 15 years, John Cena, she made him look like Pol Pot.

In short, this shouldn't work. But it did, and it worked in spades. It worked for roughly 3 reasons: Pamela Martinez played the character fantastically; she had a crowd there that got what it was all about; and, most importantly, she didn't try to be cool.

This is the largest failing of characters like Roman Reigns. When he struts to the ring thinking he looks like a 90s action film star, I don't think cool; I think "wazzock".

Bayley didn't do that, she had stupid uplifting entrance music (peak CFO, I'm my opinion), dorky ring gear, and a fucking inflatable entourage. Even her ringside superfan worked for the most part.

She could also wrestle. People go on about the Banks matches towards the end of her run (which are brilliant) but she was doing good stuff ever since her involvement in the title picture in mid 2014.

Finally, and the most important thing for a face, she was over. That crowd would have gone into battle for her and I would too.

Will we see someone like Bayley in wrestling again? I could see a comedy wrestler doing something similar, but I can't see a major company booking a white meat babyface like that and it working.

And that's why my favourite face is Bayley in NXT.

SHAFI - DANIEL BRYAN

When you're 5 years old then it is not difficult to support the hero, the concept of good versus evil is prevalent in most cartoons and media aimed at that age group. I was no different and loved the faces and hated the heels. I said prayers, took 'vitamins' (tic tacs) and thought pink and black was the perfect colour combination.

As you become older and discover the true realities of life you realise the world is not black and white. The world is not an inherently good place. Not only that but the idols you put on a pedestal are actually arseholes behind the curtain and in their private lives. The moral fibre that drew you to them in the first place is just another part of the act.

This feeling of betrayal causes a rush of cynicism to pulse through your body and makes it hard to believe in a hero again. Disillusionment takes over and anger grows. You buy your first album with a swear word in it and start to support the heels because "the world's fucked anyway". Years pass but your disenchantment doesn't.

I can't really remember cheering a hero after Bret. Austin came along and whilst he was the face he was quite clearly an anti-hero. We then went into the Cena era which for me is the worst period in wrestling in the near thirty years that I've been watching.

Cena pushed me away from wrestling on multiple occasions before someone else (Punk, Nexus etc) would draw me back. To say I wasn't a fan of Cena is like saying Cornette isn't a fan of Russo.

The barriers to me finding a hero again seemed too high. For me to love again I needed someone to fulfill the following criteria and that was never going to happen;

1. Be relatable

2. Be excellent in the ring

3. Be entertaining

4. Be a good person away from the ring

This seemed like an impossible task. Until Daniel Bryan.

I'd heard and read a lot about Bryan before he signed with WWE. I'd seen enough of his matches to know he was great in the ring. That being said I couldn't have imagined the heights he would scale to win my affection and deliver me from the clutches of apathy.

Bryan's feud with the Authority is one of the best storylines WWE have ever done because it was real. Despite being hugely qualified for the top of the card, the company did not see Bryan as a star or as a face of the brand.

Speak to anyone in the workforce and I guarantee they will be able to relate to being overlooked and under appreciated. Everyone has a story about when they were the best person for a job and weren't given the opportunity. Bryan's plight was one that we could all believe in as the line between what played out on screen became more and more blurred with what was happening backstage.

When Bryan had entered the company he was as bland as a jobber on Superstars in 1992. But over time he found a character that was entertaining; initially as the heel World Champion and then riding a wave of love into facedom following his loss to Sheamus at Wrestlemania.

His vignettes with Kane as Team Hell No would have flopped with lesser performers but are instead heralded as highlights of the period. Daniel Bryan is my favourite face because he made a bitter old cynic believe again. He made me believe that great wrestlers of any size and shape could beat the system.

I can't imagine rooting for anyone as hard as I was for him leading up to Wrestlemania 30. I can't imagine shedding the tears I did when he retired for anyone else. Daniel Bryan, the wrestler, is an incredibly gifted, entertaining performer in his field.

But it is Bryan Danielson, the man, who is my hero. He loves wrestling, like us. He had to struggle immensely for what he has, like us. He puts his morals ahead of his bank balance by refusing to perform on shows funded by Saudi blood money. He passes the 'bullshit' test.

I may not run out to buy vegan products or wear hemp clothes but if you asked me whether I'm ready to dust off the pedestal and put Daniel Bryan atop it then there can only be one answer. Yes! Yes! Yes!

30 DAY CHALLENGE

DAY 1 - FAVOURITE MALE WRESTLER

DAY 2 - FAVOURITE FEMALE WRESTLER

DAY 3 - FAVOURITE MOMENT YOU'VE SEEN LIVE

DAY 4 - FAVOURITE TAG TEAM

DAY 5 - YOUR FIRST WRESTLING MEMORY

DAY 6 - FAVOURITE FACTION

DAY 7 - FAVOURITE PROMOTION

DAY 8 - FAVOURITE MANAGER

DAY 9 - FAVOURITE COMMENTARY TEAM

DAY 10 - FAVOURITE ENTRANCE THEME

DAY 11 - FAVOURITE MATCH