May 4, 20209 min read

30 Day Wrestling Challenge - Day 16 Heel

They are the guys and girls you love to hate. The ones who want the heat and make you get behind the faces even more than you would... but who are the favourite heels for the WSBF crew?

BRUM - KEVIN STEEN (19/12/09 - 18/12/10)

Historically, there has been some back and forth in the nerd group about what is good heat and what is bad heat.

My distinction is pretty simple. If you make me turn off my TV, or fast forward past your segment, that's bad heat. If you get me to watch your segment whilst I seethe through it and look forward to your comeuppance, that's good heat.

The latter is rare, unfortunately. Off the top of my head, I can think of Steve Corino in ECW, DiBiase in the WWF, and MJF in AEW.

I won't bore you with a list of the former but it's basically every heel authority figure of the last 20 years (Raw GM William Regal, Vickie Guerrero, and Dario Cueto being some notable exceptions).

Though one guy that absolutely nailed it was Kevin Steen. For 365 days exactly, Kevin Steen was an utter twat and I couldn't take my eyes off him. After turning on El Generico at Final Battle 2009, and allying with perennial bastard Steve Corino, Kev became a monster.

I said I couldn't take my eyes off him, but that didn't mean I liked him. Watching the chair attack on Generico at Big Bang or the unmasking at Glory By Honor, I wanted to kill him.

The year of terror ended with a Career vs Mask Fight Without Honor match at Final Battle and it was a hoot. Lovable hero, El Generico vanquishing mega-pillock Steen was a thing of beauty.

The aftermath of this led to the last really interesting thing that ROH ever did. Steen invading ROH as a face in 2011 against Cornette (who I'll belatedly add to the rare list of good heel authority figures) was a bag of fun and a hark back to the glory days of what was once the best promotion on Earth.

We got to see Kevin The Bastard again when he turned up in NXT and feuded with a guy who used a lot of similar moves to the now retired El Generico. It was bloody brilliant too but it wasn't quite 2010.

If you haven't watched the run, do dig it out. And if you do, give Kev a big "Fuck You" from me.

ROSS CASEY - JIMMY HAVOC'S PROGRESS TITLE REIGN

When i went to my first PROGRESS show - chapter 13 - I only knew of the wrestlers that I had previously seen at the York Hall wrestling for Rev Pro. So my first introduction to Jimmy Havoc was absolutely enlightening.

I was so used to being at live shows and booing a heel, regardless of whether they were good at their job or not, that this rush of genuinely being scared of someone felt completely new and exhilarating.

During the chapter, Havoc tried to cut Will Ospreay's ear off with a knife whilst parading around the ring with a nazi staff and hairdo. I'm not saying that is what he was portraying, but it certainly added the the aura of evil about him. That and the cutting.

I was in. I have barely missed a PROGRESS show at the Electric Ballroom since, and Jimmy was a huge reason why. As the lights turn red and AFI started, 700 ultras all stood in unison, turning their back to him and offering him two middle fingers.

He absolutely revelled in it, seemingly willing to take on anyone in the building, getting in the any fan's face and when they were met with those cold dead eyes, they soon backed away in fear.

You know the feeling you get at a football match where things can kick off at any minute, which is both terrifying and exciting at the same time? That's what Jimmy Havoc brought to wrestling for me.

He made it real. When Jimmy entered the Ballroom during his PROGRESS championship reign, shit went down. It was magic. Terrifying, but magic. Thank you for the memories, Jimmy.

SHAFI - VINCE MCMAHON

"Whatever happened to

All of the heroes?

All the Shakespearoes?

They watched their Rome burn

Whatever happened to the heroes?

No more heroes any more

No more heroes any more"

When the Stranglers released "No More Heroes", little could they have known it would be a prophecy for the plight of the babyface during the Monday Night Wars. This boom period would see not only the death of WCW and ECW but also the role of the hero in professional wrestling.

In 1996 Hulk Hogan was two years into his run with WCW. His act hadn't changed for more than a decade and fans started to boo him as they grew tired of the character that had taken wrestling to heights never before seen. The writing was on the wall. Drastic change was needed.

At Bash At The Beach '96, the unthinkable happened. The all American hero Hulk Hogan turned his back on the fans and formed the New World Order. Hollywood Hogan was born and the face/ heel dynamic was destroyed forever.

The NWO popularised the idea of 'cool' heels. Living through that time period was incredible but in retrospect it ruined wrestling in a lot of ways and caused damage that is yet to be repaired. Wrestling has always worked best when the crowd are united in their love for one party and their hate for the opponent.

The NWO were clearly the villains. They respected no one, viciously assaulted other wrestlers and tried to destroy WCW.

Yet compared to the heroes the NWO were fresh, they brought a less hokey approach to wrestling and they incorporated influences from popular culture that appealed to the much coveted young adult male demographic. The NWO became more popular than the faces.

Being a good person was no longer enough to earn the favour of the crowd. When a smiling Rocky Maivia debuted at Survivor Series '96 and was victorious, history suggested it would be the start of a long and fruitful run as a blue chipper babyface. Yet within months poor Rocky would receive death threats and be booed out of arenas all over America. The role of the hero was dead.

The likes of Sting and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin would reach the highest points of their careers as they adapted to the times and became hugely popular anti-heroes. Vince Russo would famously opine there was no such thing as black and white anymore and that everyone should be a shade of grey.

This approach to characters would be prevalent for the duration of The Monday Night Wars and deep in the Ruthless Aggression era. In many ways it died with Eddie Guerrero and his "Lying, Cheating, Stealing" gimmick in late 2005.

John Cena, who had found his way to the top of the card as an edgy rapper, would revert to being the classic cheesy babyface shaking hands and kissing babies as he preached about "Hustle, Loyalty and Respect".

WWE's decision to resurrect the hero archetype that they had been hugely responsible for helping to kill off was less than successful. Trying to make fans forget everything they had seen in the preceding decade was like trying to get toothpaste back in the tube and Cena received a mixture of cheers and boos everywhere he went.

Rather than adapt to this as they would have previously, WWE decided that now they had a monopoly they were happy to accept their main star not being universally revered.

WWE's stance has remained unwaivered for the past 14 years and has marred the legacies of John Cena and Roman Reigns amongst others. WWE appear unable to write a likeable hero anymore and we find ourselves in a situation like 1996 where the villains are cooler than the heroes because they are not neutered in the same way.

It's now very difficult to get heel heat when the crowd not only don't sympathise with the babyface but in many cases actively dislike them. All heels now broadly fall into 3 distinct categories;

1. 'The Cool Heel' - In my opinion a cool heel is not really a heel at all but another version of the anti-hero. You've probably followed their career before they made it to WWE and want to see them succeed on a national stage. On Twitter and podcasts it's clear that they are thoroughly decent human beings.

Despite playing the role of the villain a large portion of the crowd are rooting for them due to a combination of their wrestling ability, attitude and charisma. Cool heels are too entertaining to truly hate and this makes it difficult to support a protagonist against them. The likes of Chris Jericho are the perfect example of a cool heel.

2. 'The Unwatchable Heel' - To ensure that they do not fall into category 1 the 'unwatchable heel' makes themselves as unentertaining as possible. Their matches and movesets are uninspired and in promos they repeat the same nauseating shtick week after week. They are not cheered which gives the false impression that they are effective heels and thus they are forced down the audiences' throat even more.

They are desperate for boos but instead get clicks as everyone reaches for the remote control to save themselves the pain that further exposure to the 'unwatchable heel' would cause. Examples of this type of heel include HHH's reign of terror, JBL's title run, Baron Corbin' main roster career.

3. 'The Classic Heel' - The classic heel is the original villain that all of the audience booed. Before 1996 half of the roster in any given promotion fell into this category but now they are truly a rare breed. They are not indie darlings or funny podcasters. That is not to say that they are unskilled, in fact they are often highly skilled and watchable but their attitude overrides any positive feelings towards them as they are incredibly unlikeable.

Channels are not changed when they are on the screen for fear of missing them get their comeuppance. To me this is the only true type of heel and it is why my favourite heel ever is Mr McMahon.

During his record breaking feud with Stone Cold, Mr McMahon was subjected to some pretty terrible things. He was attacked on numerous occasions by Stone Cold (including with an anal thermometer whilst he recovered in hospital), his car was filled with cement, he had a gun pointed to his head that made him piss himself on the middle of the ring, manure was dumped in his office and he was almost drowned in a beer bath.

Despite all of this Mr McMahon was so good as a villain that at no point did ANYONE feel sympathy for him or like Stone Cold had gone too far. Before that could even cross anyone's mind he would pick up a mic and his condescending arrogance would have 15,000 people chanting "Asshole" in seconds.

Austin vs McMahon generated the biggest single year of business that WWE has ever done. That Mr McMahon isn't even a wrestler shows how great a villain he was. He was able to propel Austin to superstardom whilst also making the likes of The Rock into the second biggest act in the company via his close association with him in The Corporation.

Austin and Rock are of course two of the best ever. Perhaps a better example of Mr McMahon's ability to instill hate in a crowd is that he was able to make Bobby Lashley vs Umaga into a marquee match at Wrestlemania.

It was the sort of match that if it was happening in your back garden you may be inclined to close the curtains. Yet with the promise that if Umaga lost Mr McMahon would have his head shaved the fans ate it up. Having people pay just for the hope that you may be humiliated is true heel heat.

I don't know where Vince McMahon ends and Mr McMahon begins. That only adds to the legend as there are many who have said that the real man is far more evil than the character. When Vince is gone I'm not sure we will have any classic heels left.

There will be no more villains anymore.

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