Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialTop 10 Greatest Heels In Wrestling History!

Top 10 Greatest Heels In Wrestling History!

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Who are the best heels in the business past and present? Today i’d like to look at some of the wrestling industries best heels. Heels need to exist to provide a the fuel for the face wrestlers and you may not know this but it’s harder to play the #1 heel of the company than it is the face, as you have to get the whole audience against you. Heels are typically opposed by their opposites, the “baby-faces” who are heroic crowd favorite “good guy” characters.

No managers will feature in this list as this is a list of “heel wrestlers”. There have been heels that have failed to get the audience to truly hate them, due to a lack of charisma, poor mic skills, or many other reasons.Most made this list because they knew how to get the fans to hate them, but above all they are all some of the best performers this business has ever seen.

#10 CM Punk

Punk was one of the top villains in WWE of his era in which he had several effective heel runs, including when he founded the “S.E.S” (Straight Edge Society), a stable committed to the straight-edge life while putting down anyone who used drugs or abused alcohol.

One of CM Punk’s biggest heel moments came in 2010, before his match with Rey Mysterio at a WrestleMania event. Rey came out to the ring with his wife and kid, CM Punk interrupted with the rest of the Straight Edge Society. Punk told Rey’s kid, Dominick, how he would destroy his father and told Rey’s wife that she looked “beautiful and voluptuous.”

However, the biggest heel moment came when Punk sang “happy birthday” to Rey’s daughter Aalyah, something that was beyond normal levels of CM Punk creepiness it looked wierd. Another time was his feud with The Undertaker as CM Punk stole the recently deceased Paul Bearers ashes.
Punk was also known to generate a ton of heat in his R.O.H days, one time he punched a fan in the face.

#9 Seth Rollins

WWE’s top heel right now, and he’s admittedly happy that you hate his guts. Seth was annoyingly irritating wasn’t he? The boring monotone voice, his silly hair, sarcastic in-ring promo’s and those annoying facial expressions. Go on admit it! most of you hated Seth before his untimely injury and now he’s not there he is sorely missed. Whilst Seth was there he took a page out of both Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrero’s books. Seth’s heel work this year was absolutely outstanding. He would Lie Cheat and Steal his way to victory at any cost all the while becoming the new dirtiest player in the game.

Unfortunately he is out of action at the moment with injury. Seth’s injury was so severe that he will be out of action for up to 9 months.

#8 Ric Flair

“To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. “WOO” Sixteen-time world champion. One of the best heels of all time. To some of you guy’s maybe he’s the best.
The Nature Boys gimmick was a carbon copy of Super Star Billy Graham’s, but Flair worked it better in my opinion. He was NWA Champion eight times and almost cheated his way through every single one those title reigns. He took a territory in Crockett Promotions, and helped turn it into a worldwide attraction all by himself. There is no one, and i mean no one past or present, who even comes close to what The Limousine-riding jet-flying son of a gun Ric Flair meant to this business, other guys worked hard to be hated and did a lot of the same things that Flair did but never gained the same success.

A great moment was when Flair double crossed Dusty Rhodes in 85 a different sort of ‘heel turn’, as Flair would hardly qualify as a babyface. In this instances a tweener, NWA Champion Flair retained the gold over Nikita Koloff inside a cage, and Koloff’s comrades laid a beatdown afterward. Rather than accept the gesture, Flair allowed Ole and Arn Anderson to jump Dusty, and the three broke his ankle inside the locked cage.

#7 nWo Hogan

Hulk Hogan is the most famous wrestlers/entertainers in history thanks to his time in the red and yellow Hulkamania days.
That all ended, he changed to the black and white colors of The NWO, when Hogan revealed himself as the third man of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall’s trio, which Hogan dubbed the New World Order (of Wrestling, brother). The wrestling world was flipped on it’s head.
Trash was thrown into the ring in disgust, Mean Gene was even hit with a can or two, a fan tried to enter the ring to attack his beloved now hated idol. All this because of one man, Hulk Hogan.

Hogan was turning his back on all his fans and becoming the biggest heel in the business to date. No one really knew how well Hogan would be accepted at a Heel, especially Hogan himself. But what was produced was pure gold, literally! What resulted was the NWO, the 80+ week lead in the ratings, and WCW becoming the most successful wrestling company in the world, WCW was on fire.

Hogan worked great as a heel. He was a world-class jerk to the fans and the rest of the on-screen talent. Some fans also disliked Hogan for his real-life, backstage politicking and desire to keep himself at the top of the mountain at the expense of everyone else.

#6 The Rock

When Rocky Maivia debuted in WWE the crowd instantly took to the 3rd generation star, he began to gain popularity immediately, he was the new guy in town. Somehow this attitude changed down the line, he was met with a chorus of “die, Rocky, die.” chants. No matter what he did, or how much he smiled, he simply could not do anything to make the fans happy.

As heel Rock, he had the ability to vent his frustrations on the crowd, saying everything he wanted to say, without fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. In other words, he was allowed to be human. Being able to sell himself and his match on the mic and being truly hated while doing it is not always easy, but Rock became a true professional at doing just that.

The better he became, the more his star rose, and the more his ego exploded as a heel. When a wrestler is considered one of the best, it opens the door for him to turn on everything and everyone who helped make him because he begins to feel that perhaps he is too big to need the support of fans. This works for The Rock every time he turns heel. Like when The Rock joined The Corporation. One of the more memorable moments of their feud was when the Rock threw Stone Cold, and his belt, off a bridge. He was so charismatic on the mic that he left you hanging off of every word, and he drew more and more disgust from the fans every week because he could put them down in a manner never before seen. His catchphrases are still infectious and are often quoted in day-to-day life,

His heel turn would eventually come to an end during his feud with Austin. His popularity had increased so much that he became the peoples champ once again.

The Rock’s run as the corporate champion though, remains one of the best heel turns in WWE history and proved how well the Rock could play both the face and heel characters.Then, Rocky had a change in attitude, and became The Rock. When that happened, his career took off. There was no comparing the two characters, they were as different as day and night. The rest his history.

#5 Triple H

The chairman of the boards son in law as had a stellar career. Mostly whilst playing the heel. Triple H was revealed to be the man behind Stone Cold getting run over just before to the main event of Survivor Series in 99. Austin was out of action for a lengthy period of time. The most significant part of Triple H’s reign was the retirement of Mick Foley, a beloved ring veteran that was annexed by the actions of the McMahon-Helmsley stable.

He also turned on his best friend Shawn Michael’s after Michael’s was found attacked in a parking lot. Heel Triple H is one of the best and frequently used his sledgehammer to win matches. But part of the reason fans disliked Triple H so much is their perception of him as an entitled prince of sorts. He married Stephanie McMahon, the boss’ daughter, in 2003 after years of an on-screen romance. Eric Bishcoff literally gifted him the World Heavyweight Championship in 2002 causing outrage among the wrestling community.

#4 “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Piper was the perfect enemy for Hogan in the 80s. He built his heel persona through his talk show, Piper’s Pit, in which he pissed off other wrestlers and more often than not brawled with them by the end of the segment. During one feud Piper painted his body half white half black in what many see as a racist shoot.
One of the most famous heel moments happened when Piper insulted Jimmy Snuka’s Polynesian heritage by decorating the set with coconuts, bananas and pineapples. He then smashed one of the coconuts over Snuka’s head and threw a banana at his face. Piper eventually feuded with Hogan and helped start the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection when he kicked singer Cyndi Lauper in the head. He faced Hogan at The War to Settle the Score on MTV. Which then led to his WrestleMania match with Hulk Hogan. Piper is the man that helped create the biggest face in wrestling history. Say what you want about Hulk Hogan and/or Vince McMahon, but Piper deserves just as much credit for the wrestling boom of the 1980s.

Sadly we lost Piper this year.

#3 The Undertaker

The Undertaker has always portrayed a darker mystery type character rather than an heel. He could play the part of evilness to perfection.There was never nor has there been anyone more evil than The Undertaker when he ran the Ministry of Darkness.

Taker was revealed as the main guy behind the MOD, he abducted Mideon and Viscera to join the Acolytes as his minions. One act of the stable among many was to hang the Big Boss Man from the steel cage whilst the cage lifted from the ground, horrific viewing. Another included Taker attempting to marry Stephanie McMahon after kidnapping Steph against her own will to complete his takeover of WWF. Taker claimed he was working on the order of a higher power, it was later revealed that McMahon was that higher power. The two factions joined together as the Corporate Ministry. Others times included burning Stone Cold Steve Austin on the Undertakers cross, at first Austin rejected the storyline but nether-the-less went through with it on the orders of Vince McMahon. Austin states he regretted the decision ever since.

#2 The Iron Sheik

It’s not hard to get heat from the crowd when you just flat out hate on the American citizens.As i stated above The Iron Sheik teamed with Nikolai Volkoff as the Foreign Legion.
Sheik was also the man who ended Bob Backlund’s nearly six-year streak as WWE Champion.
If you’re missing Shiek. You’ll find him having some comedic twitter rant at anything and everything on a daily basis. Sheik still makes short but sweet appearances for WWE.

#1 Vince McMahon

Vince became an on-screen bad guy in 97′ when he prevented Bret The Hitman Hart from going to his most hated rivals WCW with the WWF Championship Belt via the Montreal Screwjob. Bret refused to the job to Shawn in front of his home crowd, so Vince screwed his ass into self pity. Bret’s still bitter to this very day!

Then came Austin, Vince truly elevated himself into the top ten of my list when he had his famous feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin during Attitude Era. You would see things his way and do what he asked, or you’d be fired, arrested, or even possibly have to face him in a match.

No one learned this lesson better than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Vince McMahon was the biggest heel WWE has ever seen by now. If Austin is the best good guy in WWE history, and many would argue he is, then it’s only fitting that Vince would be one of the the greatest heels.

Not only was Vince deliciously evil, and has the face of the devil. He legitimately had all the power over the whole

Honorable mentions: Abdullah the Butcher, Eddie Guerrero, Muhammad Haasan Brock Lesnar, Jake Roberts, Kane and Nikolai Volkoff.