Heels and faces don't exist in WWE anymore.

[IrkenInvader]

To quote http://www.thewrestlingfan.com/.html ranter Malcom Not in the Middle,
"Faces and Heels are a thing of the past, and do not exist, least not in the way they were traditionally in WWE. You know, I thought guys like The Million Dollar Man, Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, and Macho Man were awesome back in the day… but I understood why they were the bad guys. This is no longer true with WWE those roles are gone. Instead they are replaced by two new roles… Popular and Rejects.

Some of you are probably thinking “The Hell’s the difference?” Here’s the thing, Heroes do the right thing, and Villains do the wrong thing. Popular ones don’t necessarily care about right and wrong (In fact, they don’t care about logic either), they just do what the crowd wants them to do. Even if this means making a fool of themselves or attacking a reject for no reason. Rejects are typically voices of reason, and even point out the stupidity that goes on in WWE. However, they ruin the fun of the audience when they do this, as the crowd apparently loves stupid shit.

For example, Goldust (Popular) and Ted Dibiase (reject). Can anyone explain to me how Goldust is the good guy here? He literally just decided to go out and steal something that wasn’t his because he wanted it. He was never provoked, and Ted never acknowledged his existence for that matter. Nope, Goldust just stole the belt from Ted… which is fine, because Ted is a reject."

Do you guys think he is right?
I know I do.

[DarkSide]

I think Goldust has the right for the simple reason that he is awesome. (I rather him be in a nonsensical storyline than no storyline at all. Rhodes deserves more attention).

As for good guys/bad guys - you are right. The line is blurred. I miss the all-out nasty villians. I still laugh when I remember The Million $ Man kicking that kid's ball away. Priceless.

[Rassling_Fan]

So that means Nexus is Popular because they are practically beating up people for their own interest and is having John Cena as a slave while Cena is a reject for following the rules presented to him and trying to find loopholes to keep his job and his integrity?

There are still Faces and Heels. Some of them are more blurred then others but others are as clear as black and white. This is more example of the Attitude Era, where we cheered people who bloodied their bosses and make rude gestures to the audience and boo those who think of the children.

[Rich Cranium]

So that means Nexus is Popular because they are practically beating up people for their own interest and is having John Cena as a slave while Cena is a reject for following the rules presented to him and trying to find loopholes to keep his job and his integrity?

Yes, I cheer for Nexus especially Barrett when he tells Cena to get him some water.

[Mr. McMahon]

heels and face doesn't literally mean heroes and villains. They should use the terms Protagonist & Antagonist. Protagonist is the main character (can be a good guy or a bad guy, not always the hero), antagonist is the person that is feuding with the protagonist (can be a good or a bad guy, not always the bad guy... also it doesn't have to be a person, it can be a machine, nature, animal, etc...)

ex: HBK vs Cena in 2007, both were faces but were feuding with each other, this makes Cena the protagonist (champion) and HBK the antagonist.

Face's are fan favorite guys, they can still use dirty tactics but fans cheer them. Heels are boo'd by fans, they can win a match clean or dirty and are still boo'd. In real world, good guys do use shortcuts to get things done.

For ex, Arnold is the protagonist in Terminator 2, so we assume he is a good guy, yet he does harm a few innocent guys to get things done (the bar scene where he starts a fight, and when he shoots the security guard in the leg).

Just like that, faces can be good guys and use dirty tricks (eddie guerrero)

[MrNolan]

A face isn't always the guy that does the right thing. Its just the guy that the crowd cheers and wants to win. A heel is the guy that the crowd boos and wants to lose. When you try to break it down and analyze it all deeply and shit, you confuse yourself. Don't.

[johnadah]

True heel and faces haven't existed for a long time. There are still forms of the two. But, to say that a face is a crowd favorite and a heel is someone the audience hates is entirely inaccurate. Heels and faces only exist for an individual viewer until they reach a certain age and understanding of the business.

I have been a fan of Edge, Chris Jericho, Sting, HHH, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker for as long as I've seen them on television. Heel or face, it makes no difference. DX was a heel faction in its inception, yet the audience loved them and spent millions of dollars on their merchandise. Fans were also behindd the nWo, even though they were supposed to be heels. Cena is supposed to be Superman, but most fans over the age of 15 (men, specifically) hate the guy. The only reason Orton is a face right now is because WWE couldn't get fans to stop cheering for him. Fans cheer who they want. Jericho had to specifically ask not to be merchandised during his last run because he knew fans would still back him.

[Scottland]

There is still heels & faces but how that system works is simply by the fans. I mean Cena is suppose to be a face meaning the fans should cheer him on but yet the guy gets mixed reactions all the time. Then look at Orton, he was a heel but yet fans cheered for him & now, WWE had no choice but to put Orton in as a "face" somewhat because his popularity has grown tremundously & it's just getting bigger now. He' technically a tweener (anti-hero). There really is no exact description for the term "heel" & "face" when you really get down to it.

[Ruggy]

heels and face doesn't literally mean heroes and villains. They should use the terms Protagonist & Antagonist. Protagonist is the main character (can be a good guy or a bad guy, not always the hero), antagonist is the person that is feuding with the protagonist (can be a good or a bad guy, not always the bad guy... also it doesn't have to be a person, it can be a machine, nature, animal, etc...)

ex: HBK vs Cena in 2007, both were faces but were feuding with each other, this makes Cena the protagonist (champion) and HBK the antagonist.

Face's are fan favorite guys, they can still use dirty tactics but fans cheer them. Heels are boo'd by fans, they can win a match clean or dirty and are still boo'd. In real world, good guys do use shortcuts to get things done.

For ex, Arnold is the protagonist in Terminator 2, so we assume he is a good guy, yet he does harm a few innocent guys to get things done (the bar scene where he starts a fight, and when he shoots the security guard in the leg).

Just like that, faces can be good guys and use dirty tricks (eddie guerrero)

Very well put. IMO the good v evil nature died pretty much in the 90's.