WWE wrestlers who were born to be heels
Playing a heel is an amazing skill and these names stand out as some of the best heels in recent memory.
In the world of WWE, faces and heels are often a key component of what makes a storyline so epic.
Much like every Batman needs a Joker and every Hamlet needs a Claudius, every great wrestling hero needs an awesome villainous foe. It’s a huge part of the art of great storytelling and the art of storytelling thrives on the battle of good vs. evil.
Moreover, if the heel is booked as a lovable loser or the babyface is written to be portrayed as a bully, the narrative of the story will oftentimes make no sense.
While the superstars featured in this article have shown that they’re more than capable of playing the hero when it counts, let’s look at a few superstars who are much better suited as heels.
Sasha Banks
She’s The Boss. The Standard. The Blueprint!
As cliché as it sounds, Sasha Banks has become one of the most decorated professional wrestlers on the planet. The former seven-time women’s champion was one of NXT’s brightest stars back in the black and gold era.
But being a goodie two shoes and playing the nice girl role isn’t what fans remembered her for back then. She was a wrestler who knew how good she was and it never seemed like a front or that she was just trying to fake it for the camera. When you stop and think about it, that aspect hasn’t changed much.
Many have said that Sasha Banks and Bayley practically carried the WWE on their backs during the pandemic era. Looking back at their bouts with Asuka, Charlotte, and the rest of the women’s division at the time, it’s quite easy to see why.
Nowadays, it doesn’t matter whether the boss is the heel or face in the fans’ eyes as evident by the reaction she gets any time she appears on WWE’s programming.
The Miz
While The Miz is a class act outside of the squared circle, there’s just something about seeing the former two-time WWE Champion get what’s coming to him that’s just so damn satisfying.
If you’re seeking an example, look no further than last year’s Elimination Chamber event when he cashed in Money in the Bank to capture his 2nd world title. There, he defeated Drew McIntyre with the help of Bobby Lashley.
It was soon revealed that The Miz persuaded The All-Mighty into helping him by offering a title shot. As you may have recollected, The Miz went to great lengths in regards to evading Lashley’s title match, and this honestly made for great TV.
Lashley eventually defeated The Miz on the March 1 edition of Raw to capture his first WWE Title, but it’s safe to say that defeating The Miz to do so made it that much sweeter.
The Rock
So, did you really think you’d ever see someone as beloved and admired as The Rock on a listicle like this? If so, then please allow me to inform you that IT DOESN’T MATTER… but seriously.
Early in his WWE career, fans showed their displeasure for a young Rocky Maivia via loud boos and chants of “Rocky sucks” every time he made his way down to the ring. This would all change when Maivia joined up with The Nation of Domination and officially became The Rock. While it may have taken a minute, fans eventually started to cheer for the great one despite him still playing the heel.
History would repeat itself in 2003, as after a brief hiatus from the company, The Rock would return to a thunderous ovation… of boos. Some fans felt The Rock had turned his back on them and that as soon as the doors opened up for him to go to Hollywood, he walked right in and forgot about them.
The Boos were short-lived as the crowd soon warmed back up to The Rock due in part to his new Hollywood persona. In both cases, every time the crowd turned on The Rock, turning heel made the fans love him.
Big Show
Standing at seven feet tall and weighing anywhere between 450 – 500 pounds; The Big Show was one of the most imposing and dominant superstars that WWE had ever signed.
While it’s easy to make fun of all the big man’s random heel/face changes throughout his tenure with the company, it’s just as easy to state that Big Show made a much more believable heel as opposed to a face. One such example of this would be none other than Big Show’s rivalry with the late, great Eddie Guerrero in 2003.
Seeing the look on The Big Show’s face after getting showered in feces was priceless, indeed. But watching him powerbomb Latino Heat through one of his patented lowriders just made you root for Eddie that much more.
It wasn’t just Big Show’s size that made him a believable bully back then, it was in his body language, it was the mic work… it was how he screamed like some real-life reincarnation of King Kong.
Randy Orton
Randy Orton was once an underdog babyface during his early years in WWE. This version was short-lived as he soon turned bad in 2002 and joined one of the most iconic factions in WWE history, Evolution.
In the group’s heyday, Orton played the young, brash, arrogant second-generation superstar who could not only talk about how great he was but back it up in the ring as well. A shining example here is his feud with the Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley.
The soon-to-be Viper gave Mrs. Foley’s baby boy a verbal beatdown for months on end, and while it’s rather common for the face to get their steam back in regards to the actual matches, this simply didn’t happen. Orton defeated Foley and The Rock with help of Batista and Ric Flair at WrestleMania 20. Moreover, he beat Foley again at Backlash with no help from Evolution.
Soon, the Legend Killer became The Viper.
During this time, Orton portrayed a ruthless and unstable villain who’d do just about anything to get inside a wrestler’s head in order to stay champion.
Whether it was punting someone’s father in the skull, kissing a superstar’s unconscious wife as she lies helplessly in the ring or a verbal assault on the mic; if it meant regaining or retaining a WWE Championship, Orton was willing to do it.
Playing a heel is a challenge, especially as fans continue to love the “cool heel persona.” These individuals have show they can play the version that fans love to hate and that stands out on the WWE roster.