This week's Friday Five is all about the heel, the rudo, the "bad guy". While wrestling promoters would often have you root for their babyfaces, heels on the Internet always get their share of love as well. So, in honor of the dastardly, the evil, the cowardly, here's a Friday Five dedicated to them:
1. Do you root for heels, and if so, when in your wrestling fandom did you start?
2. What is your favorite style of heel?
3. Do you think that that the roles of face and heel are too blurry today?
4. What was the dumbest heel turn of all-time?
5. Best heel of all-time... who is it?
1. Do you root for heels, and if so, when in your wrestling fandom did you start?
ReplyDelete-Certain heels, yes. I root for guys that entertain me, pretty much regardless of face/heel distinction. It was probably The Rock that started it, his charisma was so off the charts that it was impossible to hate the guy, but even as a kid I always liked watching guys like Mr. Perfect and Ted DiBiase.
2. What is your favorite style of heel?
-When done well with the right guy, a good ol' fashioned monster heel is fantastic. Early Vader in WCW, Undertaker for years and Samoa Joe's first six months or so in TNA are some of my favorite examples.
Other than that, there's really nothing so great as a well-executed smug, dick heel. The guy who's better than you and knows it, but still likes to worm his way out of adverse situations. Jericho and Edge can both play the role perfectly, so can Kurt Angle when he's not a total goof, but my two favorites are the way Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness were booked as heel champions in ROH. Brilliant.
3. Do you think that that the roles of face and heel are too blurry today?
-In WWE, not so much anymore, especially with the PG-ification of the WWE UNIVERSE~!. In TNA, hell yes. Most of the time when I have the chance to watch that show, I can't tell who the heel is and who the face is, or if there are heels and faces. Gotta love that Vince Russo.
4. What was the dumbest heel turn of all-time?
-The most recent bad turn I can remember is Matt Hardy at the Royal Rumble, and that's simply because they had to retcon about eight storylines to justify that and they only turned Matt because everyone had figured out it was supposed to be Christian in that role.
As for the worst of all-time? The litany of people joining the nWo comes to mind, especially Dusty Rhodes.
5. Best heel of all-time... who is it?
-For a whole career, based on what I've seen, it's really, really hard not to say Ric Flair. Flair (especially in the mid-to-late 80s, NWA, Four Horsemen days) played the cocky heel role in and out of the ring better than anyone else.
Over a short period, though, Bret Hart in 1997 during the U.S. vs. Canada angle from the turn at WM 13 all the way through Montreal. He was a gigantic heel in the US, but that made him an even BIGGER babyface in his home country.
1. Do you root for heels, and if so, when in your wrestling fandom did you start?
ReplyDeleteI root for whoever gets into the ring and fully entertains me. Heel or face. I'll say that heels are usually more entertaining.
2. What is your favorite style of heel?
The loud-mouth braggart.
3. Do you think that that the roles of face and heel are too blurry today?
Watch 1995-96 era WCW Nitro and you will see some jumbled faces/heels.
4. What was the dumbest heel turn of all-time?
I absolutely dare you to find me a dumber heel turn than Goldberg turning heel at the 2000 Great American Bash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0UrhNhnLgg
5. Best heel of all-time... who is it?
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper