What it is fine readers!
I’ve sort of started to get into the swing of this writing thing now (I think?), so here’s this week’s diatribe – IT PAYS TO BE RUDE! Recently, I can’t help but notice the amount of love the crowd has for the heels.
The WWE has The Wyatts, Bad News Barrett, Cesaro, Rusev (although that’s probably because of Lana), AJ Lee and of course, Brock Lesnar – although I suspect that guy’s gonna get some hate when he returns after not only breaking the Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak at WrestleMania 30, but our hearts along with it. TNA have Bobby Roode, James Storm, Abyss, Magnus, The Beautiful People and, until recently, Bad Influence, who are a perfect example of the whole point I wanna make.
Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian came out week in, week out and did what they do best – march to the ring, Appletini in hand, and act better than everyone.
They were one of the main reasons to tune into Impact, whether they were dressed up like Sherlock Holmes trying to solve the mystery of the missing Abyss, or their fantastic “What to do when you meet Bad Influence” vignette. If you’ve not seen that yet, get on YouTube and do it…now!!!
I said before that they were the perfect example of my point because they went out doing whatever they liked, however they liked to do it. They’d come out every week and verbally bitchslap all the big-name babyfaces in the company, some of their fellow heels and even the crowd themselves, but the fans ate it up and loved every second!
A babyface can’t come out and do things like that, especially in the wonderful PG world of WWE. A babyface must appear wholesome and forthright, stick to the rules to overcome adversity and eat their vegetables, say their prayers and take their vitamins. Blah, blah, blah…
The good guys are restricted in what they can do to stay good. They have restrictions that the bad guy just doesn’t, which makes it more enjoyable to watch and root for the bad guy. They do what is necessary to win be that (to coin a great man’s phrase) lying, cheating or stealing.
The unpredictability of the heel makes him more fun to watch. You just can’t predict what nefarious means they’ll employ to get the win.
I can only recall there being one “bad guy” in the past who ended up being so loved as a heel and that’s the original “bad guy” – Razor Ramon. He didn’t pretend to be nice. He just did whatever it took to win, and the crowd appreciated it.
There’s another group that I need to make mention of, and that’s the anti-heroes – guys like The Shield, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Austin Aries and Bully Ray.
Wrestlers who sort of have the love of the crowd forced on them, even though they’re neither heel nor babyface. They just kind of float between the two as and when they feel like it, but they’ve always got the adoration of the crowd.
It doesn’t matter who Bully Ray’s in the ring with when there’s a table about. He could powerbomb your mum through one and you’d still cheer. Dolph Ziggler is one of the most-loved superstars around, in spite of what the powers-that-be have tried to do to him. They seem to be actively trying to ruin this guy, but his natural talent and his love for what he does shines through. The crowd recognize that, and appreciate it.
I guess the point I’m trying to make in all of this is that, in this day and age, no-one really cares about good and bad in the ring anymore. It’s all about who entertains you the most.
With the restrictions on what a good guy is willing, or able, to do in order to win, all the really fun stuff – the underhand tactics and, in some cases, the downright sadistic extremes that we all love to see – comes from the heels and therefore, they’re the men who get the major buzz and props from the crowd.
It’s all about rules. Babyfaces have them, and heels love to break them. As any female will tell you, we all love a bad boy.
Well, once again, it’s been a pleasure writing for you all.
Peace out,
Sparky Plug
SLTD Wrestling brings you all the greatest wrestling content. from blogs, to podcasts to exclusive Predictions and Fantasy Leagues.
Recent Comments