Riddle me this, dear internet reader – when is a Heel not a Heel? Looking at the booking of WWE since SummerSlam, it has left me perplexed. The word Heel is a noun, and is defined as :
“a wrestler who adopts a mean or unsympathetic persona in the ring.”[ref]
Recently, Braun Strowman and Becky Lynch have both been portrayed as a heel. If we look at the definition, then Strowman and Lynch are both Heels. However, the reaction from the crowd is that of a babyface. The word babyface (again, a noun for you wordsmiths) is defined as :
“a wrestler who adopts a likeable or sympathetic persona in the ring.”[ref]
This definition is much more fitting for Strowman and Lynch. They are both very likeable personas in the ring and the crowd has sympathy for them. So in today’s episode in the chronicles of WWMD, I look at Strowman and Lynch and compare them to a true heel.
Braun Strowman : Not a Heel
At the closing of Raw, Strowman was booked as a heel. He was shown siding with the current Heel tandem of Ziggler and McIntyre. Whilst his actions were meant to be heel-ish, the reaction from the crowd was the complete opposite. He turned on his tag partner. Then he let the opposistion help beat down his tag partner. Finally, he raised his arms with Ziggler and McIntyre. These are all totally heel-ish antics, but the crowd wasn’t buying it.
The logic behind it makes no sense either. Yes, WWE want Roman Reigns to be the top babyface. It’s painfully obvious. However, every reaction Strowman gets is like watching the Attitude Era all over again.
Becky Lynch : Not a Heel
Since the post-match attack at SummerSlam, Becky Lynch has been portrayed as a heel. I thought, at the time, it was smart booking. The crowd was massively on Lynch’s side during the match and it was a way to save her as she didn’t win the title. Just a one off I thought. However, since then she has been booked as a heel. The post match attack on Flair last night at SmackDown shows this. But once again, the crowd wasn’t buying it.
As with Strowman, Lynch is a good face who is now being pushed as a heel. Why? Having watched the video above, you can clearly see the crowd is on her side, despite her heel-ish mannerisms. It makes no sense at all. Due to this, on Twitter fans are already making the comparison to Strowman and Reigns and saying that Charlotte is the new Reigns.
Samoa Joe : 100% Heel
And here we have the comparison to Lynch and Strowman – Samoa Joe. Samoa Joe is a true heel, booked in a sensible way and a consistant way. Yes, he’s popular. Yes, he sells merchandise. When he cuts a promo though, people react to his heel-ish antics.
Closing thoughts
WWE need good guys and bad guys. They have a ying and yang relationship. They are both needed in measure with each other to balance them out. However, the turning of different wrestlers need to be looked at. If the crowd aren’t going to buy into it, then don’t do it. There are plenty of wrestlers without storylines. No chance of getting over with the crowd. The WWE roster is huge. Use the roster as indepth as possible to keep things fresh.
Recent Comments