Heel

In wrestling, a heel is a villain character. Heels are portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner, breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of their opponents outside of the bounds of the rules of the match. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are often the "bad guys" in pro wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a face (crowd favorite). Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms.

The term "heel" is most likely is derived from a slang usage of the word that first appeared around 1914, meaning "contemptible person". The Spanish term, used in lucha libre, is "rudo".

Common heel behaviour includes cheating to win (e.g., using the ropes for leverage while pinning or attacking with foreign objects such as folding chairs while the referee is looking away), attacking other wrestlers backstage, interfering with other wrestlers' matches, and acting in a haughty or superior manner.

Once in awhile, faces who have recently turned from being heels will still exhibit some heel characteristics. For example, in TNA, The Naturals, though they turned face after the death of manager Chris Candido, sometimes still used the ropes for pins and used the megaphone of former manager Jimmy Hart to gain victories. Kurt Angle is also a good example; even after turning face for his feud with Mark Henry, at the Royal Rumble 2006, Angle used a steel chair, an exposed steel ring peg, and leverage from the ropes during his pin to get the victory over Henry.

Examples
While behaving as a heel is often part of a wrestler's gimmick, many successful heels fall into one or more categories:

Crazy heel
Definition: A raging madman, dangerous and unpredictable - may attack others for no apparent reason, or blame others for being "held back" from championship opportunities and other privileges. Sometimes psychotic behaviour is displayed.


 * Rowdy Roddy Piper
 * The Sheik
 * Ox Baker
 * George "The Animal" Steele
 * Brian Pillman (loose cannon gimmick)
 * Terry Funk
 * Bob Backlund - 1993 - 1996
 * Johnny Nitro - early 2007
 * Luna Vachon
 * Victoria
 * Mickie James - Early to mid 2006
 * Sid Vicious
 * Stone Cold Steve Austin - 2001
 * Mankind - 1995 to 1998
 * Abdullah the Butcher
 * Billy Kidman
 * Eugene - 2006
 * Owen Hart - 1998
 * Heidenreich
 * Kane
 * Bruiser Brody
 * TARU
 * Edge - late 2004 to mid 2005 and mid 2007
 * Eddie Guerrero - mid 2005
 * Chavo Guerrero, Jr. - 1998 in WCW
 * Chris Benoit - mid 2002
 * Abyss
 * Ken Shamrock - 1998 - 1999
 * Raven
 * Snitsky
 * R-Truth - 2012
 * Mike Knox
 * Chris Jericho - 1998 in WCW, mid 2001 for WWF
 * Kurt Angle - mid 2004
 * Sabu - in ECW
 * Jillian Hall - first heel run in WWE.
 * Daniel Bryan - Late 2011-Mid 2012 (Now is the opposite of AJ Lee)
 * AJ Lee - December 16 2012-June 30 2014 (Was a crazy face variation from April 2012 to then)
 * Randy Orton - Late 2008 - 2009
 * Paige - July 21 2014-present
 * Taryn Terrell - April 24 2015-present
 * New Jack
 * Necro Butcher
 * Toby Klein
 * Balls Mahoney

Comic heel
Definition: A person with a dark comic gimmick.


 * Kurt Angle
 * Edge and Christian
 * Adrian Street
 * Randy Savage (as Macho King)
 * King Booker
 * Vince McMahon
 * Eddie Guerrero
 * Right to Censor
 * John Cena
 * Hornswoggle
 * Molly Holly - 2002 to 2004
 * Rico
 * Jonathan Coachman
 * The Rock - 2003
 * Al Snow
 * Doink the Clown
 * Matt Striker
 * Alex Shelley
 * Jillian Hall - second heel run in WWE
 * Santino Marella
 * Chavo Guerrero, Jr. (as Kerwin White)
 * Chris Jericho (during most of his heel runs from 1999 to 2005)
 * Jerry Lawler
 * Owen Hart (early run as the Blue Blazer, 1999)
 * Damien Sandow - 2014 - Present
 * Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco as Vince McMahon's "Corporate Stooges"
 * Brian Christopher - 1997 - 1998
 * Goldust
 * Bobby Heenan
 * Val Venis
 * Kizarny
 * The Brian Kendrick
 * Team LayCool
 * The West Texas Rednecks
 * Billy and Chuck
 * The Honky Tonk Man
 * Jimmy Hart
 * Brother Love

Monster heel
Definition: An unstoppable juggernaut who squashes his or her opponents.


 * Gorilla Monsoon
 * Yokozuna
 * Giant Gonzalez
 * Umaga
 * Big Van Vader (1994)
 * Sylvester Terkay
 * Rhyno
 * Kamala
 * King Kong Bundy
 * Tazz
 * The Great Khali
 * Kane
 * Big Show
 * The Undertaker
 * Brock Lesnar
 * Chyna - 1997 - 1999
 * Snitsky
 * Batista
 * Aja Kong
 * Rhonda Singh
 * One Man Gang
 * Earthquake
 * Bull Nakano
 * Naoya Ogawa
 * Test
 * Mark Henry
 * Samoa Joe
 * Abyss
 * Shaniqua
 * The Esperanza
 * Awesome Kong
 * Beth Phoenix
 * Rusev
 * Big Daddy V
 * Vladimir Kozlov
 * Kurrgan
 * Ryback
 * Kōji Kitao
 * Haku
 * Ezekiel Jackson
 * Big E Langston
 * Mason Ryan

Facts
Sometimes, monster heels violently "injure" other wrestlers (sometimes through rulebreaking tactics), terrorize valets (injuring them on occasion), and commit other extremely heinous acts in order to set up a feud with a promotion's lead face. One example is the feud between The Giant and Hulk Hogan in 1995 when The Giant broke Hogan's neck. Another example is when The Undertaker was behind a reign of terror that led to his feud with Steve Austin in 1999. Also, during Kane's heel runs, he often targeted innocent people such as Jim Ross, Linda McMahon, and Lilian Garcia.

Egotistical heel
Definition: An obnoxious and self-important character who is arrogant or cocky; some wrestlers play on their own fame, achievements, or good looks.


 * "Macho Man" Randy Savage
 * Ted DiBiase
 * Superstar Billy Graham
 * Randy Orton
 * Ric Flair
 * Greg Valentine
 * Harley Race
 * Lex Luger
 * Paul Orndorff
 * Hollywood Hogan - 1996 to 2000
 * Shawn Michaels
 * Jimmy Garvin
 * Vince McMahon
 * Shane McMahon
 * Stephanie McMahon
 * Bryan Danielson
 * The Rock
 * Minoru Suzuki
 * Rick "The Model" Martel
 * Sensational Sherri
 * Gino Hernandez
 * Triple H
 * Brock Lesnar - late 2003 to 2004
 * D'Lo Brown
 * Jeff Jarrett
 * Chris Sabin - late 2006 to early 2007
 * Rob Van Dam
 * Chavo Guerrero
 * Edge
 * A.J. Styles - 2007
 * Christian Cage
 * Chris Masters
 * Robert Roode
 * John Cena - late 2002 to mid 2003
 * Alex Shelley
 * Monty Brown
 * Kurt Angle
 * Dawn Marie
 * Shane Douglas
 * Torrie Wilson
 * Melina
 * Sable
 * Trish Stratus
 * JBL - 2004 - 2009
 * Batista
 * Shelton Benjamin
 * Montel Vontavious Porter
 * Chris Jericho
 * Chris Benoit
 * Booker T
 * Ken Kennedy
 * Candice Michelle - surrounding the release of her Playboy cover
 * Michelle McCool
 * Jillian Hall
 * Gregory Helms
 * Kristal Marshall
 * MNM and their individual members
 * La Résistance and their individual members
 * Mike "The Miz" Mizanin
 * Cody Rhodes
 * Heath Slater
 * Alberto Del Rio
 * Lana
 * CM Punk
 * Mr. Perfect
 * Rick Rude
 * Marc Mero
 * Wade Barrett
 * Drew McIntyre
 * Damien Sandow
 * Dolph Ziggler
 * Seth Rollins
 * Vickie Guerrero
 * Paul Heyman
 * Eric Bischoff
 * Michelle McCool
 * Antonio Cesaro
 * Jack Swagger

Popular heel
Definition: a term in which the fans cheer for a wrestler who competes as a heel.


 * Steve Austin
 * Edge
 * "Macho Man" Randy Savage
 * Shawn Michaels
 * Chris Benoit
 * Superstar Billy Graham
 * Kevin Nash
 * Scott Hall
 * CM Punk
 * The Road Warriors
 * Mickie James
 * Chris Adams
 * Kurt Angle
 * Ric Flair
 * Owen Hart
 * Sting
 * Terry Funk
 * Kane
 * Monty Brown
 * The Undertaker
 * D'Lo Brown
 * The Rock
 * Trish Stratus
 * Mick Foley
 * Mr. Kennedy
 * Batista
 * Triple H
 * Eddie Guerrero
 * Chris Jericho
 * John Bradshaw Layfield
 * Christian Cage
 * Rob Van Dam
 * Sabu
 * Latin American Exchange
 * Randy Orton
 * John Cena
 * Alex Shelley
 * Fit Finlay
 * A.J. Styles
 * Tazz
 * Karen Angle
 * Natalya
 * Brock Lesnar
 * The Sandman
 * Mr. Perfect
 * Balls Mahoney
 * Dolph Ziggler

Facts
The Road Warriors, originally booed by the fans, gained new fans worldwide and eventually became faces around 1985 after they lost the AWA World Tag Team title to the team of Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal due to interference by the Fabulous Freebirds.

Chris Adams was booed heavily when facing any of the Von Erichs, but was wildly cheered when wrestling other heels during his September 1984-January 1986 heel run; Adams would still greet fans afterwards and sign autographs. He eventually became Texas' most popular wrestler after turning face in 1986, and the 5th most popular wrestler in the world overall by 1987.

Shawn Michaels is cheered by the fans in show of respect, as well as his "HeartBreak Kid" persona (except in Canada). Triple H is extremely popular despite displaying classic heel tactics and is cheered upon appearing.

Kurt Angle is widely considered as having been a heel for most of his career, but he wrestled a number of the best technical matches in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was often cheered out of respect.

Chants of "wooooooo" always echoed during Ric Flair's entrance even though he was a heel member of the Four Horsemen and Evolution.

Kane has also received cheers upon appearing or when delivering his chokeslam finisher, despite being a morbid and violent character.

The Undertaker has a large following despite his tendency to rough up opponents after a match has ended, especially if he is the loser.

The Rock is also frequently cheered (most notably at WrestleMania XIX) whether he's a face or heel, in large part due to his natural charisma.

Delinquent heel
Definition: A troublesome and disrespectful character who verbally and visually displays uncivilized conduct such as profanity, vandalism, violence and associated "criminal" behaviour. Sometimes the wrestler will harass or bully opponents and rebel against authority.


 * Wrestlers
 * Steve Austin
 * Diesel
 * Brian Pillman
 * John Cena
 * Rodney Mack
 * Jazz
 * Carlito
 * CM Punk
 * Sting - early career and briefly in 1999
 * The Rock - during his run as the leader of NOD
 * The Undertaker - in his Big Evil persona during the first half of 2002
 * Edge & Lita's "Rated-R Superstar" gimmick
 * Akira Maeda
 * Cactus Jack
 * SUWA
 * Super Dragon
 * The Sandman
 * New Jack


 * Tag Teams
 * The Road Warriors
 * The Nasty Boyz
 * APA
 * Three Minute Warning
 * Los Guerreros
 * The Two-Man Power Trip
 * The New Age Outlaws
 * Public Enemy


 * Stables
 * nWo
 * D-Generation X
 * Mean Street Posse
 * DOA
 * Los Boricuas
 * Voodoo Murderers
 * Latin American Exchange

Foreign heel
Definition: in United States wrestling, foreign heels are often portrayed as being anti-American


 * Russians
 * Nikolai Volkoff
 * Nikita Koloff
 * Ivan Koloff
 * Vladimir Kozlov
 * Rusev
 * Lana


 * Iranians
 * Iron Sheik
 * Muhammad Hassan
 * Khosrow Daivari


 * Canadians
 * Bret "the Hitman" Hart
 * Owen Hart
 * Christian
 * Edge
 * Test
 * Lance Storm
 * Team Canada


 * Japanese
 * Kai En Tai
 * Mr. Fuji
 * Yokozuna


 * Latin Americans
 * Latin American Exchange


 * French
 * René Duprée
 * Sylvain Grenier

Common heel tactics
The tactics of a kayfabe heel were perhaps best summed up by Jesse Ventura's famous quote: "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat." However, it can backfire and eventually lead to the heel's defeat. Such tactics include: Despite all the information given above, a face can also use some of these heel tactics as well as a form of counterattacking.
 * Using the ropes or grabbing the opponent's tights during pinfalls.
 * Sticking thumbs, throwing powder/salt, or spitting foreign substances into an opponent's eyes.
 * Removing the padding on turnbuckles to expose the steel underneath it, then smashing an opponent's head, face, or body onto it. During a steel cage match, smashing the opponent's face or body into the mesh also counts.
 * Use of concealed weapons (brass knuckles, rolls of coins, etc.). Some heels are less subtle when deciding to use a weapon, sometimes grabbing a chair from ringside in full view of the referee with no regard for the consequences.
 * Dragging an opponent's face across the top rope.
 * Low blows. Hard legal tactics, such as shoot kicks to the face, may also count if done repeatedly and with the intention to make the face wrestler look weak.
 * Utilizing an "arrogant pin," such as posing for or mocking the crowd while making a clearly ineffective pinfall attempt.
 * Holding a forearm down on an opponent's face during a pinfall attempt.
 * Lifting an opponent off the mat during a seemingly effective pinfall attempt (generally by pulling the opponent's hair) in order to continue the match (and to continue "beating up" on the opponent).
 * Bringing a valet, manager, or another wrestler to the ring who helps the heel with cheating.
 * Using the outside of the ring to rest, or ducking into the ropes to slow the match down.
 * When defending titles, intentionally getting himself/herself disqualified or counted out to lose the match without dropping the title that the wrestler is defending.
 * Insulting the fans or mocking the city in which he or she is performing during promos. Heels might also mock local sports teams who have suffered disappointing results.
 * Assaulting the opponent after a match, or interfere in a rival's match in an attempt to cost them the win.
 * Purposely getting themselves counted out in order to avoid a clear pinfall loss.