6 of WWE's best heels from each era

Since the start of the 1980s, WWE has had so many talented heels. These are the Superstars/managers who could make any crowd boo them, any crowd taunt them, any crowd love to hate them, and most importantly, these are guys/women who could make their babyface opponents look like superheroes.

However, in this article, I have decided to give myself the next to impossible task of picking the best heel from each of WWE's main eras over the past 37 years.

Let's get started:

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#6 The Golden Age (1982-1993): Rowdy Roddy Piper

Roddy Piper

In my opinion, the late great Rowdy Roddy Piper is the greatest heel of all time, nevermind of just one era in WWE.

Piper's heel status skyrocketed when he famously smashed a coconut over the head of the largely popular babyface Jimmy 'The Superfly' Snuka on an episode of Piper's Pit. The crowd absolutely despised him for this, and Piper's impeccable mic work successfully continued to bring people to shows because they would pay to go to WWE shows just to boo him.

But the big payoff was his feud with Hulk Hogan, which saw them face off in a tag team main event in the first ever WrestleMania. Rowdy's ability to have the crowd totally against him meant he was the perfect guy to make Hulk Hogan popular and as WWE's top guy.

Hulk Hogan is now considered by many to be the biggest WWE draw of all time, because he made WWE a mainstream product. Whilst that is true, people forget that Piper was the catalyst which made Hulk Hogan such a big star. Roddy's antics made everyone instantly want to see someone punch him in the face, and so they got behind Hogan because he was the man that they thought would do it

No one could make babyfaces as popular over the years as Piper did. The man really had a gift of getting the most out of his opponents and himself, both in the ring and on the mic, Hogan just being one example. He was truly the Joker to any Batman of The Golden Age.

#5 The New Generation Era (1993-1997): Yokozuna

Yokozuna was a big bad giant that fans loved booing out of the building

The late Yokozuna maybe the most undervalued WWE anti-hero of all time. He was managed by the also late great Mr. Fuji, and was just someone fans loved to hate.

The reason why Yokozuna could make people hate him was because he was near unbeatable, and dominated most of his opponents, hence, fans hoped that every time when someone would step in the ring to fight him, this would be the occasion the underdog would overcome the odds and defeat the giant.

At WrestleMania 9, Yokozuna won the then WWF Championship title from Bret Hart with the help of Fuji, only to lose it to Hulk Hogan on the same night. But after regaining the title again from Hogan soon after, he then defended the title against Hart at WrestleMania 10. Bret managed to pull out all the stops and beat Yokozuna for the title, and the crowd went wild for "The Hitman".

This moment would have meant nothing if it wasn't for the fact that Yokozuna had created such an indestructible image of himself with the help of WWE's strong booking of the big man. Hart became the company's top guy after that, a testament to Yoko.

Yokozuna would create moments like that again, such as when Lex Luger bodyslammed him, which got a huge reaction from the fans too (although Luger did not capitalise like Bret).

WWE really struck a gem with Yokozuna, and I hope fans will remember that in the years to come. He was a villain fitting of his time.

#4 The Attitude Era (1997-2002): Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon's villainous ways made Stone Cold Steve Austin one of WWE's most popular Superstars ever

Vince McMahon, the chairman of WWE, is responsible for the creation of so many fantastic heels, but maybe there was not one he made better than himself. When McMahon decided to insert himself into his own storylines after the Montreal Screwjob in late 1997, we would have never guessed the greatness he was going to bring.

The fans despised him following the Screwjob, especially because McMahon refused to take responsibility for legitimately screwing Bret Hart out of the then WWF Title at Survivor Series 1997. So, Vince used this to create the 'Mr. McMahon' character, which was basically an exaggerated version of his real self.

Mr. McMahon would garner the boos and taunts from fans every week as he ruled over different WWE Superstars, bossing them about and trying to keep the WWF Champion as the person he wanted it to be.

This is where Stone Cold Steve Austin, the most popular WWE Superstar of all time, comes in. With Vince being this dastardly chief, he was the perfect person to get over anti-establishment rebel that was Austin.

McMahon, along with his two stooges, Pat Patterson and Gerald Briscoe, were great at being the butt of Austin's jokes, insults and beatings, whilst exacting his revenge by trying to prevent Stone Cold from winning the WWF Title.

Who can forget Austin attacking McMahon on Raw in a hospital, dressed as a nurse? Moments like this were so fantastically received by fans because they wanted to see McMahon get his backside handed to him because he was so evil and ruthless. This is what helped Austin become so well liked.

Together, the two made The Attitude Era the most entertaining WWE Era of all time, and helped the WWF best WCW in the TV ratings and beat them in the Monday Night Wars. McMahon's guts as Chairman is widely accepted as the reason for WWF -- as it was then known -- getting over the line, but I believe it was his guts on-screen which was the biggest contribution to his company.

McMahon's villainous character helped others like The Rock, DX and Mankind to become huge stars that are still cherished to this day.

Vince McMahon definitely was the best heel of the Attitude Era. And if you don't agree, well I have two words for you 'YOU'RE FIRED!'.

#3 The Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2008): Edge

Randy Orton and Edge were two of the best heels in their era

These two guys were just too hard to choose between. Both Randy Orton and Edge were two heels who were head and shoulders above the rest during the Ruthless Aggression era, but compared to each other, I think they were neck and neck.

However, as I am a person who does not like to give an indecisive answer, I will go with Edge as my choice as the Ruthless Aggression Era's best heel.

When Edge was paired with his then real-life girlfriend Lita after winning the first ever Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 21, the man set off on a heel run that no one will forget anytime soon. When Edge's relationship with Lita became public, it gained him a lot hatred from fans, because he had an affair with her whilst she was in a relationship with his friend and fellow WWE Superstar, Matt Hardy.

Despite many wrestlers in the locker room losing their respect for Edge, this was the greatest thing to ever happen to him, because it helped him find his dark side. Edge became this crazy, obsessive, brutal heel, and when WWE used the real-life beef between him and Hardy as a storyline, and Vince McMahon knew he had struck gold.

The "Rated-R Superstar" really came into a world of his own, especially after venom-filled matches with Matt, and he was great at shoving his victories both in bed and in the ring in the faces of fans.

Edge truly solidified himself as the company's top heel when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on a battered and bloodied John Cena at the New Year's Revolution PPV 2006, with the on-screen backing of Vince McMahon. The Edge and John Cena feud that ensued after this was my favourite John Cena feud of all time, and many would agree with me,

Their back and forth exchanges throughout 2006, before and after WrestleMania 22, were extremely intriguing and entertaining, with Edge's twisted and evil ways playing a big part in the success of the rivalry.

In 2007, Edge got the Money in the Bank briefcase again (this time by winning it off that year's Mr. Money in the Bank, Mr.Kennedy, in a singles match), and this led to one of the other great Edge feuds, as Edge left Raw for SmackDown and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on The Undertaker, defeating him for the World Heavyweight Title.

This led to these two feuding with each other for the next year or so (2007-2008), with Edge trying to cheat every possible way in order to retain his title.

During that year-long rivalry, Undertaker did manage to win it from the "Ultimate Opportunist" in the main event at Wrestlemania 24, in what was a match considered to be "The Deadman's" best WrestleMania match up to that point.

Edge's heel skills would continue to shine brightly until the very end of the Ruthless Aggression Era in mid-2008, with other feuds involving Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Batista and Rey Mysterio. He then turned face after returning from an injury in 2010, before his eventual forced retirement due to injury in 2011.

Edge's heel run throughout the Ruthless Aggression Era in WWE was a piece of art that will be hard to ever emulate. Edge was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, and deservedly so.

#2 The PG Era (2008-2014): Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is the best in the world at what he does

Even though Chris Jericho wasn't always with WWE during these years, when he was, Y2J could build a feud like no other, as a devious and conniving heel. Just as the PG Era began, Jericho was in the middle of an amazing feud with the legendary Shawn Michaels. This feud was a great example of how "The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla" could push the buttons of the WWE Universe in such an incredible way whilst also making his babyface counterpart seem so justifiably heroic.

Jericho's feud with wrestling legends, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper up until WrestleMania 25, tag team title run with Big Show as JeriShow (2009) and World Title rivalry with Edge were made so great by him upping his heel persona even more.

He did this by introducing new witty insults such as 'hypocrite' and 'parasite' into his promos, on opponents and crowds alike. It was a pity when he departed from the company in late 2010.

The good news though was that Y2J then came back to the WWE in 2012, as heel-ish as ever, and really put the babyface CM Punk over as a strong WWE Champion in their bitter back and forths. Jericho never lost a step.

The fact is, everything Jericho did as a heel in the PG Era was memorable, and I can't say that truthfully about anyone else. If only heels nowadays were like Jericho and cared more about getting their opponents cheered than themselves cheered. That is what a true heel should do.

#1 The Reality/New Era (2014-present): The Miz

The Miz is an A-list heel

If the word heel was in the dictionary, The Miz would be the only current WWE Superstar who could lay claim to having his picture put beside the word, and that is a huge compliment to him. The Miz always had the WWE Universe in the palm of his hand.

I have always thought The Miz was great, even during his much criticised 2010-2011 WWE Championship reign, because man, could he rub fans up the wrong way.

However, it is only now that fans really appreciate the guy's genius, and that is because ever since Maryse, his real-life wife, returned to the company in April 2016, The Miz has stepped it up a lot, and she has added a much-needed different dimension to his cowardly heel ways.

The real turning point though, was when in August of last year when he cut the promo of a lifetime following a heated exchange with current SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan. The Miz was finally getting the attention he deserved, and so was the IC Title. The "A-Lister" has since continued to mock Bryan repeatedly for the fact that he is not medically cleared to wrestle, which straight away gets fans on The Miz's back.

In the last year, The Miz has made the Intercontinental Title the most prestigious it has been in the last 17 years, and he has done that by bringing emotion, intensity and passion to every feud and match he is in. The Miz knows how to get the fans hate him better than anyone else, and he is very good at making his opponents look world-class.

The Miz has brought the best out of Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Jason Jordan and many other Superstars, on the mic and in the ring.

The Miz has now added more to his jetpack, with the duo of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas now by his side as The Miztourage. The way he uses them to keep his IC Title is definitely AWESOME, and it annoys fans so much, which is what a hell like him is supposed to do. Because The Miz can't win by himself, but with help, no one has managed to beat him for the title. This works up the fans as they want to see someone avenge The Miz's cheating ways.

The Miz will continue to be the top heel of our generation for years to follow, and make many babyfaces become crowd favourites in the prospect. The "A-Lister" is definitely a bad guy of Hollywood level, and I think he will become the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.