How to become a 'Heel' character in the WWE

A face, babyface is a heroic character booked by the company or promotion (WWE) with the aim of being cheered by fans. He is always expected to ‘be good and do good’. He will follow all the rules layed down by the company and will always look to respect the referee, opposition and the crowd. And, If you do the exact opposite, you become a ‘HEEL’.

From the likes of Iron Sheik to Ted DiBiase and JBL to Randy Orton, the top heels have had a memorable outing in this business. They are the actual ones who spur the crowd to voice out their opinions. Simply put, babyfaces don’t exist without heels.

So, now that we ascertained how important being an anti-hero character is, let us look at how a wrestler can actually be one.

Diss off the crowd

The Simple and most effective way to become a heel instantly is to annoy and diss off the WWE universe. There are a variety of things that are used to attract their ire and superstars over the years have got it all covered for you.

Mocking ‘physical features’ of the audience, making fun of the home state/ their sport team, distinguishing them on the basis of occupation/ economic condition or just blaming them for not supporting ‘yours sincerely’ are some of the commonly used points.

Di Biase criticized them for being poor, Rick Rude mocked them for being ugly, Batista vented out at them for supporting Cena and JBL did all of these combined. So, step 1 to becoming a heel is to get under the skin of the WWE universe.

Anti - USA

There is always one ground rule you never break in the WWE. You never ever disrespect the land of the free, the home of the brave, the biggest babyface of them all, the United States of America!! The moment you even venture close to doing this, the WWE universe will strike you with all their vocal vengeance.

Superstars like the Iron Shiekh, Rusev, Wade Barrett, Bret Hart etc made legendary heel transformations owing to their anti-American rants. Whether it was America’s political standpoint or the way it treats the immigrants, the WWE has made great use of the ‘anti-American’ movement to spur the careers of the bad guys.

Even legends like Sgt Slaughter faced the brunt of the WWE universe when his character switch made him support Iraq, a move that surprised every wrestling fan and one that was considered too bold for its time.

So, if you hate the U.S.A, then you are their number one enemy.

Disrespect legends

There is nothing more exciting than seeing a WWE legend return to the squared circle. Fans would pay anything to watch these yesteryear legends return to the WWE in any capacity and give them all a feel of nostalgia.

So, how does a young breakout star manage to get some heat and some recognition in the big bad world of WWE? Simple, attack someone that everybody loves, a WWE legend. Stars like Chris Jericho, the legend killer Randy Orton, Mark Henry etc did just the same and catapulted their ‘bad boy’ image to greatness. The casualties range from Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Sgt Slaughter, Jimmy Snuka to even Hulk Hogan.

The WWE has often used this as a launch pad to put over young stars and it has certainly worked wonders for them.

Attack a babyface

Another easy way to be marked out as the bad guy is to simply go out and attack the good guy. With or without motive. The scenario includes three steps.

Step 1 – identify the good guy. For this, look for a superstar that the crowd loves. Someone with characteristics similar to a Rey Mysterio or John Cena should fit the bill.

Step 2 – Find the right moment to attack. When the babyface guy accomplishes something and is celebrating or is on the verge of accomplishing, go ahead and spoil it for him. Make a name for yourself when the crowd least expects it. Nothing like doing it on Wrestlemania though.

Step 3 – Go out the next night on RAW and owe an explanation. Thus begins a feud leading up to the next PPV. Easy and effective.

Play second fiddle to the top heel

You need not necessarily be ‘the bad guy’ to attract some heat. Being one among them too will fit the bill. For example, look at J&J security in the recent times. Two guys dressed in tuxedos who just offer protection to the champion Seth Rollins. They don’t mean harm, but they are a hated bunch indeed. Every time they get beat up, the fans love it and nobody argues.

This concept kickstarted somewhere in the attitude era when a lot of factions came into existence. All those siding with DX were deemed good and all those guys who aligned with the corporation were the bad guys. Despite Vince McMahon and the Rock being the top heels at the time, superstars like the Big Bossman and Ken Shamrock too faced the heat.

So, here ends the list of five fool proof ideas to get over as the bad guy in the WWE. Echoing Razor Ramon’s words, ‘Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do’.