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The WWE is more of a soap opera-style wrestling promotion. It prefers storytelling over its 'Sport' part of the 'Sports Entertainment' moniker. This brings us to the tropes of heroes and villains, or babyfaces and heels if you will.
With time, the concept of 'Good' and 'Bad' has been blurred by the audiences. More talented and hardworking Superstars become popular, regardless of their alignment. In spite of that, there have been Superstars who have gotten over as heels in these changing times.
Every hero needs a worthy villain to gain purpose. In this article, we take a look at the greatest WWE heels of the decade. It is to be noted that the numbering of entries doesn't signify their position in the annals of pro-wrestling.
#5 Randy Orton
With a total thirteen World Championships to his name, calling Orton a legend would be an understatement. He is a Grand-Slam champion and has done everything possible in the WWE. Orton has played the role of a face and a heel numerous times throughout his tenured career.
That being said, it is common knowledge that even the man behind the character prefers working as a heel. His face runs never hit the levels of success he achieved being a heel. However, his body of work as a heel is tremendous. From being an entitled Superstar to vowing to end the career's of various legends, Orton has thrived as a heel.
His vicious punt kick, the protected RKO, his psychotic expressions, and snake-like movements made him a perfect fit to antagonize Superstars.
He peaked as a heel in his program with Triple H where he even attacked Stephanie McMahon. He was the perfect antagonist to Daniel Bryan's adored babyface character. Bryan's win over him and Batista at WrestleMania was a cathartic one.
Orton deserves credit for making himself hated and reviled by the WWE Universe in an age where they have become 'smart' and cheer the talent, regardless of their character alignment.
#4 The Miz
The Miz is a chameleon. Breaking into the business as a contestant from Tough Enough, The A-Lister has been one of the best talkers in WWE at the moment.
Even though he was not the most gifted guy inside the ring, he worked extremely hard to improve himself. He shuffled between the two personas a few times but found his footing as a cowardly heel.
The Miz is a revelation on the mic, and an underrated storyteller. He has now become an indispensable part of the company, owing to his astounding media appearances and mainstream publicity. He enjoyed the greatest phase of his career on SmackDown Live! when he cut a brutal promo on the then-retired Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack.
The fans were incensed, to say the very least. The Miz became the biggest heel in the entire wrestling industry.
He could draw a chorus of boos whenever he wanted, and his ring-work as a heel was also the work of a master. Cowardly and opportunistic, his talents soon elevated him to the top of the card.
While The Miz works as a face currently, his run has been mediocre at best. The fans will always react positively to his heel turn, whenever it happens.
#3 Tommaso Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa was a part of a beloved tag team known as #DIY alongside Johnny Gargano. These two battled together in exciting, fast-paced bouts against talented teams such as The Revival and American Alpha. Both were a part of the Cruiserweight Cup Tournament and impressed everyone with their ring-work.
Suffice to say, their team was loved by the Full Sail University audience. Tommaso Ciampa broke everyone's hearts when he ambushed Gargano and put him through a table. He was out of action for almost a year due to a knee injury.
When he returned, Ciampa was the most reviled person in the business. It was astounding to watch an audience so heavily booing a returning superstar. However, Ciampa soared on these jeers to rise to the top of the roster, winning the NXT Championship in the process.
He perfected his character by making minor tweaks, which helped a lot in the long run. He came out to no entrance music at all.
He refused to have his merchandise sold at stands, so that no one could try to support his evil ways. All this paid dividends as he had one of the most satisfying character arcs in NXT history.
#2 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar has been a major star ever since his debut. The Beast Incarnate has been a heel for a major part of his career. However, his heel performance peaked when he broke The Undertaker's fabled WrestleMania streak at New Orleans.
People hated him for that. Much of this hatred was because that would've been a great rub for a new and upcoming Superstar.
He soon reached a whole new level of villainy when he won the WWE Championship and held it hostage for a long time. He also did it with the Universal Title when he won it off Goldberg.
The lack of the main title on regular programming meant that the top Superstars were left spinning their wheels.
This caused a lot of booking problems too. Fans turned on the Beast and began serenading him with boos everywhere.
The WWE made this into a storyline where Lesnar didn't care about the product and was coasting on his hefty paychecks. Such was the hatred towards him that the audience started cheering the much-reviled Roman Reigns when he stepped up to dethrone Lesnar.
#1 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens debuted explosively in NXT, as well as on the main roster. He arrived at Full Sail University with a lot of hype. He won his first match in the WWE against CJ Parker at TakeOver: REvolution.
During this period, his best friend Sami Zayn was working an underdog storyline, which was set to climax in the PPV's main event.
When Zayn won the NXT title from Neville, Owens came out to congratulate his best friend. But to everyone's shock, he powerbombed Zayn into the apron repeatedly, thus turning heel. He soon won the NXT Championship too.
He made his main roster debut as the NXT champion when he answered John Cena's critically acclaimed the United States Championship Open Challenge.
He laid waste to Cena before the match even started. He then beat the Cenation Leader cleanly. This pinfall victory over Cena propelled Owens to new heights.
A master on the mic, he perfected his gimmick of the Prizefighter. He was also a part of a popular heelish duo along with Jericho.
They antagonized everyone around them, turning pseudo-faces. All that came crashing down when Owens put Jericho through a TV, making him a back-stabbing heel once again.
