It's hard to pick a single greatest heel of all time, but there are some legendary heels of the business that could ALL qualify as the best of all time...
#1
Wild Bull Curry
This man was truly one of the most vicious and violent performers ever to grace the squared circle as a Pro Wrestler... his penchant for hardcore forms of wrestling violence made him one of the single most feared, and hated men in the wrestling business....Before the Sheik, before Gorgeous George, before Buddy Rogers, before Killer Kowalski, Fred Koury, AKA Wild Bull Curry was THE
single most vicious, and hated man in the wrestling business...scary, tough, and legitimately dangerous...Bull Curry was THE pioneer of the hardcore style.
#2
Fred Blassie
Blassie's influence as a top notch wrestling heel and a top notch heel performer cannot be over emphasized. As feared and hated as he was in North America, this man made his reputation as one of the scariest, and most dangerous heel wrestlers of all time in Japan. With filed teeth and a propensity for bloodletting, Fred Blassies' moniker as "the vampire" was NOT without basis...His feuds with Rikidozan, Sammartino, Tolos, et., al are the stuff of legend. Blassie was a Hall of Fame wrestler, and Heel
FOR A REASON...
#3
Gorgeous George Wagner
The original showman and cocky arrogant heel of the wrestling business deserves inclusion on this list if for no other reason than that he was responsible for a major revolution in pro wrestling as a performance art. A bona Fide shooter(he was a 1936 olympic wrestling medal winner), Wagner was the 1st to bring Pro Wrestling to the masses...with his handing out of gold plated bobby pins, his use of Chanel No. 5 to "disinfect" the ring, his heated promos to bring in the fans, Gorgeous George WAS the man you loved to hate...virtually every single bleached blond arrogant heel that followed owed his career to the stuff that George Wagner did as a performer; he was, no doubt, one of the greatest of all...
#4
Wladek"Killer"Kowalski
No discussion of the greatest wrestling heels would be complete without the mention of the name of Killer Kowalski..The 30 year veteran of the business earned his moniker after an accident in 1954 with renowned face Yukon Eric...His reputation as a human hurricane, with nonstop perpetual action was EARNED, much like his conditioning. No less an authority than Bruno Sammartino called Kowalski the toughest man he EVER took on in the ring..If that ain't great I don't know what is...
#5
The Original Sheik
Ed Farhat, like Curry and Blassie was a pioneer of the hardcore style..
between throwing fireballs, and using a pencil to carve up the foreheads of opposition, The Sheik was, without a doubt, one of the BADDEST of all time...
When you engage in a feud w/ Fred Blassie and HE'S the face... you know you're a badass....
#6
The Iron Sheik
This man is, without a doubt, one of THE most sucessfull and hated heels in the history of pro wrestling...Seriously, Khosrow had it all...he had a legitimate amateur background(so good, in fact that he helped train the US Olympic team in 68), he was trained for the pro ranks by 2 of the best in Verne Gagne, and Danny Hodge...he was a conditioned, trained, and dangerous animal in the ring, plus, he could cut some absolutely off the wall promos...his feud with Sgt. Slaughter put him on the map, and kept him solidified as one of the greatest heels ever..few, if any, were better...the man was absolutely fearless as a monster heel.
#7
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
The original nature boy refined the mold set by Gorgeous George and took it to the next level. Every move, every step of the swagger he used in walking to the ring inflamed fans for a decade plus...he had a physique ahead of its time, he could work the stick, and he could wrestle!!! A total package as a wrestler, and as a heel!
#8
Jake "the Snake" Roberts
Yeah, the "Snake" didn't have the greatest physique, and he wasn't a technical specialist, but when he got on the stick, and after when he got in the ring, you always were afraid of what he was gonna do to your favorite face...Jake Roberts was a great heel, due in no small part to his mastery of the psychology of pro Wrestling..the man could put the fear of God in your heart with any given promo, and did it without screaming or shouting or a long diatribe...a true master as a ring villian.
#8
Rowdy Roddy Piper
No one single wrestler epitomized "heel" more so than Roddy Piper. from his start in the Mid Atlantic territory feuding with Ricky Steamboat, to his wars with another great heel in Greg Valentine, to his epic historic meteoric rise to the very top in his feud with Hulk Hogan in the early years of the national expansion of the wrestling industry, I don't think that any other wrestler managed to piss off more people in less time than Hot Rod...a solid in ring performer with great timing, he was more blessed with a gift of gab,and nobody was better at inflaming fans in the early 80's with his promos.
These eight that i have spoken if are, to me, some of the greatest heels of all...I'm sure that the younger folks can make an argument for some of todays modern day heels, although, admittedly, I think there isn't such a clear cut line between the face and the heel today. If you took the time to read this rather long post, i thank you. Peace out.
#7