Can New Main Event Wrestlers Only Get Over As Heels?

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

So after watching Smackdown these last few weeks and seeing Daniel Bryan slowly turning heel ive noticed a certain trend in the WWE since i started watching wrestling again last year. It seems that any new wrestler in the main event scene can only get over with the crowd as a heel. Ill run through some of the guys to make the step up to main event status.

Daniel Bryan
D Brine made a big impact when he first debuted on the roster at Summerslam 2010 as a face. Winning the US title shortly after and having a solid run with the belt many felt he would really push on to the next level after winning the MITB briefcase last year. However he was the victim of terrible booking afterwards which saw him in a half baked feud with Wade Barrett and then lingering in a few one off matches with Sin Cara and Tyson Kidd. While he won the title as a face many people were left unimpressed and it's his heel turn that is starting to get people excited in him.

Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett
Three of WWE's brightest young talents at the moment. It's a safe bet that at least 2 of these guys will win a world title next year. It's also worth noting that out of WWE's most likely 3 newest champions(not counting Ziggler's title win of course)they are all heels and have gotten over as heels.

Sheamus
He may be over as hell as a face(which is a lot) but he hasn't a meaningful feud since his heel days. It was as a heel he had the best debut year in years while also winning two world titles and a midcard title.

Alberto Del Rio
Criticize him all you want this guy has the world at his feet before he was drafted to raw. Winning a rumble is a hell of an achievement in your first year and he was Smackdowns biggest heel during wresltmania season.

R-Truth
After Wrestlemania last year this guy was many peoples pick for the future endevoured list yet 6 months after that he found himself in the main event of survivor series against Cena and The Rock. Turning heel helped get him in the main event and possibly save his career.

The Miz
He's come a long way from the Diva search host to having one of the best world title feuds in recent years. Vince has a big future in store for The Miz and it's hard not to share his enthusiasm for a great heel like The Miz.

So as you can see pretty much every new main eventer got into the main event as a heel. You could even argue the same for Christian seeing as he was only a face for 5 days of his title reign before becoming a brilliant heel on the blue brand. Anyways the question im asking is why do you think this is so?
Is it that hard for new guys to get over as faces?
Is it creatives fault for booking them as heels and not trusting them as faces?
Or do you have another theory as to why this is so?

Personally i think it's a case of both the wrestlers and creative taking the easy way out. It's easier to get people to hate you then it is to care about you. You can just go out and slander the fans or the local sports team and boom instant heat. While it takes more then that to get over in the main event as heel it's a great start of establishing yourself with the fans as a heel. Just ask the many faces like Alex Riley, Mason Ryan, Kofi, Evan Bourne and Ezekial Jackson who have had to watch as all the main event opportunities get given to mid card heels rather then mid card faces. It's very hard to really stand out as a face unless you have something very original like Zack Ryder has with his youtube show.

 

[DJ Kyo]

pretty boys always make better heels, because they look like they should have a chip on their shoulder.

When I say pretty boys, I mean ones that look more like Divas than men.

Example of Men (prior and present):

Austin
Rock
Triple H
Wade Barrett
Shawn Michaels
Sheamus
sadly Cena
Taker
Edge
Big Show

Pretty Boys:

Jerhico
Christian
Dolph Ziggler
The Miz
to an extend Del Rio
Cody Rhodes

---

Why does this make a difference? It does because when the pretty boys are faces, they look like little Pansies out there. These guys aren't rugged, they aren't manly looking per se, they are just average guys who are wrestlers with some personality. Being "nice" and peppy makes you look like crap and isn't easy to sell. Being a heel though, you make yourself look darker, meaner, you're not smiling so it hides a lot of the pretty boy aspect.

Miz as a face just does not work for a long period of time. It's the same way Jericho has to be a heel a lot of the time. We get sick of them in that fashion because it makes us want to puke. Where Triple H can play either role and it's believable and you don't hate him for either one.

So to answer your question, yes they almost have to go heel to get big in the case of many of the wrestlers below. It's also a lot easier to be a heel/hard ass than it is to be a face all the time. Acting like a complete dick/douche is easy. Acting like you're sincere and happy is a completely other form when it comes to acting and much harder to make believable, especially when you're not trying to come accross as a pansy as I mentioned above.

 

[flair4ever]

Its always easier to make a heel, All they have to do is say something unliked (like edge calling people puppets for saying spear every time he said it) . or come out and do a despicable act ( VKM and the screwjob. Or Hollywood Hogan when he joined the NWO) Where as for a face or anti hero to get a big build or push it takes most of the months, ( there are always exceptions like undertaker, hhh, SCSA, rock)

 

[bk555]

Its just basic logic. since the guys are new, no one will know them and it is a lot easier to get an audience to hate a new guy than it is to like the new guy. So almost 80% of the time, new guys will only be heels if they are over.

 

[Savage1]

Someone said it already but let me chime in...It is easier for fans to hate a new guy then to like someone they don't know anything about. It happened with almost every big star from the 90's. The Rock debuted as this smiling, hand slapping jabroni and people turned on him so they turned him heel and only then, after he had people hating him, did he turn back face and that enourmous amount of hate turned to an enourmous amount of love for his character. Stone Cold was pushed as a heel...HARD! They tried eveything in their power to make him a heel but this was a case where it didn't work. The anti-hero thing just made them love him more, but thats about the first time ever that I can remember that working that way. Taker was a heel when he first debuted, as was Kane, Trips, Michaels as a singles wrestler turned on Jannety and was heel...what I'm getting at is it's easier to build hatred for someone who is not known yet and when they have gotten way over as a heel and do something to another heel the fans hate, or commit an act that the fans appreciate, all that hatred translates into instant adoration...for the most part.

 

[robinkom]

I will reiterate the above forum posts, it's easier to hate the new guy. There's an IT factor that a lot of these young guys simply don't have and, if they do, it doesn't matter because there's a writer in the back drafting their lines for them that they have to memorize. Del Rio is one of these guys; he's a one-trick pony on the mic. The person working with him basically has to hold his hand through the promo. They have him doing this extravagant entrance with exotic expensive cars and a personal ring announcer to hide his inept mic skills behind a grandiose gimmick.

How is it exactly that so many old-timers didn't need a written script or cartoon aesthetics to get over, they could all talk circles around you on the mic. They'd go to cut a promo, the camera turned on, and they just started talking off the cuff and gave the best interviews you ever heard. They understood their characters and personas, they knew how they wanted to present it, and ran with it. Only a small handful of guys today can do this.

 

[SFC]

Not only is it easier to hate a new guy, but it's easy for a heel to get over in this particular era because a majority of the fans in this time period prefer the heels over the faces.

Randy Orton is arguably the no. 2 or no. 3 guy in the company. I was in attendance at Survivor Series when it was 2-on-1 with him, Barrett, and Rhodes, and the crowd was well over 70 percent for the heels. Perhaps because it's MSG, but even so, it's cool to like the bad guys in this time period.

Back in the mid-90s, bad guys were bad guys, and it wasn't as easy to make the heel-to-face transition as it is now (Sheamus being the prime example).

Nonetheless, all good points brought up.

 

[bknight786]

Seems like 99% of new wrestlers have to get over through heel roles. WWE has tried this approach with seemingly every new wrestler/stable that hasn't gotten over initially. There are very few faces that people care about, obviously the Attitude Era guys are no brainers, but TRUE faces that people cheer for are rare in today's wrestling. You have CM Punk, RKO, Sheamus, and now Zack Ryder (though he's still a work in progress). I'd include Cena and Big Show, but generally their fans are only little kids or women. I can't really think of many more, at least ones that don't use crowd noise in their entrance music. It really is sad WWE is relying on that cheap tactic, reminds me of WCW days where Goldberg chants would be tape recorded. The obvious offenders are Ezekial Jackson, Kelly Kelly (sadly), and Justin Gabriel.

Daniel Bryan makes a good heel, only because he lacks the charisma to be a top face in the company. There are genuinely good heels like Cody Rhodes, Del Rio, Wade Barrett, and The Miz, but WWE just doesn't market their heels well enough. They spend so much air time creating faces, who usually fade out inevitably (see Alex Riley). I would say currently, there are not more than a handful of wrestlers who are marketable outside of the WWE, which speaks alot to its decreasing rating every week!

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

Its the way of the business. You know why I think John Morrison didn't get over as a face like he should've? Because they didn't let his talent speak for him. He wasn't good on the mic, so they held back a upper card/main event talent. If the E would focus on character's strengths instead of making them all try to fit the same mold, we would be looking at an entirely different card.

You know why Mysterio is over? For me, I remember him in 96-98 being the perfect compliment to the Malenko/Benoit ground cruiserweights. To the new generation, he's one of the best high fliers, even on one leg. This proves to me two things: 1. you don't need mic work to get over and 2. People don't know true high fliers. If you let Justin Gabriel show his 100% talent and market him correctly, I think he would be just as over as Cody Rhodes. But instead of wrestling being a show of athletic ability, its a show of emotion. With it built like that, all you have to be is more evil than the guy you're going against, and you'll be over soon enough. WE DESERVE BETTER

 

[CaptainZaltan]

This isn't a wrestling-specific issue, it's one involving writing and cultural trends. Here's the problem: when in the last several years have straight up goody-two-shoes heroes been popular anywhere? Generally speaking, people want to root for characters with an edge (Dexter, House, Batman, etc). More than that, they want characters that actually have personalities, flaws, and depth. And for whatever reason (maybe because it's harder to write a good antagonist than protagonist?), more often than not the villains, or heels, just seem to be more interesting characters. White-hat heroes, like Superman or the Lone Ranger, have been in decline for some time now. That's why we are seeing darker, grittier reboots of heroes like Spiderman. The only people who don't seem to understand this are the people writing the WWE. What do WWE's face typically do? They smile, they are polite, humble, they have nice safe PG romances with divas, they pick up for the little guy and repeat the same catch-phrases that they wear on t-shirts. They are white-hats, and they are completely cookie-cutter and one-dimensional. Why in gods name would anyone WANT to cheer for someone like that in this day and age?

Back to your question, it's not so much that a new main eventer HAS to be a heel to get over first. It's just the easier path to take given the WWE's general lack of ability to write faces that appeal to a mature audience. Getting over as a heel adds a darker edge to a character that can carry over into their face run, as evidenced by HHH, Edge, Randy Orton, and countless others. Knowing that a character has a dark side just makes them more interesting. Alternately, the WWE could just write an interesting face character to begin with (or, rather, to stop over-writing character and allow them to develop their own personalities). Faces are, and have been, capable of getting themselves over in other companies without first turning heel. They should be able to do so in the WWE as well, but it's not going to happen so long as everything we are supposed to cheer for is watered down and generic.

 

[BizzarroNavarro]

I totally agree with all the great points you make Zaltan and especially how you said too its just in all forms of pop culture, but I think either way though its still just their writing in general, I wouldnt mind PG at all if the storylines were better, I mean im 26 years old and loved the attitude era, but I also love every Pixar movie I see too and I think its because they have a great team and are able to make amazing PG movies with interesting characters and stories that speak to both adults and kids.

It just seems they dont know how to effectivly work within their boundries at all

 

[MizMark]

Pretty obvious answer... it is far easier to get over as a heel than a face. Heels can get cheap heat during promos more so than a face can get a cheap pop. A new heel(Skip Sheffield return for example) who came out and destroyed Cena/Punkwould be over instantly as a heel.

Orton's first face run was poor because he didn't have enough heat with the crowd, he then became a great heel and is now one of the top faces in the company. I hated CM Punk's character at the start, then he turned heel and won me over and now his face character is perfect.

 

[RoadhogJ]

I think there are/were more main event heels because all they need to do is say something disrespectful to the fans and there insantly hated

 

[H33LTurn]

Brodus Clay is a perfect example of someone who can get themselves over and not have to be a heel. Sure, it takes more effort because a heel can easily say something bad about someone or attack someone to get a reaction. Its easier to get people to hate you and to love you. A face has to bring something unique to the table that intrigues the crowd. It takes time but making everyone a heel from debut cant be good for the business in the long run, specially with WWE bringing in so many new guys into the picture, you get a surplus of heels.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If you look back over the course of WWE history, it's not uncommon at all for lots of eventual main eventers to have ultimately gotten over as heels first whether as singles or tag team wrestlers. Macho Man Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, The Undertaker, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, etc. all really made their mark in WWE as heels. All would turn face at various points in their careers but playing heels is what ultimately got them over in the first place in WWE.

Is it harder to get over as a face? Probably so. Much of the time, it seems to me that heels are the ones that generally have the better personality and characters than faces. I've heard tons of tv interviews where a famous actor has said that it's easier and usually more fun to play as a bad guy.

I'd say that's especially true when it comes to the IWC as a whole. While this doesn't apply to everyone, it does apply to a great many as there seems to be a lot of internet fans that are extremely closed minded as to what makes a good face or a heel. In their minds, it doesn't seem to matter as long as the guy is a badass. They want every wrestler that comes along to be this ultra tough shitkicker and they'll take nothing else. That's why so many of them are ragging on Brodus Clay right now. Forget if he happens to be entertaining or if he's getting over with fans. He doesn't fit their narrow minded mold of what they want or think a wrestler should be. Heels do seem to have an easier time with that overall. They still get ragged on by the same people if they're not human juggernauts but usually not to as great of a degree as the faces.

 

[Ithil]

Jericho said in his first book, and other wrestlers have said words to the same effect, that it's a lot easier to get people in he audience to hate you than it is to like you. Being a face is hard work. Being a heel, now I won't say it's easy, but it's much more simple to get heat as a heel.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's easier to get over as a heel in any scenario, for all the reasons stated in this topic. Usually, when a guy is working by himself, it's hard to get across as a hero who stimulates a lot of interest. To do it, a performer needs someone else to help put him over as a face.

For example, if you've got a guy who's been operating as a heel and there doesn't seem to be a way to get people interested in him as a good guy (for argument's sake, let's call him Drew McIntyre), try this: have another bad guy threaten Lilian Garcia, who is a well-liked WWE personality who could operate effectively in a limited program as a damsel-in-distress. Put her in the bad guy's way and have McIntyre come down and save her from the first guy's clutches.......and watch how fast Drew becomes a hero. Whether he can sustain his "face-dom" is another thing, but once you establish him as a good guy by having him do something heroic, the rest will be up to the writing staff and the performer himself.