Comedic Heel

[Mr. TM]

Comedic Heels

August 25, 2008

I received more feedback for my “Cool Heels” column, last week, than I have for any other column I’ve written. Most people agreed whole-heartedly with my thought but the column also generated a lot of questions. Because of this huge influx in inquires I decided to expand my conversation on heels this week.

The most common emails were people asking me for my take on “Comedic Heels”. Comedic heels are a great topic because there are both plus and minuses to being the comedic heel. This is a very common role and I’m all in favour of it, because I think the comedic heel role is a very useful and important one.

The key to being a good comedic heel is making sure you are the punch line of your jokes. You want fans laughing at you not with you. When fans laugh at the heels misfortune or at how big of a joke he is, they are generally having a good time, and enjoying themselves. You always feel better about yourself when you can watch someone else being a bigger loser than you are.

There are a lot of people in the world who wish they were cooler or that they were more popular. Watching a heel be a complete loser and get laughed at by others allows fans to be in the cool group. The entire audience gets to collectively laugh at and point out how much of a jackass that heel is and it feels good. By being the biggest idiot in the room the comedic heel lets everyone else feel like the cool kids.

For my money the best comedic heel in the business right now is Santino Marella. He is so funny and entertainment that I look forward to his segments each week on RAW. More importantly though Santino is funny and entertaining without ever making himself look good. Santino has gone above and beyond to make sure he is the butt of every joke. No matter how much of an idiot you are, you can watch Santino Marella and take comfort in him being an even bigger one.

Don’t get me wrong though, there is more to being a good comedic heel than just being an idiot and a joke, there is a lot of skill to it. Santino’s comedic timing and facial expressions are fantastic. Santino is a tremendous promo and a very talented performer. Not every bumbling idiot can be a member of the 3 Stooges; it takes a lot of talent.

Once you have a great comedic heel you have a very useful commodity on your hands. Much like I mentioned last week about how if you have 2 people and one of them is cool, the other then looks like the loser, with the comedic heel you are in a situation where you have 2 people and one of them is a goofball idiot so other person looks cool be default. A good comedic heel can get the crowd behind almost any baby face. Because of this comedic heels are perfect opponents for debuting baby faces. It’s tough to get the crowd behind someone they don’t know but a heel like Santino is so established the crowd would be forced to get behind the new guy just to spite Santino. Marella is so good in his role because the crowd is just begging someone to punch him in the mouth and shut him up so who ever does this is the baby face and will get cheered as a result.

The comedic heel is also very useful because he is more expendable and doesn’t need to be protected as much as serious heels. Because the comedic heel doesn’t generate his heat by being a threat to the baby faces he doesn’t need to be as credible. Santino has been used to further a lot of storylines and has even been pinned by girls a few times. This always gets a huge crowd reaction and because Santino’s heat is generated through comedy these loses don’t hurt his appeal or value to the company.

The comedic heel is also a nice change of pace on a show. Vince often calls the WWE a variety show and that is probably a very good description. People watch wrestling for a lot of different reasons. Some like the technique, some like the violence, some like the women, some like the laughs. If you have 2 hard hitting violent matches on a show you don’t want them back-to-back. Fans can burn out from too much of the same thing. A comedy match between two heavier matches gives the crowd a nice break from the action and can also highlight the other matches by making them look more violent in contract to the comedy.

There is one down side to being the comedic heel however; you will never really be a Main Eventer. Because of their comedic nature comedic heels don’t have much credibility and are never taken very seriously. The thought process is that the serious battle over the World Title draws the money, and the comedy act is just part of the entertainment. Comedic heels aren’t going to be World Champions because comedic heels seldom win matches. Playing the part of the comedic jackass can get you great crowd reactions and does make your baby face look good, but you are in a position where if you beat the baby face, he’s being beaten by an idiot and pretty much gets buried in the process.

Very few baby faces lose programs to comedic heels and the comedic heel role is one designed to get the opponent over. The comedic heel role is a valuable one and there is good job security in it, but you need to be prepared to lose a lot of matches and pretty much accept that you will never main event.

I will never pay to see Santino Marella wrestle; he does not as they say, “draw money”. He is however one of the best comedic heels this business has ever seen. I look forward to seeing him every week on RAW, and find him more entertaining than ½ the guys on the show. He is not the reason I tune in to watch the show but one of the many reasons I’m happy I’ve watched when it’s over. That is the roll of the comedic heel and Santino Marella does it perfectly.

Lance Storm

Lance Storm discusses the importance of the Comedic Heel that he considers a very important part of any Wrestling show. Though the Comedic Heel never draws in the crowd, it keeps the viewers interested. It is hard to deny, Santino is on hell of a funny man, and is probably the best comedic heel in the WWE right now, especially on Raw. Who else is or was a great comedic heel comparible to Santino? Is the Comedic Heel that important to a wrestling show? Discuss

 

[lilteapot]

The Rock came straight to my mind when i read the thread title. Seriously, this guy was hilarious. Most of the stuff he did was comedy, and it was actually funny. He made fun of everybody, from police officers, to olympic gold medalists, stephanie, HHH, austin, booker t.

of course it is important. if you have wrestlers trying to be serious and badass all the time, it's just boring. that's why attitude era was so great, it had wrestlers with personality.

 

[D.Miller]

I think comedic heels can add to a wrestling show in its comedic element, giving the crowd a few laughs and having them watch back for more of the character's tactics. Obviously it depends on the popularity level of a wrestler on whether or not they draw, comedic or not. However, there should be an equilibrium between comedic acting and serious heelness. Both should be utilized in a way that Marella is both serious and funny simultaneously especially when he holds a belt that has been attempted to be restored value to by the holders like Hardy and Jericho. A laughing stock doesn't advantage the prestige of a belt like that. Marella should be more serious leading into a match, increase his impression in the ring and then after such he can go all comic relief. Just my opinion.

EDIT: And actually, The Rock is the perfect example of being funny/serious although he was best at doing it while face. Therefore, Marella could possibly be best comedic heel.

 

[Showtime]

The Hurricane back during the Invasion angle. It may not have been exactly the comedic heel that Santino and Rock were, but he was hilarious, trying desperatly to outpower/chockslam the Big Show. The crowd loved to see him get taken down to earth a couple of times by the Big Show or any wrestler larger than the Hurricane, and what was awesome about it was that he never stopped believing that he was a superhero, even after being outpowered. Of course WWE saw the marketing value in him and as soon as the Invasion angle was over they made him a full blown face, but back when he first came out he was a pretty good comedic heel.

 

[Mr. TM]

As Santino is the Intercontinental Champion, some may question why the comedic heel has such a prestigious belt. As we probably all remember one man was the intercontinental champion for over 450 days, and was hated for it, whilst being a great comedic heel. that man is The Honky Tonk Man. He is arguable one of the best comedic heels ever. Maybe Santino is in line for a huge title reign. What is the worst that could happen for that? Him as a champion for a year would be great, until he decides he wants to be the World Champion

 

[Davi323]

Santino Marella is by far the best comedic heel the WWF/E has seen in a long time. But, he is only heir to a long tradition. I would consider Carlito as a comic heel too, and I think Chris Jericho certainly fit into the category at different points in his career, and I would probably say that Degeneration-X fit into that mold as well. Their segments were designed to amuse us at the pranks they pulled, not to generate serious heel heat, and like with Santino, while we were originally supposed to hate them, we ended up liking them instead. I would also count Edge and Christian, when they were a tag team. Yeah, we hated them, but, when they came out wearing those ridiculously large sunglasses, exercised in chicken suits, etc, they made us laugh, plain and simple. As mentioned by others, the Rock was very good at being both comic and heel at the same time.

but, in my opinion, NOBODY (other than Santino) can match the pure comedic level of Bobby Heenan.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

The Comedic Heel was perfected by one Why Too Jay Chris Jericho. Before he became the Serious Heel That Constantly Looks Like He Just Smelled Something Bad.

Seriously, the guy could cut a promo that would devastate anyone, be it a face or another heel. And it was so petty, so childish, you just had to love it. Especially after he won the Undisputed Championship. Don't get me wrong, Jericho is still amazing, but I preferred his Comedic Heel character.

Santino is WWE's premiere Comedic Heel now, no one can argue with that. He's like Jim Carrey - he can say one thing and make you laugh. Comedic Heels are hard to take seriously though, especially if there are many of them. But someone brought up a great point here with the Honky Tonk Man. He was a Comedic Heel, perhaps one of the best, and just happened to become the longest-reigning IC Champ of all time. The Intercontinental title seems such a perfect fit for Comedic Heels for some reason, for example the aforementioned Chris Jericho. I don't know why.

The Comedic Heel character is one that takes skill to get over and do well. Not everyone can do it, and you can't say we've had too many successful ones over the years, aside from Honky Tonk Man, Jericho, Santino and maybe the Miz. Every show needs a comedic heel to function properly.

 

[Starchild]

It's been stated and it's clearly true..currently Santino is the mecha of the comedic heel. I mean come on, the guy leaves you in stitches every time. And he is Intercontinental Champion right now it seems solely because of that. Yes his ring skills are ok, but he hasn't ever really been pushed as a huge threat in the ring. In fact he lost it seems like for months before becoming champion, including to several of the divas. Hell, he didn't even get the pin to win the title...the credit goes to Beth Phoenix!
But he does the the job so well, how can you not love the guy?

In terms of in the past, there are a few that come to mind. Jericho back in the day clearly had this down pact..what with the constant whining and nagging and cracking jokes, you just couldn't help by being entertained by him. DX was also another great example. Guys that did everything to give their superiors hell and made dozens of classic and hilarious segments in the process. Even some of the segments with DX from 06-07 were great. I loved the one with Cryme Tyme and the one where they dressed like Shane and Vince, not to mention that they'd always find a way to plug WWE merchandise..it was priceless.
Edge & Christian were another great example. They would use the 80s lingo and just rant about the craziest things sometimes but it was great. Remember the one about the Dudleys and how E&C couldn't compete and talking about their nuts?
Another that hasn't been mentioned is Kurt Angle back in his earlier WWE days. He was ALWAYS the brunt of jokes ranging from the "You Suck" chant, to the milk, to his hair when it was first shaved. And he used to be so against anything that didnt have good morals behind it, just another classic example.

I think the comedic heel is a must. You have to have something to appeal to many people and some of it just doesn't, but almost everyone would agree that some of the good comedic guys are hilarious and one of the best parts of the show. There are so many to name it's ridiculous, but I'd venture to say that they are more comedic segments in my favorite moments in wrestling than the matches themselves and that's a testament to this guys' talent and how important the role is.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I actually think a comedic heel or funny person in general is important to a show. That was something the attitude era had, it had alot of comedy. Whether it be the Rock, Jericho, E&C, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and the list goes on. Almost every big angle consisted of atleast one guy that was funny. And even the McMahon Austin feud consisted of many funny and memorable moments. There are plenty of viewers that turn in for things like that and not the actual wrestling. Nowadays you just dont see that outside of Santino.

The 3 guys though that I think fit the description of comedic heels the best were Edge, Christian and Angle when they were doing that whole goofy and reeking of awesomeness gimmick. When they would come out wearing the crazy sunglasses or wacky hats it was hilarious. There interactions with Kurt were great too, Ill never forget when them 3 had a birthday party for Edge and Stephanie was back there. HHH walks in and Christian goes "Hey now that the game's here, lets play one" and starts playing E&C's music on the kazoo. When trips got pissed off Christian goes "relax I can play yours too" and started playing HHH My Time theme. LMAO those were the days.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I would go with Kurt Angle. Not the current version, but the one that would kiss Vince and Stone Cold's ass and drink milk. It worked because he was a goofball, but a serious threat. Santino is not a serious threat. The image of Kurt Angle with the mini cowboy hat is going to be forever burned into my retinas.