Equally good as a face and heel

[Tastycles]

Throughout wrestling history, most people have been both a face and a heel during their careers. However, the vast majority find their niche in one of those roles. Guys like Austin and Hogan have been immensly successful as both heels and faces, but in both of those cases I'd say they were immensely more popular as faces. So, who are your candidates for who have done an equally good, or equally bad for that matter, job at both kinds of wrestling characters.

The Rock The rock excelled as both the People's champion, and as a heel on numerous occaisions during his career, and I think his raw charisma allowed him to do whatever he wanted and get the reaction required from the crowd.

Christian He's not as good as the Rock, but he has managed to be both a successful heel and a successful face durting his career and managed to get the crowd on his side or definitively against him, depending on what is needed.

Chris Jericho Controversial choice, as many people think he's a poor face. The Save Us era may suggest that this is the case, but I don't think Jericho has ever been as popular as he was feuding against HHH and Stephanie. The time when him and the Rock took the piss out of the alliance is one of the best and most memorable face segments of the last 15 years.

Who would you add to the list?

 

[JenovasWitness]

Add Kurt Angle to the list. I think he was great at all facets of being a face and a heel. When playing a face, he could do comedy and could play it serious effortlessly and the same could be said when he was a heel. The crowd reactions he got on both sides were generally genuine and would often be the loudest of the night on every card he appeared on.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I hate to repeat myself from other threads, in regards to my favorites, but my list consists of Chris Jericho, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. These guys were all over as Face and as a Heel and a Tweener. There are others, but these 6 switched back and forth effortlessly. It got to the point where we started booing the “Good Guys” and cheering for the “Bad Guys”.

 

[Ezzee]

There are a couple that I'm not sure belong on this list, but I think make for interesting discussion, those being Triple H and The Undertaker. In all reality, they never played to the crowd or never really changed their persona or gimmick or anything like that (With the exception of the American Bad Ass time) but yet they were able to truly invoke the emotions as both faces and heels extremely well. I think there turns and the emotions they evoked as being either face or heel is by their actions and not by their words, which I think makes things possibly easier to evoke emotions, but yet extremely impressive at the same time.

 

[jmt225]

The perfect example is Bret Hart. Just look at his run in 1997. He was the biggest babyface in Canada and other places internationally, but at the same time… in the states, he was the most hated heel in the country. If that's not someone being able to play from both sides of the fence to perfection, then what is?

Kevin Nash is a good one, too. Here's a guy who, in one second, can have you loving him, and in the next... want you to see him get killed. He was so great on the mic that your emotions always bought what he was selling.

 

[Sasori]

How about Shawn Michaels? He went from Rocker (baby face) to Sexy Boy (heel)! And he gets a loud pop every time he comes to the ring wether he is heel or face HBK has had tremendous sucess and no one can deny that! Oh and what about The Macho Man Randy Savage? He had GREAT success as heel and baby face!

 

[tagaman]

Stone Cold to me was the ultimate anti hero he plAyed 1 mode 1 role the majority of the time he was in the ring except for the crazy times when he was singing AND THAT WHAT THING HE WAS DOING WHICH WAS ACTUALLY ENTERTAINING TO ME

 

[Miko]

Randy Savage is extremely high up the list, the guy went from being absolutely loved by the crowd to using Miss Elizabeth as a sheild and being hated for it. The guy could carry a fued as either a face or a heel. One minute people are cheering because Ultimate Warrior just put him into retirement, the next people are going nuts because he's back with Elizabeth.

Just goes to add to his reputation as the greatest all rounder of all time.

Undertakers another example, the guy was over as both a face and a heel. During the Two Man Power Trip era he was arguably the second most over face in the company, the first being The Rock. Before that he's putting people on crosses and people want to see him get his arse kicked.

 

[SophieDavies]

Not gonna go into detail, but here is a few:

Edge - Rated R Era, E&C, teaming with Rey Rey, obsession with the WHC, after the E&C break-up. He's enjoyable in whatever character he's in.

Jericho - At first I hated this new 'mature' Jericho, but I've grown quite fond of it. And also not forgetting the obnoxious loudmouth he's been through the years, especially the Lionheart.

Vince McMahon - Yeah, random huh? But throughout my time watching WWE, I've enjoyed some moments with Vince. When he's face, I love the mad pop he used to get, when he showed up. Because you knew someone was gonna get fired. Heel, because you don't cross the boss, and he has a huge ego and plays off it really well.

Trish Stratus - Crowd favourite when face, hated when heel. The way it should be.

Lita - Same goes with Trish.

 

[stebbinsd]

Are you telling me that Jeff Jarret isn't absolutely incredible as both a face and a heel?

From Double J
To "the Chosen One"
to "The King of the Mountain"
to the Founder of TNA

Jarrett has had immense success with whatever gimmick he gets, or gives himself. He can either be an ferocious heel, or a lionhearted hero who keeps on fighting against insurmountable odds.

Remember Bound for Glory '06? Everyone wanted him gone as soon as he dropped the title to Sting. The next time they saw him, when he joined Team Angle for Lethal Lockdown, it took some convincing, but he won the fans over.

Jeff Jarrett deserves that honor just as much as the Rock does.

Vince McMahon - Yeah, random huh?

Not really. Vince McMahon is a third-generation superstar, but he's much more than the Rock ever was, because he grew up with wrestling; he's been around wrestling all his life.

In every sense of the word, Vince McMahon truly was born for this business!

 

[z99zazn]

I think a great example that no one has yet mentioned is Mick Foley. He could be absolutely hated as a heel, before they turned the Mankind character from a twisted individual into a happy idiot. Sure, I liked Mick when he was a face a lot, but his heel work was great. When he debuted in the WWE and some of his other times in other promotions were pretty awesome. Turning on the fans of ECW way back was cool, and I think he could make an awesome heel and face. Even right now in TNA, in his weird role, I think he is really enjoyable on the mic. Wish he'd come back to WWE though. Love the guy.

 

[WorldHeavyweightChampion]

My vote goes 100% with Ric Flair. Flair is the only wrestler to win the PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year, and also PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year.

 

[Cheech 72]

All of those are great, Hogan, Savage, Austin, Michaels, Flair, Rock, Vince, and Foley. Pillman was great too, he came into ECW to a huge ovation only to have everyone boo the hell out of him after he said he should take a piss in the arena.

 

[Razor]

Well, you have to discount your Angles and your HBKs. They're great faces. But when they're Heels they're still playing to the crowd and getting pops. That's not what heels do. They get booed. Angle getting pops when he was heel and facing a debuting Cena is outrageous.

I would claim Cena, but i don't remember his heel run all that well at the moment. He's amazing as a face, but I can't remember the reactions he got a heel. I'll need to look into that and make an edit sometime.


I'll steal from the OP and go with Jericho. He was a good face, and did what needed to be done. As a heel, he does it even better. One day he was getting pops for his return, then a month later he was getting his ass booooooooed. Only someone who truly has his heel/face psychology down can manage that.

 

[Raw Power]

The Rock, seriously, he was a mega face, but look at the heat he could get AFTER his mega face run, when he was taunting the Toronto crowd etc., and acting like a coward against Austin etc..

 

[The Rob]

Triple H.

When he's a face, he becomes this light-hearted, friendly, funny guy but remains a bad-ass whenever he's in the ring. But when he's a heel, he is very good at getting under people's skin and pissing them off, before beating the crap out of someone in the ring. He's one of the only wrestlers who I have litterally hated during a heel period.