Feuds where the heel was right

[slimymeteor]

A long time ago there was a similar thread on another forum, and it was pretty interesting so I'd like to try it here. The goal is to discuss any feuds, WWE or TNA, where the heel was actually in the right, but was still the bad guy.

For example, in Royal Rumble 92, Sid eliminated Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage fair and square, to be among the final two competitors (along with Ric Flair). Hogan, in a total dick move, after he was eliminated, grabbed Sid's arm and distracted him, so Flair could eliminate him and win to become the WWF champion. Soon afterward, president Jack Tunney named the number one contender for the title at Wrestlemania to be Hulk Hogan! This made Sid a heel, although if you think about it, he had every reason to be angry at Hulk.

What other feuds can you think of where the heel was right? And keep it kayfabe! Obviously, the reason Hulk was the number one contender was that he's a bigger draw than Sid. But, storyline-wise, Hulk was a sore loser, and the fact that Sid eliminated him to be in the final 2 should have made him the number one contender.

 

[KillBill]

Matt Hardy duh. Right now in his fued with Jeff, he is correct. Jeff is a "fuck-up". Not all his fault, but more often then not, yet he is the more successful one.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Definitely have to agree about Hogan being the heel rather than Sid. That was a dick thing to do.

Definitely have to disagree about Matt Hardy being right. Jeff's the fuck-up between the two, yeah, but he's more over with the crowd cause he's more exciting, so he deserved the better spot in the company over Matt cause he draws better. Matt should be whimpering in the corner at how boring he is in comparison to his little brother lol.

Here are a few "heel was right" scenarios:

1) Jericho, now. We've talked about it before. Most of what Jericho is saying about the legends being washed up and pathetic is true. For some of the guys, it isn't, like those that transitioned into working backstage as producers and trainers. That's a logical, worthwhile reason behind your career choice. But look at how many have been willing to show up just to get their asses kicked for a paycheck? Lol. Sad.

2) Orton saying Manu and Snuka didn't belong in Legacy. He's right. They suck. Lol.

3) Maryse is the sexiest of the sexy. Gotta hand it to her.

4) A good portion of the jokes that Miz and Morrison make are right. At least, the ones that aren't just fart jokes and stuff.

5) Any time that the heel is pissed off that a face cheated to beat them (unless the heel did it first, in which case its just payback).

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

A long time ago there was a similar thread on another forum, and it was pretty interesting so I'd like to try it here. The goal is to discuss any feuds, WWE or TNA, where the heel was actually in the right, but was still the bad guy.

For example, in Royal Rumble 92, Sid eliminated Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage fair and square, to be among the final two competitors (along with Ric Flair). Hogan, in a total dick move, after he was eliminated, grabbed Sid's arm and distracted him, so Flair could eliminate him and win to become the WWF champion. Soon afterward, president Jack Tunney named the number one contender for the title at Wrestlemania to be Hulk Hogan! This made Sid a heel, although if you think about it, he had every reason to be angry at Hulk.

What other feuds can you think of where the heel was right? And keep it kayfabe! Obviously, the reason Hulk was the number one contender was that he's a bigger draw than Sid. But, storyline-wise, Hulk was a sore loser, and the fact that Sid eliminated him to be in the final 2 should have made him the number one contender.

I remember this, I even remember the press conference they had to announce Hogan going to WM to wrestle for the World's Championship, man Sid was pissed. Randy Savage ended up with the title match and Hogan ended up wrestling Sid, but that was a classic storyline and Sid definatly was within his rights to be upset at WWF's decision and turn heel.

I remember when Jeff Jarrett was wrestling Razor Ramon at a Royal Rumble and Razor was injured and walking toward the back and Jeff got on the mic and called Razor back. Jeff said something like "These people didn't pay their money to see me win this match in a countout, so get back here and wrestle me.", or something to that effect. Razor (the good guy) came back and lost both his match and his Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship to Jarrett, I cant remember but I think Jarrett may have caused Ramon's injury, but still.......

 

[JerryvonKramer]

What a terrific thread.

Wasn't Sid cheered and Hogan booed in some sections of the crowd in that WM8 match?

As for "heels who were right": I always thought it was downright out of order for people like Hogan and Jim Duggan to disrespect the Russian flag/ anthem whenever they faced Nikolai Volkoff. I've been rewatching old SNMEs recently and some of Hogan's behaviour is just despicable -- he spits on the floor, tries to rip the Soviet flag, etc. etc. So when Ventura says stuff like "don't disrespect the man's country", he's RIGHT isn't he?

Also, for much of the Bret Hart vs. Austin feud when Bret was the heel, he was ostensibly "in the right" as in the crowd were booing traditionally babyface kayfabe values and cheering Austin, who basically had all the traits of a traditional bad-ass heel. That was certainly the case until they did the whole Canadian Hero story. The first bit of the McMahon vs. Austin feud followed a similar pattern too, until they started booking McMahon as an outright, egotistical, control-freak asshole heel.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I'm gonna have to go with Bret Hart, during 1997. When America seemed to turn on him, all because he continued to try and live up to being a hero that played by the rules. Instead of what they seemed to like moving forward, in that of an attitude filled bad-ass, who respected no one.

I always wanted to side with Bret Hart during this storyline, because I never understood why he was in the wrong. Technically, he never was. He left to take time off after dropping the title to Shawn Michaels at Mania 12, only to return at the end of the year to a guy who didn't respect anything about him. So he defeats Steve Austin and subsequently earned a shot at the Heavyweight title a month later, only to be unofficially screwed by Shawn Michaels interfering when he truly had no business even being at ringside.

So dispite gaining a rematch, like he would've deserved, instead he's thrown into the Royal Rumble. At which point, he eliminates Steve Austin, only to be eliminated last, by Steve Austin. However, instead of being awarded the match, because video footage clearly showed Austin being tossed out.. he's thrust into a Fatal Four Way, with Vader, Undertaker and Steve Austin. WHY?!

So following that, Hart was once again screwed out of a title match because of Austin, and resulted in a Submission match at Mania.. in which the fans turned on Hart, because Austin called him a whiner and a baby. I fail to see how Hart was in the wrong, for merely stating that he felt he was being screwed over countless times, and rightfully so. Let's not forget, that the fans completely turned on Hart.. for doing the exact thing Steve Austin had been doing, in the months leading up to the match.. and that's fighting dirty, and attacking his opponent, after the match. So they cheer one man, and boo another, dispite both doing the exact same thing.

SO.. Hart turned on America, after America turned on Hart. He reformed the Hart Foundation, and was cheered, loved and embraced all around the world, except for in the States. Yet Hart was viewed as the "overall heel", regardless of the fans cheering or booing. And all because, he was only stating the truth.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I think many who disapproved of the Undertaker's gimmick change would agree with Kane's perpective when he chose to bury him alive in '03.

No longer was the Undertaker a relentless fighting machine. He'd become a fighting machine with a heart i.e. dedicating his win at WM19 to his nephew, doing more interviews, shaking hands with rookies, standing up for his wife and parading around with Old Glory. Even having a popular Nu-Metal band do his entrance music.

So Kane decided to do away with this weak, emotional Undertaker and establish himself as the the only monster left in WWE.

I personally wouldn't agree, because it came off as extremely hypocritical of Kane seeing as how he'd started talking on a regular basis, aligned himself with 2 separate faces to win the tag titles and even made jokes and kissed Lillian Garcia during a promo. So for him to say 'my brother isn't a monster anymore' when he himself had been at his most 'human' up until being made to take his mask off, the very same year, seemed pretty silly to me.

 

[slimymeteor]

I do agree that there are many instances of babyface Hulk Hogan pulling dick moves on people. Another one I can think of is in the 80's, when Hulk Hogan was regularly teaming with a face Paul Orndorff to feud with Roddy Piper and Bob Orton. Hogan and Orndorff were doing pretty well teaming together, so it seemed. This prompted Adrian Adonis to start mocking Paul Orndorff, calling him Hogan's lackey, and names like "Hulk Jr.", and implying that Hulk didn't care at all for their partnership. To prove Adonis wrong, Orndorff called Hulk Hogan (on TV), but was told in front of everyone that Hulk was "too busy working out" to come to the phone, humiliating him in front of everyone. They'd team a few more times after that, with Orndorff doing most of the work in the tags, while Hogan cared more about his own single matches. So Paul Orndorff betrayed Hogan to end the partnership, and become heel, although it was obvious that Hogan didn't give a shit about Orndorff anyway. Orndorff had a point...

Another one I can't think of, that's less of a "feud" than just a small build-up to a wrestling match, involves Jeff Hardy, soon after his return to RAW from TNA. A heel Shelton Benjamin is backstage, complaining to Grisham about how unfairly he feels he is being treated due to his skin color. Suddenly, Jeff Hardy walks up, and to Shelton's face, starts shooting black stereotypes in a mock-black voice, saying things like "shizzle my nizzle," etc. Shelton was understandably irritated by this, and challenged him to a wrestling match. Jeff Hardy was a white man who without provocation began mocking a black man with stereotypes, a black man who was already concerned about racism and stereotyping in the wrestling world. But, in the match, Jeff was the face!

 

[butsecks]

How about when the big show complained about the rock's feet hitting the floor before show was eliminated out the rumble. the rock was completely wrong on that one, and the heel big show was right but yet he was booed alltogether. WWE made it seem like the big show "thought" he was right even though he was.

 

[slimymeteor]

Great one about Bret Hart against Steve Austin. That feud is probably the best example of the heel being completely in the right. And as much as everyone called him a 'crybaby' about voicing his concerns over always getting screwed, the truth is that any other wrestler in the same position would have been just as upset.

Matt Hardy duh. Right now in his fued with Jeff, he is correct. Jeff is a "fuck-up". Not all his fault, but more often then not, yet he is the more successful one.

Well, it depends on if it really was Matt Hardy that sabotaged Jeff's pyro and tried to run his car off the road. Not really sure it was Matt, as those incidents haven't been brought up since Matt's heel turn. But, if so, then Matt is in the wrong, here. Jealousy is no excuse to MURDER YOUR OWN BROTHER. But, on the other hand, you can understand Matt's jealousy, as he was the more loyal, dedicated worker between the two. But when you try to KILL somebody, you're the bad guy.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Muhammad Hassan, he was simply pointing out that people of his race have been discriminated against since 9/11. He was right, he was also booed because he pointed out this fact.

I fully believe it was the WWE fans that turned him into a terrorist.

 

[The Brain]

I have two examples from the late 80's. In late 1987 The Islanders were scheduled to wrestle The British Bulldogs. The Bulldogs would not allow The Islanders in the ring by continuing to sick their bulldog Matilda on them. This was not the first time the Bulldogs did this to another team. Finally after being chased out several times the match began. Shortly after the opening bell The Islanders rolled out of the ring and grabbed Matilda and took her from the arena. While kidnapping the dog may be a bit extreme, the Bulldogs had gotten away with this behvior for too long. If a heel team were the ones sicking a dog on opponents the baby face teams would have been applauded for taking action like the Islanders did.

In 1989 Sensational Sherri was a guest on the Brother Love Show. During the interview Brutus Beefcake came out and started insulitng Sherri for no reason. Finally Sherri slapped Beefcake which infuriated him. Before Beefcake could react Randy Savage hit him from behind. Then Savage gave Beefcake a haircut just like Beefcake had done to countless oponents over the previous two years. All baby face announcers, fans, and of course Beefcake himself thought Savage's actions were disgraceful. A bit hypocritacal considering Beefcake's history don't you think?

 

[Razor Blade Dream]

Would I get harmed severely if I said Snitsky was right? He didn't do it.

No but seriously, I agree that Jerichos current incarnation is totally right. What NoFate007 said about older wrestlers who are not working backstage that come out to get their asses kicked is right. I also think it is kind of sad, I mean it is cool to see an older face show up but you know they are going to get their asses handed to them. It kind of kills the nostalgia factor for me.

 

[Scott Free]

I remember a match between Hogan and Kamala, in which Hogan used every dirty trick in the book to win, including throwing some white powder into Kamala's eyes to get the pin. Andre the Giant walked out, he looked at Hogan in disgust and shook his head in disapproval of his actions, and he got booed ! Hogan got the cheers for cheating to get the win and Andre got the boos for pointing it out. Andre became the heel after that and the rest is history.

 

[DeadmanInc.]

How about the Jericho/HBK feud? The whole thing was because of Shawn's love for the spotlight and his tactics of getting there. We all know about Shawn's past influence backstage and being a douche in general. Everything Y2J said was true but fans were still behind HBK during the entire feud.

Another is the Undertaker vs Kane/Paul Bearer feud back from 1997. Undertaker "burned down" their house and "scarred" Kane for life. Paul and Kane had every right to want revenge but Taker was still the face during the entire feud.

Another that comes to mind was Lita as a heel. Some of her promos about getting the recognition she deserved for being the pioneer of the women's division were all true. Her promo after her last match was also true but fans still booed her for her personal life.

Speaking of Divas, the heels are always right in any Playboy-based feuds. I hate how WWE glorifies Playboy as some classy magazine when it's obviously just something creepy old men and immature teens jerk off too.

 

[Razor Blade Dream]

How about the Jericho/HBK feud? The whole thing was because of Shawn's love for the spotlight and his tactics of getting there. We all know about Shawn's past influence backstage and being a douche in general. Everything Y2J said was true but fans were still behind HBK during the entire feud.

Another is the Undertaker vs Kane/Paul Bearer feud back from 1997. Undertaker "burned down" their house and "scarred" Kane for life. Paul and Kane had every right to want revenge but Taker was still the face during the entire feud.

Another that comes to mind was Lita as a heel. Some of her promos about getting the recognition she deserved for being the pioneer of the women's division were all true. Her promo after her last match was also true but fans still booed her for her personal life.

Speaking of Divas, the heels are always right in any Playboy-based feuds. I hate how WWE glorifies Playboy as some classy magazine when it's obviously just something creepy old men and immature teens jerk off too.

I guess compared to Hustler and such it is somewhat classy. I do see your point though. Ever notice that other than Candice and Maria most Divas were shit canned not too long after a Playboy spread?
And I will admit I read it for the short stories and articles. One of my favorite Hunter S. Thompson articles was in Playboy. It was one of his last published ones and it was a brief article on how to live life. It was a good read and I couldn't tell you who dropped their top in the issue.

 

[Shocky]

I'm going with the current version of Randy Orton.

The man is right, the McMahons are bastards, and Triple H is the one that is acting more like the hell then Orton. The McMahons have simply, kayfabe, destroyed almost every career they have interfered with on TV over the last decade. How many people has Mr. McMahon fired wrongfully, how many people joined the Kiss My Ass Club for his sheer enjoyment. How many people have the two children of McMahon destroyed in their pursuit of power within the company?

Something happened though, the McMahons got older, themselves and the remaining stars of yesteryear began to co-exist and have a mutual respect for each other. From those ashes, a new, younger star that came up during the hell fire of the McMahon Dictatorship. His name was Randy Orton. Orton is simply acting for the sake of self preservation. He's fighting the establishment, an evil power abusing establishment. He's fighting a guy that is breaking into his home and taking it out the arena. He is fighting a guy whose wife lowered a cage on one of his team mates so he could be beaten mercilessly. Randy Orton is the face in this situation, trying to take back power from the corrupt.

 

[Lee]

The one that springs to mind is Rock v Hulk Hogan. First off the promo where Vince say he created Hulkamania, he was damned right there! Next when the Rock says that Hogan was in the wilderness until the Rock challenged him to a Mania match is another great example where the heel was right.

 

[butsecks]

How about when the rock turned heel the first time? the fans were booeing him out the building which forced him to turn heel because the fans had no right to not like him.