Greatest Heel in Wrestling History

[The Deadly Viper]

This is a very interesting thread. I agree everyone talks about the greatest face of the company. Now as for the greatest heel of all time hmm lets think. Mr McMahon does come up there as he drew a lot of heat when he had the fued with Austin. Overall he actually is a pretty good heel.

As a few people have said Muhammad Hassan was a pretty beast of a heel, as he was trash talking the USA and being an Arab. I thought it was awesome and he definatley got tons of heat, it's a shame he didn't last long.

So yeah one of those 2.

 

[THEGRANDSLAM]

Vince, the man is a genius. Stone Cold wouldn't have been so hot without a great Heel. Triple H during the 'McMahon-Helmsley' era was great too, Bobby Heenan was a great Heel manager.

 

[Mr_Ab_Fab]

There are a few who get recognition
Big Boss Man, this guy wound me up so much and i loved him for it, when he drove off with big shows dead father in a casket with big show on top best thing ever! ate al snows dog pepper! this guy was a horrible human being!
Yokozuna- when this guy won the rumble i wanted to cry, and when he beat bret hart but lost to hogan stright away i was so happy that he had finally been beaten!
Ministry undertaker, what a guy was sick when he beat austin for title with the help of a fast count from shane o mac!
Shane o mac smashed it as a heel wrestler! Excellent at promos and when he beat x-pac for european title i nearly stopped watching wrestling forever!
Bobby henan family, anyone connected with this faction was one of the best heels and anyone of them could well be a contender!
So here it is best heel ever....
SHAWN MICHAELS!!!! Absolutely smashed it as a heel, everything about this guy wound everyone up! Whether you where jealous because he was so good looking or pissed off when he screwed bret this guy RULED!!! When he was bad he was very very bad!! When he was good he was evil!!!! notable heel wins/looses
1 loosing to austin wm14 have you ever been happier a heel lost?
loosing to tatanka wm9 lost but retained the title fucking hell this was awsome!! madyou you hate him even more.
screwing bret ss97!!!!!! Awsome a real heel move!!(and real aswell) and denying it for 10 years!

 

[iamcountrymusic]

Vince definitely. i'm pretty convinced he wanted to be the greatest heel of all time. He's still a heel, as with Bret Hart and before they started with hosts.

CM Punk has to be one of the greatest heels of all time, with amazing ability too. He's my personal favorite of all time. But even Vince beats him when it comes to being a heel. The man's announcing made me hate him from those days too.

Even in real life he's a heel asshole. "I make movies".

 

[boombox77]

Hollywood Hogan is it for me hands down. Never has anyone ever drew so much heat for a heel turn. Not only the throwing of crap in the ring but just the outright shock value of the whole thing. It is the greatest moment in wrestling history so that easily makes him the man

 

[cnmasaki]

Sergeant Slaughter - HUUUUGE heel in the 80's. Two words - DEATH THREATS. I believe this to be more circumstances and timing than his actual talent, but WOW.

Vince McMahon - Austin wouldn't have had the same level of success without the evil boss. Brilliant angle, brilliant heel, brilliant face.

Rowdy Roddy Piper - people would hope and pray that he get his ass beat. The great heels today study his promos to make themselves better.

Andy Kaufmann - props to whoever brought up Kaufmann, listen to the live audience in clips of him cutting promos. Louder than when Hogan went nWo... EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

Bobby Heenan - he turned Andre the Giant heel just by being his voice box. ANDRE THE GIANT. One of the most over wrestlers of all time!

Triple H - I don't think he's one of the greatest of all time, but certainly the greatest of this generation. He took back the full-on HEEL, no catchphrases, not trying to be cool, just a bad dude.

Gorgeous George - he was a ballet dancer who wore pink tights. BALLET DANCER WHO WORE PINK TIGHTS. Genius.

Ric Flair - he's Ric Flair. Any time you make a list of "Greatest", he's required to be on there.

 

[omphenom]

the best has got to be ric flair..........but one of the best is EDGE the rated R superstar.

my blood used to boil when he stole lita from matt hardy or when he cheats to when his matches or when he banished taker from wwe

 

[goldphoenix]

I was hoping I was going to be the first one to say it, but Bobby Heenan was the greatest heel manager. Growing up I just remember there was no one I wanted to see get his ass kicked more, and he wasn't even a wrestler. He took wrestlers half way decent in the ring but weren't great on the mic, and turned them into main eventers against Hogan and Warrior.

Jake Roberts was amazing on the mic. He was one of the first ones I remember not coming out and screaming and yelling. He would come out and calmly tell people how he was going to torture people and did it with an evil smile on his face. And lets not forget, who else has ever used a King Cobra as a weapon in the ring. Austin may have put rattle snakes in HHH's locker room, but it is a true heel that can have a king cobra bite and chew on a mans arm.

 

[willywonka8822]

the best heel of all time was Sgt. Slaughter
OMG the heat he got. Burning the american flag!?!?!?!?!
its a wonder they let this on TV
Death Threats
the only thing that sucked was that it only lasted for like 2 months, but people still remember this

Another heel I would like to mention is
EDGE!
he is an amazing heel and still continues to be. The angle with Vickie was epic
his feud with Taker was awesome and it spawned the last great Hell in a Cell Match
Sgt. Slaughter was the greatest heel only because of his timing, but EDGE is an amazing heel because of his natural ability

 

[ilapierre]

The Four Horsemen (Flair, Anderson, Blanchard) were the best heels in wrestling prior to 1996. Yokozuna, Vader, and Andre the Giant for a time were not far behind. Even Sergeant Slaughter and Jake Roberts were extremely hated. Anybody who says Ted Dibiase was one of the best heels is out to lunch. Dibiase was essentially a gimmick but all this revisionist history paints him in a better light as a great wrestler.
Please. I was there, he did nothing for anyone until he got into managing.

As a 29 year old, I agree with harrythem with who he picked as the two best heels of all time. For the three year period it lasted, Hollywood Hogan was the best heel of all time. I know there is a lot of hate on this site for the man because fans believe he singlehandedly killed WCW (which he did not) and threatens both the future of WWE and TNA, but you got to give the man credit where credit is due. Go back and Youtube some of his work between 1996 and 1999. Watch every Nitro and Thunder from that period. His heel turned ROCKED the wrestling world. It drew millions of households to watch WCW for three years. The moment he turned heel, the ratings went through the roof. The moment he lost the World Title after two years, ratings dropped. The moment he took a three month break, WCW's ratings plummeted. People hated him, old grandparents in the stands were even throwing garbage at the guy. But they sat their ass in the seats or tuned in just to see him get his ass kicked. And it took a good 15 months for that to happen and it never really did until Goldberg two years later. Watch his NWO commercials, watch his interviews, the guy stirred up fans to the point where people wanted to hurt him and get in the ring at him (I recall one fan even going after him in a steel cage). WWE fans hated him even more than WCW fans, because his presence in WCW threatened WWE's existence. Of course, Eric Bischoff was a great heel himself (and one of the best) and he made Hogan even more hated. I've shown old WCW to some friends and my dad and I've never seen such a hated reaction to a wrestler. Hogan and the NWO (much more heel than the Horsemen ever could be) made wrestling appear real and fans ate it up like it was real. And in reality, Hogan came up with a lot of what he said and did on the fly. It was genius. He reinvented himself as a better character than Vince could ever make him and it was the most successful period of money making in the wrestling business. All thanks to Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff. Without them, WWE would have put the world title on either Duke the Dumpster Drose or Issac Yankem, pushed guys like that instead of guys like Triple H, Stone Cold and The Rock, the Inyourhouse ppv would happen 8 times a year for 15 years and we'd be on Inyourhouse 120, Vince would have millions instead of billions, and the wrestling world would be missing the second best heel in wrestling history.

The second best heel (maybe the best when all is said and done) is Vince McMahon. McMahon's character, as amazing as it was and still is, is not all that original because he essentially copied the character Eric Bischoff created for himself a year earlier in WCW. McMahon was the WWE version of Eric Bischoff. And instead of killing the character like Bischoff did in 1999 (BIG MISTAKE), Vince ran with it to this day because he realized he was after Hogan the greatest heel in the business and that he could draw HUGE money by hanging on to the character. He knew he could never create another Hulk Hogan but he knew he could create a heel character almost as big that could combat Hogan's. Vince has always been competitive with Hogan, trying to paint himself as the master of wrestling and destroy Hogan's legacy along with anyone who challenged him (Randy Savage, Bret Hart etc). And I'll give Vince credit, he's done an amazing job with the WWE over the years, with his Mr. McMahon character, and stomping out legacies. But Hogan made WWE for him and WCW for Bischoff and will make TNA for Dixie even as a 60 year old gimp. Vince will never be able to stamp out Hogan's legacy as the man who made wrestling. Vince has always been second to Hulk Hogan and with a heel Hogan in the wrestling world it's only going to be a matter of time before Vince and his boy Triple H are second best and possibly out of business.

And Triple H hasn't been all that good a heel since 2000/2001. He just looks like such a great heel because there aren't many good heels anymore. Michaels in his prime was twice the heel Triple H EVER was.

 

[flocker]

Rick Rude was amazing. Just for using the word "sweat hogs" he deserves a nod.

Flair and Piper are classic, and everybody knows it.

A tip of the hat to the ecw Dudley boys. All of em, even Sign Guy Dudley and Dirty Dick Dudley. Joel Guertner did some funny ass heel stuff with them, too.

Raven "what about me? What about Raven?" And sitting in the corner while his crew beat the shit out of his opponent was tremendous.

To go real old school, a couple awa heels who were awesome, the (original) sheik, Paul E Dangerously and that 8 pound car phone (what an ass) as a heel manager Classic!

But I.am gonna cast my vote for Col. DeBeers. Racist, condescending, smug. I HATED him!

 

[8thwotwATG]

I am going to give you some names from the long ago past, in the earlier years of pro wrestling, all of whom could qualify as the single greatest heel of ALL TIME.
Gorgeous George Wagner, the original bleach blond cowardly heel. George Wagner not only talked enough trash to really piss off everyone who watched him, he was also a good enough wrestler to back up his blather. Probably the first performer to bring wrestling to the masses (as a heel)
Fred Blassie was, in his heyday, one of the single most feared and hated heels in the HISTORY of the wrestling business. This man risked life and limb just to climb into a wrestling ring, as fans came out in droves just to see this man get injured in the ring against their favorite face( remember that kayfabe ruled supreme back then.) Blassie was a legend in Japan as well, with his bloodbath matches with Rikidozan selling out arenas on the Japanese island on a regular basis. Scared enough fans over there for them to nickname him "the Vampire."
Wladek"Killer" Kowalski was yet another pioneer heel whose in ring antics, conditioning, and an accident in the ring made him one of the most memorable heels in ring history. virtually all of the mods and administrators here at WZ, as well as the very educated posters here are well aware of the story of Kowalski I am about to recount, but for the benefit of the very young posters here who may not have heard this, the great Kowalski was working a match against an old school face named Yukon Eric, and mistimed a leap off the top strand, tearing off Eric's very cauliflowered ear with his shin in the process. All stories seem to report that when Kowalski went to see Eric in the hospital, both men started to laugh hysterically about the incident, prompting wrestling writers at the time to report that Kowalski went to the hospital to laugh at Yukon Eric. Of course, none of this hurt Kowalski's career, and from then on, shouts of "Killer!!!" would resound through arenas whenever Kowalski appeared, and thus one of the greatest heels of all time was born.
This is just a small sample of the names of the long ago past who could qualify as the some of the greatest heels of all time. Some of the greatest heels of my era and beyond have already been mentioned, such as Roddy Piper, whose interviews and work on the mic were head and shoulders above most of his competition. jake Roberts was also an outstanding performer, not only on the mic, but he "got it" when it came to performing inside the ring as well. His body language, the way he entered the ring and his psychology in working a match all made him one of the best heels of my era. Thanks for the oppotunity to post, decent thread.

 

[coolant]

Vince McMahon. It was because of how much people hated McMahon that they loved Austin so much. Vince's character helped Austin become what he was. Maniacal Vince gets my vote.

Watch the link below. Scroll to about 6:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNTwxyYaZKU

This quite says it all. However, I think this hold true more for Roddy Piper. Youtube Pipers WCW debut. He is confronting Hogan and the newly formed NWO. In it he tells Hogan to his face: "If they didn't hate me so much, you think they would have been cheering you so much?" Check out the link Scroll to about 6min 15secs and see:

Obviously Piper debuted in WCW as a face <tweener, but lets face it, Tweeners are faces> , but all of his references were from his heel days. Knocking out Mr. T and taking on the NYC police at WM 1.

I choose Piper: Not because he was the meanest heel. He wasn't. That goes to HHH. Piper was more of comedic, yet somewhat badass heel. I choose Piper because he was Hogans foil at the beginning. He was the one that was there to help bring in Hulkamania.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Yep i mean i already voted for piper but at the start of it all at Wrestlemania one people say that hogan would have been nobody without vince, and WWF would be nothing without hogan. your leaving somebody out, Hogan AND WWF/E would have been nothing without piper as the antichrist to hogans immortality. I've already had my post on this but I voted for piper first with flair second it has to be, satndouts at making peopl LOATHE them and love them, that is manipulation

 

[skeet mg]

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase - I wasn't alive for Ted DiBiase, but I've heard and read enough about him to know that he was one of the best heels of his time. He couldn't win the WWF title from Hogan so he tried to buy the title from Andre. DiBiase was no doubt one the best wrestlers never to win a world title.

JBL - JBL was a great heel as well, especially during his 10-month title reign from 04-05. He has some of the best mic skills I've seen, and he could literally make any crowd HATE him. I also think he was one of the best heel color commentators of this generation.

As for Kurt Angle, that seems like a good argument that can be made too. He was a good heel during his feud with John Cena in 2005 and in 2004 with Eddie Guerrero. Kurt as a heel would do any say things that would just strike a nerve and annoy you a lot.

 

[jimjohnmorrision]

There were a lot of good heels when I was growing up. I hated the One Man Gang before he became Akeem,Dino Bravo,Rick Rude,Ric Flair,JBL, Shane Douglas HHH, Randy Orton, Edge and soon Alberto Del Rios. Then there are those I classify as annoying Chris Jericho, Raven, The Miz, Jack Swagger and Vicki Guerro. I don't necessarily hate them. I just wished they would shut up. There are heels I enjoy because they were/are good wrestlers or smooth talkers. Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts, Michael PS Hayes,Roddy Pipper, Terry Funk,Brian Pilman, William Regal, Big Boss Man and Kane.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Vince. Like so many others have said, if he wasnt the abusing dictating heel he was back in 98, Austin wouldnt have gotten over as he is now. I'm not sure of this but he may be the first promoter who actually had the balls to screw over Bret Hart in front of the whole world, I never have seen any other promoter do that well except Vince Russo but that was after McMahon. The whole world, promoters, ex wrestlers, other wrestling companies fanbase hate the man for real. It's only fitting a real life heel can only be the greatest heel of all time.

 

[RowdyEddyPiper]

I'll go chronologically, considering the moments all the different moments that these men scared the hell out of me or nearly made me weep. (Keep in mind that I am in no way an internet wrestling expert like some of these people make themselves out to be. I'm a mere 26 year old wrestling fan who's earliest memories were of Roddy Piper on Piper's Pit)

1. Roddy Piper- without a doubt my number one pick. He defined what it is to be the loud-mouth bully. What's worse is that he's delivering killer stand-up comedy while doing it. It was born in Portland and peaked with The War To Settle The Score. It came so natural to him that I always thought he was actually like that. With an exception to Ric Flair...and MAYBE Santino, there have been very few that have been able to match his work on the mic.

2. Ric Flair- So good that you can't stand it. His eye-pokes alone would make me wanna through my shoe at him. I remember some of my earliest Ric Flair memories were of him appearing on WWF television with the WCW/NWA Heavyweight Championship. He had smashed Piper (then-face) in the head with the belt thus sealing his place as one of the most hated wrestlers for me. NOW, his work on the mic in TNA is unprecedented. The promo that he'd cut with Jay Lethal (who was doing a killer Flair impression) was easily one of the best 8 minutes in wrestling television.

3. Jake "The Snake" Roberts- Even though he'd was a face in my eyes, He scared me shitless when he started using a king cobra in the ring. I didn't know what to think when he'd gotten it to chew on Randy Savage's arm. It had never been taken that far and I'm pretty sure that hasn't been done again. He's earned his place on the list.

4. Owen Hart- Without a doubt, was the most hated wrestler of 1994. He'd gone heel after turning on his injured brother after they'd lost their rematch to the Quabecers. He went on to win the King of the Ring that year and even cost Bret Hart his title at that years Survivor Series (lost to Bob Backlund in an "Towel" match). He perfected the post-match "tantrum" that wrestlers like Chris Jericho would later do.

5. Bret Hart- I'm referring to his brief reforming of the Hart Foundation in the very late 90's. His angle was abit like that of "Team Canada" however he concentrated more on his discust for what the Attitude era was bringing. I counldn't believe how much I hated Bret during this time. In fact, I remember seeing people spit on him and shoot him the finger. This was VERY rare at the time.

6. Vincent K. McMahon- He's got one of the most hatable walks in wrestling. The face of pure evil. This man is American's boss. Anyone can relate to a hatred for your employer but Vince rolled ever shitty boss you can think into one supreme being. Two words "YOU'RE FIRED!!!""

7. Hollywood Hogan- In the beginning, you just hated what the Hulkster had become. "Hollywood"?! Boot polish on the beard?!!! Oh my!!". Then I begin actually hating Hogan. Particularly during the Icon .vs. Icon angle with Roddy Piper. The NWO had attacked Piper and spray painted NWO on Piper's surgery scar. Towards the fall of WCW, I just seemed to me that Hogan didn't want to "pass the torch". This angered me on a different level, much like the way I felt when I found out that the Ultimate Warrior was actually a douche bag. Not to say Hogan was a douche, but at that moment in time, I just didn't know. Now that I look back at it, "Hollywood" wasn't such a bad chapter in the book of Hogan.

Notable mentions: "Lionheart" Chris Jericho, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Andy Kaufmann, "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

 

[#hamler]

There are four that come to mind that would quite possibly be seen as the greatest heels in wretling. Vince McMahon, Edge, The Rock and CM Punk. Three very different types of heels, and great performers in, and out of the ring. Sorry, don't know too much about the 80s other than what I've heard.

The Rock- How could anyone doubt this guy was an astonishing heel. Very very cocky which is needed to play a heel character. He was better as a heel, then he is as a face. Good looks, great in ring performene, very over with the crowd, and just an asshole. I love the way this guy played so well to the crowd. For example, he'd say something like "finally, The Rock has come back too who gives a flying fuck". Hahaha it would make me laugh so hard. He won them over as a face, using his catchphrases to an adavntage and when he turned heel, the crowd would chant with him, only to be shot down by the Rock. A classic heel and one of the best I've seen.

Vince McMahon-A boss type of heel. Everything is his way, or the highway. You either do what he wants or "you're fired". Another classic heel. He really got the crowd to hate him where ever he went. If it wasn't for Vince and Austin stunning him, we wouldn't have Randy Orton punting or DDTing the McMahon family. Vince started the whole beat up your boss thing, and tell them to go fuck themselves. Without Vince, we wouldn't have Today's type of heel boss. Like Bischoff, Hogan, the Raw GM, all the heel GMs over the years have Vince to thank for making it possible for the boss, to be hated.

Edge- Another great type of heel. Its like everytime this guy would cheat someone out of a win, you'd be like "dammit, go fuck off". That's a good heel. I'm a huge Edgehead. And his constant screwing people for championship was awesome. I loved the way the guy just claimed everything for himself. The Ultimate Opportunist. He would take what's his. I don't think either one of his nine championship reigns didn't start with some kind of screwing. And everytime this guy screwed someone, we felt it. A great heel in my opinion.

CM Punk- makes you feel as if you are the complete scum of the earth. You are lower then anyone else. You're shit. He makes you feel like everyones better than you. If he's talking to the audience and says he's better than you, you feel as if he's talking directly to you. He rants in the ring, which makes his mic skills outstanding. Another greta type of heel. Making you feel like CM Punk is right, and dammit, I'm wrong. His ways are better and he speaks the truth. Only a great heel can make you feel that way, and Punk is that type of heel.

 

[Kaneanite]

I have to agree about Edge. His feud with Cena was legendary and he played one of the greatest Heel roles I've ever seen. Lita added to it as well. Seeing him at Cena's home slapping around Cena's dad while Cena just watched innocently was vicious. Definitely a top of the line heel. His whole gimmick just added to it. Even when he was with Christian, having Rhino interfere to win the TLC match. Edge has always been, and will always be, a great heel.

 

[byrnside]

My kind of thread as I've always loved heels. Several choices for me.

Jake the Snake surely would go top 5. His mind games in and out of the ring have been legendary and changed the face of wrestling as we knew it. His feud with Randy Savage was insatiable. Who can forget the snake popping out of the wedding present or when he actually attacked Savage with the cobra.

Another honorable choice is definitely Triple H, probably my favorite wrestler of all time. As The Game, he brought back the dastardly heel at a time when the business really needed it. He wasn't just the typical arrogant heel though, when he needed to, he kicked ass and took names. Bringing in the sledge hammer was a brilliant move, and I can't count how many names he's pummeled with that thing.

But my top choice has to be Chris Jericho from his first heel run in WCW. Here is a guy who brought back the cocky, shameless heel and took it to a new level. Along with Stone Cold around the same time, he made it cool to like the heel. He always had catchy phrases and brilliant ideas, that if you read his book, you'd know were mostly his ideas and not WCW creative. Who could forget Rufus? Or the angle where he wanted Rey's mask.

 

[The Pizzaman]

I'm kind of suprised no one mentioned Kurt Angle. Of course, when he arrived, he was the annoying, arrogant, (listing accomplishments type of heel). But over the years, his character progressed so much more. He became one of the best heels I had ever seen and was even cutting his best promos in my opinion with his last WWE heel run. The fans gave him so much heat when he entered. And the way he retaliated was priceless.

Now I'm with you there. Kurt Angle was a genius as a heel on the mic, his undiluted attitude and the fact that he said what he wanted when he wanted. Come on he is the only Olympic Gold Medallist and usually you would expect an Olympian to be a major face but no, he came into professional wrestling as an arrogant self centred fool thinking that because he had a gold medal he was better than anyone else. Well he is the only wrestler who can honestly say that he was better than any one else. He has the medal to prove it!!!! Enough said

 

[Trill Co$by]

The dirtiest player in the game-The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Leader of arguably the greatest heel faction, the 4 Horsemen. 16 time world champion, most of them as a heel. One of his signature moves was to poke his opponent in the eye. And, of course, he didn't mind delivering a low blow if necessary. He did anything it took to hold on to the title. Every male fan wanted to be him, riding in limos & jets & sleeping with beautiful women, and Flair let the fans know they could never be him. Plus, he was the major influence on every heel that followed him, including HHH. It's an old school choice, but it's gotta be Ric Flair.

My choice exactly...

There have been great heels before him... mainly those that came from greats like Harley Race and Buddy Roger, but Ric Flair was the Ultimate Heel... He was one of the first World Champion heels to use cheap heat to get him over. Stuff like attacking the referee or bad mouthing the hometown in those days were frowned upon a world champion, but Flair made it popular. And along the way, his mold from dirty rotten heel to the Nature Boy was publicly put on display. Ric Flair is the inspiration for a lot of great heels today and for good reason. And in all honesty, if there's anyone who can turn the cookie cutter face like AJ and make him a top of the line heel in today's world, it is Flair. There is nobody better than Flair whether you talk terms of Charisma or the ability to shoot promos.

 

[KnowBuddy]

i have to say JBL, yes HHH is the one everyone is going to remember as well as McMAHON, i just trully miss hating him the most...
i also hated HONKY TONK MAN, i hated him because he held the intercontinental title for song long when others like rick rude my perfect, steamboat, bam bam bigelow deserved it more.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Hulk Hogan was the most beloved face and the most hated heel in the history of the industry. Nobody else can ever say that.

That's how good he really was. He wasn't the best in-ring performer, he didn't even have the best promos...but there was clearly something about this guy that made everybody focus on him.

I also think the fact that he wasn't very good in the ring also added to a lot of the hatred that "IWC" and other guys, who don't value anything but in-ring ability, had.