Heel or Face?

[chicagokmc]

For the following wrestlers,

1) Did you like them better as heel or face? And

2) Were they most effective as heel or face?

I ask these as separate questions because in today’s world a lot of people tend to get tired of faces and gravitate to liking the heels. So by asking the separate questions we can see what you like and what you think worked best. For example, I liked it when Stone Cold joined Vince and HHH to be the 2 man Power Trip. I thought SCSA Appreciation Day and him playing the ukulele to impress Vince were classics. But Austin is clearly most effective as the anti-authority, ass kicking brawler who plays up to the fans. Heel CM Punk? He wore on me. I liked him much better as a face and I think we see from the pops he is better as a face.

Rock

Undertaker

Steve Austin

Hulk Hogan

Daniel Bryan

CM Punk

Shawn Michaels

HHH

Sheamus

Dolph Ziggler

John Cena

Vince

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I won't follow the chronology as I start to answer your questions.
I agree that Stone Cold was far more enjoyable and effective as a heel, just as CM Punk. But I dissent with your assertion that "Heel CM Punk? He wore on me. I liked him much better as a face and I think we see from the pops he is better as a face". Just because he got more pops as a face doesn't make him "more effective" as a face. In fact, if there was anyone who was an effective heel in the same league as HHH, Austin, and Chris Jericho, it was CM Punk- and he was even a unique and different heel.

I loved Austin as a heel far more than the goddamn Austin who weekly harms/injures/hurts/embarrasses Vince Mcmahon because as a heel, he was fresh, novel and hilarious and it hardly ever got boring because one week you saw him play the guitar, next week Kurt and Austin compete in the ring to decide who has Vince's favour by trying to hug him! But of course Austin can be said to be "more effective" as an anti-authority babyface because of the T-shirt sales numbers and ppv buyrates.

As for the others:-
The Rock:- I always enjoyed The Rock as a babyface/hero but I must say that he was far more effective in evoking a multiplicity of responses(both boos, cheers, belly laughters) when he returned and turned heel in 2003.

Vince McMahon:- Far more effective and enjoyable as a heel of course! But tolerable and entertaining as a face as well.

Sheamus:- He's very unidimensional and unilateral as a face but his matches are still fun to watch. For him to be more effective, there's a simple solution- TURN HEEL SOON FELLA.

Shawn Michaels:- Since for a large chunk of his career(especially latter career) he has been a babyface, I'm sort of ambivalent about Shawn. I think Shawn Michaels has been equally effective as a heel boytoy, a DX Rebel, and the good Ol' Shawn Michaels in the 2000s.

HHH:- More effective as a heel. Enjoyable/Okay as a face.

Undertaker:- Tends to get boring, repetitive and unidimensional as a face- whether it's the deadman or the biker Undertaker. He was far more effective in terms of entertaining, thrilling and unpredictable segments as a heel(2001-2002, 1999).

I'd conclude by saying that few wrestlers are equally successful, effective and entertaining both as face and heels and CM Punk , Austin, Rock, and Shawn Michaels are exemplary ones. Vince too (though Vince being Vince is on an entirely different level).

(I did not include the other wrestlers you enlisted for reasons such as prejudice, bias, extreme hatred of certain wrestlers(Daniel Bryan, John Cena, HH), and insignificant, insufficiently talented (Dolph Ziggler).

 

[Im4Ryback]

Ryback is better face and is wasted as a heel he should go away from axel and be a top guy that wwe failed to make him firstly he should be the next IC or US champion.He was ripped off by axel on smackdown so bring back the feed me more chants and after a feud with axel give him a shot at a title.
As for others I think Ziggler was better as a heel when he was with AJ and Big E now he is wasted as a face.
Cena and Bryan should be faces it fits their character better, bryan was ok as a heel and cena should never be heel.
Sheamus is a better face he needs to stay face.
The Rock is a better face then heel like in his feud with CM Punk for the wwe championship
Yes Stone cold Steve Austin was definitely better as a heel.

 

[N!CKALAS CAGE]

Rock- Hard one, but I have to lean towards heel. I think his short 2003 run was gold. As much as I loved seeing him mock and verbally tear down the heels, I enjoyed him trolling the fans even more.

Undertaker- Even though I really enjoyed his work in the Ministry, I like him more as a face overall. I loved when JR referred to him as "The Conscience of the WWE." It's awesome to see such a dark and physically intimidating guy beat down the evil heels, like Jake Roberts, Kane, Mankind, Edge, etc. Like a cross between the Grim reaper and Batman.

Austin- Definitely face, but he would have never been as over if he didn't have such a great heel run. After the double turn at Wrestlemania 13, that was first time we got to see him work as a face, and he never actually changed his character, he just beat down the heels (with the occasional stunner to faces).

*On a side note, that is why I love the Shield so much and why I feel like they are so effective as faces now. They're face turn was very seamless and they are pretty much the same characters as heels, similar to Austin.

Hulkster- What's funny about Hogan, was that even though I liked him as a kid, I was never a true fan and got really sick of him after awhile. I was a bigger fan of other faces like Savage, Warrior, Bret, and Sting in WCW. I loved when the Undertaker beat him at Survivor Series 91, I was only 9 years old at the time so that should tell you something.

I didn't really become a Hogan fan until he joined the NWO, so you can definitely say I liked him more as a heel. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this one, considering I'm an older fan in my early 30s. I was never a Hulkamaniac, but I was an NWOite. Loved wearing my NWO shirt in high school.

Daniel Bryan- Face for sure. His heel work was very entertaining, and I loved seeing him play the insecure little weasel that fans would mock with the Yes chants.

Now that we see him playing the inspiring face whose spirit cannot be broken, I don't think I ever wanna see him be a heel again. His size and moves just work better as a face.

CM Punk- Just like the Rock, this one is pretty tough. I'm gonna lean towards face because I really thought his character was the most entertaining during 2011 after the pipebomb moment. It's difficult to make a choice when you take his heel runs in the Straight Edge Society days and his run with Heyman into account.

I was initially pissed when he turned on the Rock, because I thought the booking didn't make much sense at the time, although it does now in hindsight seeing how he would drop the belt to the Rock and challenge Taker's streak. I also really enjoyed his work with Heyman.

Punk's face run was awesome even though he was never truly given the chance to be the number one guy. The Nash angle was just pointless, and losing the HHH did nothing for anyone. Punk was just a guy you wanted to cheer for, and had the universal support of the crowd, unlike Cena's mixed reactions. Punk's pipebomb made feel an interest in the product, that I didn't feel since 2003. I understand Cena was still the man, but I didn't see the harm in allowing Punk to headline a few PPVs. I mean was Cena vs. Big Show for 68th time really main event worthy.

HBK- Heel for sure. I liked him the best when he first hooked up with HHH, Chyna, and Rude to form DX. I also loved his first heel turn, when he threw Jannety through Beefcake's barber shop window, then had Sherri as his manager.

I didn't like him too much during his face run in the mid 90s, and many fans felt the same way. I remember the MSG crowd at Survivor Seried 96 booing face Shawn, and cheering for Sid.

His last face run until retirement was pretty awesome though, but he was never able to top his work as a heel in my opinion. Not very many can play the cocky, arrogant douche like Shawn as effectively (that's how he was in real life at the time) while putting on 5 star matches.

HHH- Heel. I liked him as a face in DX, but he's just a natural heel. His heel run in the late 90s up until he tore his quad was my favorite run of his. I also loved him in Evolution.

Vince- Heel 100%. We had some fun seeing as a face, but his heel work is just legendary, one of the best of all-time. Who didn't want to beat the crap out of him during the Attitude era.

 

[N!CKALAS CAGE]

I just wanted to add a few more that weren't originally listed in the OP:

Booker T- Face for sure. I never liked him a heel, he just came off as goofy with the whole "tell me he did not just say that" nonsense. His King Booker run was pretty good though.

It would have been nice to see him with a title run as a face. It's a shame he never got the chance.

Chris Jericho- This one is difficult, as he is great on both sides like the Rock and CM Punk. I'm gonna have to go with face because I really enjoyed his first face run in the Attitude era.

I truly believe Jericho had potential to be the number one guy. He should have had a title run as a face anywhere between 2003-05 when Austin and Rock were long gone as full-time performers.

Oh well, he did really well for himself later as a heel in 08, but I just liked him a little more as a face.

Kane- Heel, definitely. He's such an underrated and talented performer he can make the big red monster likeable as a face. But as a heel, he was just scary. No one had the presence he did in the Attitude era.

Bret Hart- Face. He was one of my childhood heroes growing up along with Savage and Sting. Who didn't love the undersized, fighting champion who took on all challenges. His anti-American heel run was fun, but Bret as a heel got pretty stale really quick.

 

[lowandmighty]

My opinion is:

Rock: (assuming you mean The Rock) Liked him better as a Heel. Most effective as a heel when part of the original corporation while feuding with Mankind.

Undertaker: Liked him better as a heel. I thought he was also most effective as a heel, especially during his original WWF title feud against Hulk Hogan which saw him join forces with other established heels such as Ric Flair and Sgt Slaughter.
Undertaker proved himself during this time as a rare young breakthrough success. Honorable mention to the ministry of darkness period.

Steve Austin Liked him better as a face. Most effective as a face during the on again off again feud with Vince McMahon during the late 1990's.

Hulk Hogan Liked him better as a face. Most effective as a face during the height of Hulkamania in the 1980's through to 1993. His Character was key to transforming professional wrestling from niche to mainstream popularity throughout the world. His reputation built from the before mentioned time period also helped him gain even more success in later years both for himself and for professional wrestling as a whole.

Daniel Bryan Liked him better as a face. Most effective as a face. Annoying to watch as a heel he changed many fan's opinions of him during the tongue in cheek segments parlayed during his time as a member of team hell no. Since then coined the "yes" pose bringing him unparalleled popularity amongst todays WWE fans.

CM Punk Liked him better as a heel. Most effective as a heel during his various heel runs from the straight edge society through to the elongated title run of recent years. Some argue had he remained a heel in the wake of Daniel Bryan he could've shared the spotlight with him rather than falling into obscurity.

Shawn Michaels Liked him better as a heel. This one is very hard to distinguish where he was most effective and whether or not he was meant to be a heel or a face during those times such as him time leading the original DX.

HHH Liked him better as a heel. Most effective as a heel during his time as the cerebral assassin when feuding with people like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley in the late 1990's to early 2000's

Sheamus Liked him better as a face. Most effective as a face.

Dolph Ziggler Didn't like him as either a heel or a face. Most effective as a heel due to his part in Big E Langston's rise to popularity.

John Cena Liked him better as a heel. Most effective as a face.

Vince Liked him better as a heel. Most effective as a heel especially during his role as the leader of the original corporation and during his on again off again feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin as well as his various others against Hulk Hogan, Shawn Micheals etc.

 

[Gibby]

Not going to answer them all.

CM Punk: can't really be either. As a face, his need to be loved is too cloying to ever really love him. As a heel, he is too over and enjoyed by a broad spectrum of fans to be hated. It's why he's such a good person to throw into a feud; he can play the opposite side of the line to his opponent. If he came back now: against Bryan he'd likely be heel. Against Lesnar or Cena: face.

Steve Austin: with a character such as his - face. I know he's a fairly unrepentant loner who kicks everyone's ass, curses a blue streak and never quits. But you can't really have that kind of marketability staying heel. Great as a heel from dropping the Ringmaster act though, but for a limited shelf life. His second heel run he had to undermine his character a little bit. He's just too over.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Punk: he can be both. but i think that the best of his mic came from his time as a heel.

Austin: to me (and i know i gonna be bashed for this) sucked as a heel. He is a fan fav, his wreckless attitude made him "face". He is the ultimate anti-hero.

Rock: he can be the most obnoxious heel, and the most beloved face. Most versatile entertainer in history. Butttt......hollywood rock is by far the best heel in history.

John Cena: he is better as john cena, polarizing reactions and getting ppl behind him and ppl boo him out of the building.

Taker: imo he never had an align...either as face or heel. yess...he did the ministry...and he did his phenom stuff. but if you think about it, his character was always a tweener. the guy is an evil entity, but he doesnt have the behaviour of a heel.