In today's WWE, is there more upside to being a heel?

[NegativeFeedback]

In today's WWE, there is only one top face and that's John Cena. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have become very popular in their own right, but their runs at the top were shortlived and fizzled in favor of some more Cena main events. (Case in point, Bryan and Punk had an amazing WWE title match right before Cena got to wrestle John freaking Laurinitis in the main event).

There are plenty of other talented faces who should be killing it on the midcard like Tyson Kidd, Evan Bourne and Justin Gabriel, but none of them get any TV time because Cena's default presence at the top moves the other top faces down the pole into the midcard and squishes the actual midcarders into obscurity.

In an ideal world, it would be Zack Ryder having the fresh midcard feud with Fandango, but instead, it's 2-time World Champ and past main eventer Dolph Ziggler. He's working the Pre-Show, because CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, who have 8 world titles between them and past SummerSlam main events, are working the mid-card. And guess who the tag title contenders are? That's Big Show and Rey Mysterio, who have 10 World titles and countless main events between them. Even other past main eventers like Mark Henry were left off the card because there's just no room.

Where does that leave The Usos? The Prime Time Players? Tyson Kidd, Evan Bourne, Justin Gabriel, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, the new kids waiting to be called up from NXT???

But I hear things like Antonio Cesaro being turned face and if I were him, I'd be really scared at the prospect. Sure, he might get a good push at the beginning, but he'll be sent back down in favor of the established main event guys. Just wait til Chris Jericho, Christian, RVD and Sheamus come back. See where Cesaro lies on the card then. My guess is that he won't even make it on the pre-show.

As a heel, you can hope to at least be the guy that eventually jobs to Cena in the PPV main event. Hell, it's the only way R-Truth and The Miz were able to get main event runs. I'm guessing there is a LOT more upside to being a heel and both Miz and Brodus must be rejoicing at their new heel turns. But things don't look well for the current faces and the ones who are getting called up.

Once they ended the PPV brand split, it became more and more obvious that a lot of guys weren't EVER going to get a fair shot. 2014 is going to make that clear more than ever.

 

[Aquaman6686]

What hardly anybody these days realizes is that the reason why all the new talent that's been created in the last decade got the opportunities they did was because of the Brand Extension. With no split rosters and only one top championship, no new stars are going to get made for a long, long, LONG time. There's too much top talent already but WWE only wants one top guy. A few years ago there was room for half a dozen top guys, now there's not. We're going to wind up seeing John Cena and Randy Orton trade the title back and forth repeatedly, with someone else getting a brief transitional reign here and there. The days of guys like Del Rio, Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, Sheamus, etc. having worthwhile title reigns are over.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

What hardly anybody these days realizes is that the reason why all the new talent that's been created in the last decade got the opportunities they did was because of the Brand Extension. With no split rosters and only one top championship, no new stars are going to get made for a long, long, LONG time. There's too much top talent already but WWE only wants one top guy. A few years ago there was room for half a dozen top guys, now there's not. We're going to wind up seeing John Cena and Randy Orton trade the title back and forth repeatedly, with someone else getting a brief transitional reign here and there. The days of guys like Del Rio, Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, Sheamus, etc. having worthwhile title reigns are over.

I alluded to it by saying that the death of opportunity began with the end of the PPV brand split. Sure, guys still got their own feuds on SD and Raw, but on PPV, it was always the same matches. You didn't get "MVP vs. Kane" and "JBL vs. Matt Hardy" once the PPV split was over. The PPV midcard became a concoction of all the Raw and SD matches that would have main evented their own PPVs.

I think WWE could still do a PPV Split without the Brand Extension. Just don't repeat roster members on consecutive PPVs. If you do RVD vs. Del Rio at Night of Champions, you keep them off Battleground. Etcetera. UFC does it and gives a lot of guys space for them to show what they got. WWE should do the same.

 

[A11oftheLights]

Before I address the actual question is it at all possible for the marks to not mention Bryan and Punk and how "they should be main eventing WM", guess what they aren't Punk will be facing HHH and Bryan may be able to sneak into the main event but will more than likely be facing Bray Wyatt and if he loses will be forced to join the family.

Now to the topic. There is probably a slight advantage to being a heel as the fans seem to rally behind them however once WWE turns them face they eventually sputter out. Punk, Bryan, Ziggler and Del Rio all got over massively as heels(except del rio they he wasn't massively over but was over). However once turned face they have all slowed down except punk whose solid as a face or heel

 

[Bernkastel]

This isn't a new concept. It's a practice as old as kayfabe itself. It's always been easier to play a more convincing heel than it is to be a massively over face. Getting people to hate you is easy; practically anyone can do that, but getting people to like you is hard... really hard. And for that reason heels aren't the ones the fans are paying to see. Their contribution is making things as difficult as possible for the face to win in the end. The better they do that the better heel they are.

When a new guy debuts he's usually a heel because it's a quick way for him to get exposure. If he flops completely as a heel then that's usually a sign that he won't be much good, and will flop completely, as a face. And like faces there is a hierarchy of bad guys too. Obviously you'd want your top stars facing off against the most hated heels.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

This isn't a new concept. It's a practice as old as kayfabe itself. It's always been easier to play a more convincing heel than it is to be a massively over face. Getting people to hate you is easy; practically anyone can do that, but getting people to like you is hard... really hard. And for that reason heels aren't the ones the fans are paying to see. Their contribution is making things as difficult as possible for the face to win in the end. The better they do that the better heel they are.

When a new guy debuts he's usually a heel because it's a quick way for him to get exposure. If he flops completely as a heel then that's usually a sign that he won't be much good, and will flop completely, as a face. And like faces there is a hierarchy of bad guys too. Obviously you'd want your top stars facing off against the most hated heels.

That's not what we're talking about though. It's not a question about which one is EASIER, it's about which one provides more opportunity to move up in the card.

WWE currently sets the face spots in stone and rotates the heels around them. There are a few heels who are constantly on PPV, but they aren't set in stone. Del Rio was on every PPV and booked as WWE's #1 heel, but they kept him off TLC like it was nothing. You think they would do that with Cena, Sheamus or Punk? I don't think so.

Fandango and Bray Wyatt are in their rookie year and both got spots in favor of Del Rio. Wade Barrett, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Mark Henry got PPV main events as heels. And when their programs were done, they were moved out and replaced with other heels while their opponents stayed constantly at the top of the card.

Today's WWE doesn't allow midcard faces to get an opportunity. Their spots are filled with all the top faces who take a backseat to Cena, or the top heels who just turned face. The rest of the faces can stay at the bottom without any opportunity to show what they've got.

 

[L@RISANO]

Before I address the actual question is it at all possible for the marks to not mention Bryan and Punk and how "they should be main eventing WM", guess what they aren't Punk will be facing HHH and Bryan may be able to sneak into the main event but will more than likely be facing Bray Wyatt and if he loses will be forced to join the family.

Now to the topic. There is probably a slight advantage to being a heel as the fans seem to rally behind them however once WWE turns them face they eventually sputter out. Punk, Bryan, Ziggler and Del Rio all got over massively as heels(except del rio they he wasn't massively over but was over). However once turned face they have all slowed down except punk whose solid as a face or heel

Daniel Bryan is the most over guy on the roster(as a FACE) at this present time, which is why last night, even John Cena was doing the YES chants...

 

[#tamale]

WWE currently sets the face spots in stone and rotates the heels around them.

Welcome to pro wrestling.

Fandango and Bray Wyatt are in their rookie year and both got spots in favor of Del Rio.

Fandango was a flavor of the month. Bray Wyatt >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Alberto Del Rio.

Wade Barrett, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Mark Henry got PPV main events as heels. And when their programs were done, they were moved out and replaced with other heels while their opponents stayed constantly at the top of the card.

Outside of Mark Henry, the rest of those guys were overrated by the WWE brass and were sent down to their proper place on the card.

You know where there is upside? When you have talent to move up on the card. The cream always rises to the top. WWE struggled with discovering their top heels and faces because their mid-card talent wasn't up to par. It seems that they are in the right direction now.

 

[Bernkastel]

That's not what we're talking about though. It's not a question about which one is EASIER, it's about which one provides more opportunity to move up in the card.

WWE currently sets the face spots in stone and rotates the heels around them. There are a few heels who are constantly on PPV, but they aren't set in stone. Del Rio was on every PPV and booked as WWE's #1 heel, but they kept him off TLC like it was nothing. You think they would do that with Cena, Sheamus or Punk? I don't think so.

Fandango and Bray Wyatt are in their rookie year and both got spots in favor of Del Rio. Wade Barrett, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Mark Henry got PPV main events as heels. And when their programs were done, they were moved out and replaced with other heels while their opponents stayed constantly at the top of the card.

Actually it is what you're talking about because the two absolutely go hand in hand. Because it is easier being a heel, logically that would open up allot more opportunities for screen time. The heels are going to rotate on the card allot more than faces because they can be replaced simply by how much hate they generate; for faces it is no where near that simple to change how much people like you.

You say Del Rio was the number one heel? Even if that were true he's been replaced by Randy Orton. That's been evident for weeks. It makes sense that Del Rio would play second fiddle to a stronger heel. For faces it doesn't work the same way. Heels aren't the ones drawing people to the show; faces are. People pay to see the face win. It's the heels job to make the face's job of winning hard, thereby causing him to draw more. Orton makes a better natural opponent for Cena than Del Rio. As did heel CM Punk.

Today's WWE doesn't allow midcard faces to get an opportunity. Their spots are filled with all the top faces who take a backseat to Cena, or the top heels who just turned face. The rest of the faces can stay at the bottom without any opportunity to show what they've got.

That's only true for mid card heels that aren't convincing and mid card faces. And that makes total sense. In fact that's the way it's always been. And no, the mid card faces do get the opportunity very time they perform. When they reach the next level they move up. Some can move up quickly and suddenly, while others make take years, or never do.

To answer your question: yes, there is a huge upside to being a heel because it's easier than being a face. That's not a new concept.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

That's only true for mid card heels that aren't convincing and mid card faces. And that makes total sense. In fact that's the way it's always been. And no, the mid card faces do get the opportunity very time they perform. When they reach the next level they move up. Some can move up quickly and suddenly, while others make take years, or never do.

When has Tyson Kidd been given the opportunity to show what he's got? Or Evan Bourne? They get a couple matches throughout the year, hardly any on Raw, and when they do, they're 5 minute affairs, never enough for them to show what they are made of. It's insane if you think they have an equal shot as say, The Big Show, with getting over with the fans.

Actually it is what you're talking about because the two absolutely go hand in hand. Because it is easier being a heel, logically that would open up allot more opportunities for screen time. The heels are going to rotate on the card allot more than faces because they can be replaced simply by how much hate they generate; for faces it is no where near that simple to change how much people like you.

And yet, WWE used to have brand split PPVs where some faces would work some PPVs and others would work in-between. It was a natural cycle that felt fresh and allowed for PLENTY young faces to be showcased on PPV. They switched frequently just as the heels. But not anymore.

You say Del Rio was the number one heel? Even if that were true he's been replaced by Randy Orton. That's been evident for weeks. It makes sense that Del Rio would play second fiddle to a stronger heel.

I know he's been replaced, but my point is that the #1 heel is REPLACEABLE. Can't say the same for John Cena. He's #1 forever, and you won't find him off a PPV any time soon. With him always in place, Punk, Sheamus and Bryan will be firmly behind him, with Big Show, Rey and Henry right after. No chance for any of the other guys to get showcased.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Fandango was a flavor of the month. Bray Wyatt >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Alberto Del Rio.

You know where there is upside? When you have talent to move up on the card. The cream always rises to the top. WWE struggled with discovering their top heels and faces because their mid-card talent wasn't up to par. It seems that they are in the right direction now.

Bray Wyatt is a flavor of the month just as much as Fandango. The gimmick has already peaked and their popularity is falling rapidly.


The midcard situation in WWE the past few years was great. Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, etc., all went through the midcard and several became top stars. I would say 2012 and 2013 are easily the weakest years of WWE midcard in the past twenty years. Brodus Clay, Fandango, Big E Langston, Bray Wyatt...not one of these guys is worth the time invested in them. They're all short-term fads that won't make it in the long run.

 

[Bernkastel]

When has Tyson Kidd been given the opportunity to show what he's got? Or Evan Bourne? They get a couple matches throughout the year, hardly any on Raw, and when they do, they're 5 minute affairs, never enough for them to show what they are made of. It's insane if you think they have an equal shot as say, The Big Show, with getting over with the fans.

Every time Tyson has been on TV those are his opportunities to shine. Tyson isn't that good of a worker, so obviously he's not going to be able to shoot up the card like a Punk or Bryan. But even they showed that they can be good heels first. Has Tyson? Nope. Evan was hot for a bit then he got busted with drugs and was taken off TV. He has only himself to blame for his misfortunes.

And yet, WWE used to have brand split PPVs where some faces would work some PPVs and others would work in-between.

WWE doesn't have the star power to do something like that. The top stars need to be in the best matches and story lines or the company loses money. A simple concept.

It was a natural cycle that felt fresh and allowed for PLENTY young faces to be showcased on PPV. They switched frequently just as the heels. But not anymore.

It wasn't natural. And throughout the Ruthless Aggression era the WWE has a consistent decrease in PPV buys and attendance records to show for that because the top faces weren't being booked properly. And when Rock left in 2003 things really got ugly.

I know he's been replaced, but my point is that the #1 heel is REPLACEABLE.

Of course. And he can regain his top spot just as easily. Edge, Flair, and Kane made careers out of doing so.

Can't say the same for John Cena. He's #1 forever, and you won't find him off a PPV any time soon. With him always in place, Punk, Sheamus and Bryan will be firmly behind him, with Big Show, Rey and Henry right after.

Right.

No chance for any of the other guys to get showcased.

And now you seem to be lost. The mid card faces will never move up the card unless they somehow find a way to become as big or bigger than the top star. No face is as popular as Show, Punk, or Bryan right now, let alone Cena, so of course they won't be moved up the card any higher than they already are.

Makes no sense to give a mid card face a top place on the card when he hasn't proven he can draw. Might as well be flushing money down the toilet.

 

[Headman]

This is exactly how it should be. From Bruno to Backlund to Hogan the WWE has always had a dominant face. The other main eventers were usually heels because the top face was always in the main event. It's very rare to have two or more baby face main eventers and when you do it usually means it's because you don't have anyone who can truly carry the company. Fans act as though the WWE can plug anyone into this spot but the truth is a true main eventer like John Cena doesn't come around very often. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are more like Bret Hart and HBK. As good as they were they were never even close to guys like Hogan and Austin or even Cena as far as drawing power goes. It has nothing to do with opportunity. It has to do with the fact that as good as they are casual fans don't want to see them. And casual fans make up the difference between a great buy rate and a poor one. They've got the hardcore fans money so why should they cater to that crowd?

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Makes no sense to give a mid card face a top place on the card when he hasn't proven he can draw. Might as well be flushing money down the toilet.

That just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Even all the main eventers of today had a FIRST main event at some point. Everyone needs their first big break.

The mid card faces will never move up the card unless they somehow find a way to become as big or bigger than the top star. No face is as popular as Show, Punk, or Bryan right now, let alone Cena, so of course they won't be moved up the card any higher than they already are.

And again, how do you become a top start without being given a break? Zack Ryder tried getting over elsewhere on the internet, and when he did, they just used him to launch their WWE App and then buried him once it was settled. He was popular when they buried him, but after being banished into obscurity, the crowd stops cheering.

Funny thing that phenomenon. The crowd doesn't cheer for the guys who aren't on TV. Who woulda thunk it?

Tyson was really over in the Money in the Bank match which Bryan won. How did they capitalize on it? By not putting him on TV ever again.

Evan Bourne was over after his feud with Chris Jericho where he got his first and only singles match on PPV. After that, he feuded with Orton for a while leading into their MitB which Evan was the star of. How did they capitalize? Byt not putting him on TV.

WWE doesn't ALLOW them to be top guys. Kofi busted Randy's car and was the sole survivor at Survivor Series and he was REALLY over. And they buried him. They didn't take him off TV, but they had him lose every single match and brought him down until he wasn't a big deal anymore.

WWE CHOOSES who is over and who isn't. Ryback got over and it wasn't because of natural talent. It was because of constant wins, constant TV presence, and being treated like a big deal. Doing that with ANYONE can get them over, but WWE chooses to focus on the same guys over and over.

 

[Bernkastel]

That just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Even all the main eventers of today had a FIRST main event at some point. Everyone needs their first big break.

So you'd throw a mid carder that hasn't proven that he can draw your company money for the hell of it? I can tell you have little business sense. That's what the secondary titles are for. If a face can show that he can be successful carrying the mid card then there's grounds to move him up the card. Seems to me that anyone that can move up has moved up.

Cena, Punk, Bryan, Show, Sheamus, Henry. That's plenty of faces at and near the top of the card. WWE does not need anymore.

And again, how do you become a top start without being given a break?

The opportunities come from wrestlers getting people to like or hate them every time they appear on television. It's a simple concept and probably the 3rd time I've repeated it. And we've already established that getting heel heat is easier than getting face heat.

Zack Ryder tried getting over elsewhere on the internet, and when he did, they just used him to launch their WWE App and then buried him once it was settled. He was popular when they buried him, but after being banished into obscurity, the crowd stops cheering.

WWE didn't bury him. The fans stopped supporting Ryder on their own. He reached the limitations of the gimmick and the talent he could deliver playing the gimmick. The notion that WWE would kill an sure fire opportunity to make money if it was indeed there is stupid.

Funny thing that phenomenon. The crowd doesn't cheer for the guys who aren't on TV. Who woulda thunk it?

If they aren't on television regularly then they suck. Period. The workers on television regularly do get reactions.

Tyson was really over in the Money in the Bank match which Bryan won. How did they capitalize on it? By not putting him on TV ever again.

Oh so he was over once, clearly that's enough justification to give him the WWE title

He'd have to be over every single week in order to justify being moved up the card. That's how it works.

Evan Bourne was over after his feud with Chris Jericho where he got his first and only singles match on PPV. After that, he feuded with Orton for a while leading into their MitB which Evan was the star of. How did they capitalize? Byt not putting him on TV.

Nah, he ruined that himself for violating the wellness policy. His heat dried up as a result.

WWE doesn't ALLOW them to be top guys.

They aren't top guys because they haven't shown that they can consistently be top guys.

Kofi busted Randy's car and was the sole survivor at Survivor Series and he was REALLY over. And they buried him. They didn't take him off TV, but they had him lose every single match and brought him down until he wasn't a big deal anymore.

Kofi doesn't have the "it" factor to be a major player with his current gimmick. That's been evident for years. The fact that WWE hasn't repackaged him is that they must not think he'd make it, and he's a solid mid carder that has a distinct role.

WWE CHOOSES who is over and who isn't.

No they don't. The fans chose who is over by reacting to them and interacting with them. They don't care about workers like Tyson Kidd. They care about workers like Cena, Punk, and Bryan.

Ryback got over and it wasn't because of natural talent.

It was because of constant wins, constant TV presence, and being treated like a big deal. Doing that with ANYONE can get them over, but WWE chooses to focus on the same guys over and over.

No it was because the fans took a liking to him. The WWE cannot force them to like or hate people. They do that on their own.

If the point of this thread is you trying to say "WWE should push the mid card faces" that's wrong. It's already been established that being a heel is easier and will open allot more doors. But at the same time those doors can be closed just as fast.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

So you'd throw a mid carder that hasn't proven that he can draw your company money for the hell of it? I can tell you have little business sense. That's what the secondary titles are for. If a face can show that he can be successful carrying the mid card then there's grounds to move him up the card. Seems to me that anyone that can move up has moved up.

Cena, Punk, Bryan, Show, Sheamus, Henry. That's plenty of faces at and near the top of the card. WWE does not need anymore.



The opportunities come from wrestlers getting people to like or hate them every time they appear on television. It's a simple concept and probably the 3rd time I've repeated it. And we've already established that getting heel heat is easier than getting face heat.



WWE didn't bury him. The fans stopped supporting Ryder on their own. He reached the limitations of the gimmick and the talent he could deliver playing the gimmick. The notion that WWE would kill an sure fire opportunity to make money if it was indeed there is stupid.



If they aren't on television regularly then they suck. Period. The workers on television regularly do get reactions.



Oh so he was over once, clearly that's enough justification to give him the WWE title

He'd have to be over every single week in order to justify being moved up the card. That's how it works.



Nah, he ruined that himself for violating the wellness policy. His heat dried up as a result.





They aren't top guys because they haven't shown that they can consistently be top guys.



Kofi doesn't have the "it" factor to be a major player with his current gimmick. That's been evident for years. The fact that WWE hasn't repackaged him is that they must not think he'd make it, and he's a solid mid carder that has a distinct role.



No they don't. The fans chose who is over by reacting to them and interacting with them. They don't care about workers like Tyson Kidd. They care about workers like Cena, Punk, and Bryan.







No it was because the fans took a liking to him. The WWE cannot force them to like or hate people. They do that on their own.

If the point of this thread is you trying to say "WWE should push the mid card faces" that's wrong. It's already been established that being a heel is easier and will open allot more doors. But at the same time those doors can be closed just as fast.

If Heath Slater was turned face and started squashing jobbers for weeks before moving up to beating Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio clean back-to-back, guess what, he'll be over huge. WWE knows this. They had Sin Cara jobbing every week to hardly a reaction. They put him over Del Rio twice and the crowd starts going nuts for him. It's the lay of the land. If you're allowed to go over, you will be over.

And yeah, it sounds completely stupid that WWE would bury a sure thing, but that's exactly what happened with Zack Ryder. You seem to be forgetful. Zack Ryder was still crazy over when they had him drop the title to Swagger, put him in a wheelchair, had Cena steal his girl and then had Kane wheel him off the stage. Zack was just as over if not more so than Daniel Bryan is right now. THE ROCK came back for his first match in 7 years and while he was cutting a promo, the only things fans would say was WE WANT RYDER.

But WWE took a shovel and buried him. They put him in a match at WrestleMania where he was still getting huge cheers despite his terrible booking, and they decided to have Eve give him a low blow and let him squirm in the middle of the ring for a few minutes. After that, they took him off TV. Fans still chanted WE WANT RYDER, but it slowly faded away when Ryder never showed up. WWE gets to choose who gets over and who doesn't.

Your memory is also faulty with Evan. After the awesome matches with Jericho and MitB where he was getting over huge, WWE just stopped using him. That was 18 months before his suspension.

 

[A11oftheLights]

Daniel Bryan is the most over guy on the roster(as a FACE) at this present time, which is why last night, even John Cena was doing the YES chants...

But all that started when he was a HEEL, he was running around being a cocky asshole running around the entire arena yelling yes! on anything from a win against a jobber to a roll-up win in a pointless match

 

[A11oftheLights]

Tyson Kidd is boring, Evan Bourne is boring and a drug addict that is why they are buried. Tyson Kidd while he may be a great in-ring worker he has no charisma, same as Bourne(as amazing as his shooting star press is to watch he can only shoot off so many peace signs before you want to snap his right hand off)

 

[Raptor93]

When your a heel its easier because you can antagonize people and the focus comes on you and what your doing and thus your character is more exposed and more people will hopefully invest. Faces like kofi usually dont get much attention to their characters they just get attacked then they may quickly demand a explanation but its nothin groundbreaking or interesting everyone wants to know why this dick attacked someone for no apparent reason. If faces could actually go and start confrontations and be allowed to do more then just have good morals it wouldn't matter.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's always been easier to play a more convincing heel than it is to be a massively over face.

Totally agree. Making people hate you has always been easier than making them like you. The OP makes some good points but I don't agree with the premise that every other face is being consciously kept down because of John Cena.

For all the people booing him, Cena is amazing in his natural ability to captivate audiences with what he's got inside him. He's the top face because of his abilities, but there's plenty of room for other guys to shine; it's just that no one comes close to having what Cena has, and the company is always going to run with their best. Therefore, Cena is often accused to keeping people down, which is a concept I don't buy.

Meanwhile, you can't teach charisma, but you sure can teach the evil tactics that bad guys use. It's easy for the writers to come up with dastardly deeds that make everyone hate you, and I firmly believe almost all the people on the roster prefer playing bad guys because they figure it's the quickest and easiest way to make an impact.

Still, we need good guys who can carry the mail and the main way to create them is by taking heels and turning them face. One way to do this that I haven't seen in quite a long time is to have a bad guy make an unexpected save of someone in trouble whom the fans love. True, you can't go to the well too often in this manner because fans will see it coming after awhile and steel themselves against it. But if someone is brutalizing, say, Lilian Garcia, and a wrestler previously known as a heel saves her, the cheers of the fans, in addition to the surprise of the action, might instantly turn the guy face and allow him to run with a new direction. Whether he can keep it going is another matter, but at least the door is open.

So, no, I don't think there's more upside to being a heel; it's just an easier role to play.

 

[L@RISANO]

As many have pointed out, it is somewhat easier to garner heat than it is to get cheered. However, some heels are really good in that they can be the Reason their opponent gets loud cheers(e.g. Muhammad Hassan as heel was sure to have his opponent getting cheers from the crowd cuz of the heat he got due to his character).

On a superstar getting over, I have said it quite a few times...as long as the Mid Card titles; The IC and US titles do not have direct storyline feuds involving 2 or 3 superstars even, then the Entire Mid-Card, don't matter how talented they are(There is a whole host of talent in the Mid-Card currently), none of them will EVER be able to make it as Main Eventers; but rather cuurently, a Mid-Carder is pushed suddenly, gets over with the crowd as Heel or Face and is just as suddenly put off of TV or becomes a jobber.

For instance, wouldn't it have been better if Big E Langston was "robbed" of the IC title by Sandow at TLC? It would have made their feud more interesting, people would give more support to Big E as a Face character, and Sandow would automatically be more hated by the crowd. In time, both of time could be thrust into the Main Event scene to freshen up things. Other mid-carders would be built the same way, those who can't make it as singles would be in the Tag division, and those who aren't good enough would have little to no TV time...Look at Del Rio even, I think he would be a great US Champion(Picture the US Champ coming to the ring with the Mexican flag)only if it ever happens...

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Totally agree. Making people hate you has always been easier than making them like you. The OP makes some good points but I don't agree with the premise that every other face is being consciously kept down because of John Cena.

For all the people booing him, Cena is amazing in his natural ability to captivate audiences with what he's got inside him. He's the top face because of his abilities, but there's plenty of room for other guys to shine; it's just that no one comes close to having what Cena has, and the company is always going to run with their best. Therefore, Cena is often accused to keeping people down, which is a concept I don't buy.

Meanwhile, you can't teach charisma, but you sure can teach the evil tactics that bad guys use. It's easy for the writers to come up with dastardly deeds that make everyone hate you, and I firmly believe almost all the people on the roster prefer playing bad guys because they figure it's the quickest and easiest way to make an impact.

Still, we need good guys who can carry the mail and the main way to create them is by taking heels and turning them face. One way to do this that I haven't seen in quite a long time is to have a bad guy make an unexpected save of someone in trouble whom the fans love. True, you can't go to the well too often in this manner because fans will see it coming after awhile and steel themselves against it. But if someone is brutalizing, say, Lilian Garcia, and a wrestler previously known as a heel saves her, the cheers of the fans, in addition to the surprise of the action, might instantly turn the guy face and allow him to run with a new direction. Whether he can keep it going is another matter, but at least the door is open.

So, no, I don't think there's more upside to being a heel; it's just an easier role to play.

I didn't mean to suggest that Cena is keeping the rest down. He's the top guy, no doubt about it, he needs to be at the top. I'm just saying that sadly has repercussions for the rest of the faces. Even if they work their butts off, they can't ever aspire to be #1 because that spot is set in stone.

At least a guy like Cesaro can hope to be the best heel he can be so he can get fed to Cena at some PPV main event. But as a face? His best hope is that he gets over enough for Cena to come out and "stand up for him", soak up his chants and take credit for his popularity. That might sound obnoxiously anti-Cena, but it's just a fact as that's what's happened when Punk, Evan, Ryder, Orton and Bryan all got massively over as faces.

I have complete faith in Cesaro's ability to be a top face, but I don't have faith that he will get the chance.