The Problem with WWE's Heel/Face Alignment

[theblasterkid]

In the WWE, there seems to be a serious problem with how their characters are portrayed when it comes to a superstar or a diva and their alignments. Some of the divas like Paige or Alicia Fox flip their alignments more times than they change their underwear and having a reality show makes it worse. Superstars like Big Show and Mark Henry flop back-and-forth without any given reason kayfabe-wise. This is another element of WWE's inconsistency of story-telling; in addition, certain superstars and divas seem naturally fit to a certain alignment in which they excel at better than the other. Another compound in the element of the heel/face alignment is the tweener or anti-hero in which certain superstars as Brock Lesnar or Randy Orton are great at! In my opinion, this particular character is what most fans are drawn to nowadays. Moreover, the anti-hero role gives the superstar or diva more options booking-wise. Not only in the WWE, the successful launch of the Marvel comic Deadpool is a great example of this. My reasoning for making this thread is to give my opinion on superstars, divas, and tag-teams alike and what alignments I think that their on-screen characters would excel naturally at in the current standing of the WWE. I'll run through the roster list using Wiki as my guide giving quick summaries.

Adam Rose - Character dead in the water from the start. He should have been repackaged as having a multiple personality where he flips into Leo Kruger instead of joining the Social Outcast. He is better suited as a heel in my opinion.

*I'll just group tag teams together excluding factions such as The Wyatts, Social Outcasts, and LON.*


AJ Styles - Face. His in-ring style is too likable not to get over with the fans.

Alberto Del Rio - Face. When he came back and beat Cena for the US Title, he should have been a face. The alignment with Colter was a dumb. Ricardo Rodriguez should have made his return as his personal announcer/ manager. The crowd would have ate it up and gave a major pop, plus he just came off a charismatic run as the AAA Mega Champion. The WWE should the ball with this.

Big Show - Face. He should have been heel pretty much most of his career and stayed face at the present day of his career. Should be a part-timer for the remaining of his contract.

Bo Dallas - Heel. They really dropped the ball with his streak by having it be broken by R-Truth. He was gaining traction, then he became a jobber. He should have had a decent IC/US Title run by now.

Braun Strowman - Heel. I think he's trash in-ring, but well suited as the enforcer for The Wyatts. While taking orders from Bray, he should be more destructive, bit uncontrollable, and going overboard at times.

Bray Wyatt - Tweener. The most unique character the WWE has presently. He shouldn't have a particular alignment because his actions shouldn't be explained so easily. He's currently my favorite. Sister Abigail should make her appearance at Mania signaling a sign of a turnaround for The Wyatts.

Brock Lesnar - Tweener. Well...Brock is Brock!

Cesaro - Face. He's too exciting in-ring for fans not to like this guy.

Chris Jericho - Heel. He's just better as one, plus the fact he is needed as one at the moment.

Curtis Axel - Heel. Very underrated in-ring worker. He has a mean streak about him.

Damien Sandow - Face. He's too over with the fans.

Darren Young - Face. He should be repackaged or released in my opinion.

Dean Ambrose - Tweener. He's too over to be just a face or a heel, and well...he's a lunatic!

Dolph Ziggler - Heel. They dropped the ball with him as a face and now he's just corny.

Erick Rowan - Tweener. He follows what Bray tells him to do. He and Harper make a great tag team and should be back in the division.

Fandango - Face. He needs to be repackaged or released.

Goldust - Face. Definitely has something going with R-Truth.

Health Slater - Heel. He can be a bit fun, but annoying as well.

Jack Swagger - Face. They dropped the ball on him and Colter a long time ago. He should be released.

John Cena - Heel. He should be the one to fight for Vince at Mania as Taker refuses to wrestle Shane. In addition, it's long overdue.

Kane - Face. He shouldn't be in-ring anymore, but rather have a position backstage on-screen. Maybe by Shane's side perhaps?

Kevin Owens - Heel. He's my favorite heel right now.

King Barrett - Heel. He should be the voice of LON.

Luke Harper - Tweener. Same as Rowan. There is more to his character though and they have to let it show more in the story-telling. There's money with this guy!

Mark Henry - Face. Same as Big Show. Should have been heel most of his career and later a face. He announced he's done after Mania. Ambassador is in his future.

The Miz - Heel. He is very underrated at his role. He's actually very solid as a heel, but he should be chasing the IC/US Titles or the tag division.

Neville - Tweener. He should be a guy gunning to prove he's the best! If you seen his feud and matches with Sami Zayn in NXT, then you know what I mean. His gimmick needs a tweak though.

R-Truth - Face. He's hilarious! Him and Goldust are going to make a great pairing. Shades of Booker T and Goldust.

Randy Orton - Tweener. The Viper needs to strike at anyone who he finds a threat. He should become a part-timer due to his injury. I find his in-ring style "too cool for school."

The Rock - Face. I think you'll probably see him in the future square off against Reigns or even Brock. He can't be booed right now unless he raises Reigns' hand again.

Roman Reigns - Heel. As a face, he has failed due to booking reasons. Everything about this guy screams heel to me. I think he has the potential to be the #1 heel in the company.

Rusev - Heel. He desperately needs to be built back up. Have him go after titles. Out of LON, he is my favorite.

Ryback - Heel. His second run as a face flopped. I did like his recent promo about breaking the brass ring or something he said. They did the turn at the wrong time though. He and Goldberg should have a match at Mania.

Seth Rollins - Face. I think he did a great job as a slimy bastard despite the flaws in his booking as champ. I have my money on him being the #1 face in the company in the near future.

Sheamus - Heel. As the leader of the LON, and not to far away from being WWE Champ, I feel like he should be doing more. I like the faction of LON, but they are dropping the ball with them booking wise; especially, their encounters with Reigns. Sheamus should never be too far from chasing titles.

Stardust - Heel. He needs to turn back to Cody (face). I have a great idea on how to do it. Have Stardust go on a rampage backstage as a true comic book villain with him and The Ascension taking out lower face mid-carders. Stephen Amell steps in and the continuing feuding on-screen and on Twitter until a match is made for Mania: The Green Arrow versus Stardust. I'd have Arrow win this. It would be the death of Stardust.

Sting - Face. I doubt we'll see him in-ring ever again. Maybe he could have a match with Bray at Mania if he can still go in-ring.

Titus O'Neil - Face. This guy has charisma oozing from him. He should be chasing midcard titles and not being suspended for stupid things.

Triple H - Heel. I think a turn is coming up for him though. I think we'll see less of Triple in the near future as he'll play more of a Jack Tunney role in NXT. Moreover, heel gets major pops in NXT.

Tyler Breeze - Heel. He plays his character to a tee. He needs a gimmick tweak. I'd have him mix fashion with the latest tech on "what's in" type of thing. His gimmick is midcard at best.

Tyson Kidd - Heel. I think he is about to retire and it's unfortunate that the WWE never gave him a run with at least the IC Title.

The Undertaker - Face. Who can boo this guy?

As for the Tag Teams:

The Ascension - Face. They flopped big time on the main roster. They should have been left alone, in which I meant by not tweaking their gimmick. Even their entrance was cooler in NXT. Maybe they should have them return to NXT because they still get major pop there. They need to be reinvented or release.

The Dudley Boyz - Heel. Loved the heel turn on The Usos! The WWE flopped on their return at first.

Los Matadores - Heel. I think they are being repackaged as something else.

The Lucha Dragons - Face. As the US Champion, Kalisto has been great so far! I can't see him ever being heel. As for Sin Cara, he need to be separated from Kalisto. He also lacks charisma and botches a lot. They could have Cara turn on Kalisto in the near future.

The New Day - Tweeners. I think they will be cheered (mostly) or booed regardless on what they do any night. They should just be themselves with no particular alignment.

The Usos - Face. Although, I find them boring now and need a gimmick tweak desperately.

*I left out Riley and Ryder because they are mostly seen in NXT.*

I'll do the divas in a bit. You are free to leave comments.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Consistent heel/face alignment is only one of many, many wrestling fundamentals WWE freely ignores on a regular basis now.


Add to that character inconsistencies, ignoring crowd reactions to mold a direction, and horiffic win-loss records for everyone not named Reigns or Cena.


Don't take me as saying Reigns or Cena should lose more. I feel everyone ELSE should WIN more.



Consistent alignments, characters, W-L records being fixed (or mattering at all) and titles being important would fix many, many of the ills of the WWE.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Consistent heel/face alignment is only one of many, many wrestling fundamentals WWE freely ignores on a regular basis now.


Add to that character inconsistencies, ignoring crowd reactions to mold a direction, and horiffic win-loss records for everyone not named Reigns or Cena.


Don't take me as saying Reigns or Cena should lose more. I feel everyone ELSE should WIN more.



Consistent alignments, characters, W-L records being fixed (or mattering at all) and titles being important would fix many, many of the ills of the WWE.

Basically, you're saying that WWE needs to listen to and apply simple logic and you're right. Things like consistent character alignments is about as basic as it gets; the Bella Twins have spontaneously changed alignments more in the last 1.5 years than your average politician. I also agree that wins and losses should be made to feel as though they matter more as it's just one of those little things that really adds up over time. Wins and losses in NXT are treated as though they matter much more than on the main roster, for most main roster wrestlers anyhow, and it shows. Also, the way many are portrayed after losing gets my nerves; Dolph Ziggler lost out on becoming Intercontinental Champion for the 5th time at Fastlane yet the next time we see him, he's out there shaking his hips and being all energetic as if he hadn't just missed out on a huge opportunity. Just little things like that irritate me because Vince wants such an insanely squeaky clean image, at least when it comes to anyone who doesn't share his last name, that it hinders creativity to a great degree sometimes.

 

[theblasterkid]

Consistent heel/face alignment is only one of many, many wrestling fundamentals WWE freely ignores on a regular basis now.


Add to that character inconsistencies, ignoring crowd reactions to mold a direction, and horiffic win-loss records for everyone not named Reigns or Cena.


Don't take me as saying Reigns or Cena should lose more. I feel everyone ELSE should WIN more.



Consistent alignments, characters, W-L records being fixed (or mattering at all) and titles being important would fix many, many of the ills of the WWE.

Basically, you're saying that WWE needs to listen to and apply simple logic and you're right. Things like consistent character alignments is about as basic as it gets; the Bella Twins have spontaneously changed alignments more in the last 1.5 years than your average politician. I also agree that wins and losses should be made to feel as though they matter more as it's just one of those little things that really adds up over time. Wins and losses in NXT are treated as though they matter much more than on the main roster, for most main roster wrestlers anyhow, and it shows. Also, the way many are portrayed after losing gets my nerves; Dolph Ziggler lost out on becoming Intercontinental Champion for the 5th time at Fastlane yet the next time we see him, he's out there shaking his hips and being all energetic as if he hadn't just missed out on a huge opportunity. Just little things like that irritate me because Vince wants such an insanely squeaky clean image, at least when it comes to anyone who doesn't share his last name, that it hinders creativity to a great degree sometimes.

I agree with both of you guys statements. Do you guys think that they should implement a ranking system just like the one found in WWE 2K's Universe Mode?

 

[Fugazi]

the biggest problem with part-timers(including HHH) is that they are always going to be babyfaces. It's a fact.

A heel needs to go out and get heat on a weekly basis. They need to constantly be stuffing it in the faces of both the audience as well as the babyfaces, but part-timers aren't able to appear every week, and even when they do, they hardly go out of their way to get heat. Even paul heyman whos like a goddamn heat magnet hasn't even given any effort into making Lesnar seem even slightly heel-ish.

As for the full-timers, it's the booking and their own faults. I feel like WWE doesn't even care about anyone not in the main event. I mean they had Bo Dallas, who is in a heel faction? beat Flo Rida in a rap battle, and when I say beat, i mean crush. It's all a straight up disaster and I feel like the dudleyz begged vince on their knees to turn heel and at that moment realized there were more superstars besides Ramen and the part timers.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I think another contributing factor is WWE's refusal to use jobbers regularly anymore. I'm not talking about Ascension or Zack Ryder. I mean no-name, local talent that approximately zero people give a crap about.

Since only established names fight each other anymore, someone of note always has to go down. Guys like Big Show or Mark Henry may currently be face, but if there's a bigger face that needs an impressive win, they'll put that person against a randomly evil Henry at the drop of a hat.

We've seen this with Brie Bella, who plays both sides depending on who she needs to go down to because she's seemingly the designated jobber of the division. This is despite having Summer Rae, a loser heel, and Natalya, a loser face, at their disposal but the company doesn't use those two regularly for whatever reason.

I mean they had Bo Dallas, who is in a heel faction? beat Flo Rida in a rap battle, and when I say beat, i mean crush.

I be fair, I'm pretty sure that wasn't the plan. It wasn't that Bo was that good, it's that Flo Rida is that awful of a rapper and the whole thing wound up backfiring. Flo makes Cena look like Rakim by comparison.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Problem is in wwe, there is no real structure with the exception of a few people. wwe is back to that shades of grey mentality because it makes it easier when you want to do something out of character. A bunch of heels are beating up AJ Styles in the ring, Del Rio comes out there to fight them off starting a face turn. Why would Del Rio do that when it is totally out of character? because no one is really good or really evil so Del Rio was being good today. wwe doesn't have to sit down and figure out a backstory, they can just do it and not explain it beyond what i just said. But it creates a real problem as people don't know if they should boo or cheer and storylinewise it makes things a mess because what reason does anyone really have then to trust someone else when they can just turn on them for no reason? Without fairly clear good guys and bad guys, you have no story.

 

[LDubz]

I don't think WWE are concerned themselves with the old school face/heel alignment anymore and haven't been for a long time, more that they are concerned that the wrestlers are getting a reaction.

They do though need to be consistent with the wrestlers characters so when they pair them up with somebody else for a match or a feud it is compelling. With strict face/heel it is much easier to adhere to in some ways (in others, pigeonholes you) but a lot of fans now are cheering and booing who they want, and I think WWE are smart to recognise that.

I don't think this is a problem in and of itself, fans want compelling storylines above anything else. I think fans do need to let go of this notion of face/heel dispositions in WWE to further their disbelief and overall enjoyment. Some people were asking if the New Day had turned "face" at Fastlane after the League of Nations segment, but the fact of the matter is their characters can allow them to switch between the two at will, especially when their work is being enjoyed by many.

Brock Lesnar is another great example. He gets great cheers but can easily be seen as a heel given his actions.

Above all, its all about whatever works and whatever entertains, but they do need to ensure that character development isn't made a mockery of, frequent changes to the likes of Show, Henry and Kane have hurt them time and time again when the changes haven't made sense to the characters themselves, but more to fill a void that WWE needed elsewhere.

 

[Boombaddaboom]

It takes a longer term storyline to build a character or heel! They've done it brilliantly with the Wyatt Family but the two WM main events have HH and Shane O'Mac?? Its dead in the water for now!