Tweeners in WWE

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Over the years we've seen many many tweeners (heel/faces). Just to name a few : John Cena, Shawn Michaels, HHH, The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Edge, and most recently Randy Orton and The Miz. After hearing CM Punk on commentary I am wondering if , when he gets back from injury, that he should work his Straight Edge Gimmick into a face gimmick with heel tendencies, like most of the above references. What do you guys think?

Also, should every wrestler be a tweener? Or, are they all Tweeners already?

 

[BillAlfonso]

Hey, I'm first, first time that's happened.

I think they are all 'tweeners already but not by choice, I think it comes from the fact that none of the talent on the roster is generally loved or hated anymore. Now, think there should always be a top face(hero), a top heel(villain), and a top 'tweener(anti-hero/anti-villain). Think about Dragonball Z, you had Goku who was always the hero, then you had Freezer, Cel, or Majin Bu who were villians then you had Vegeta who became the anti-hero character. This gives the roster a nice balance if they follow the formula all through out the card.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

Should CM Punk come back as heel? Certainly, I don’t see why not. Punk has managed to stay over with the crowd despite the numerous amount of burials he’s received from the Big Show a while back. That alone proves that he is one of the most over heels in the company to this day. But now, if you have the guy come back as a tweener, he can be a face and still go out on his way and do heelish ways such as with his straight-edge gimmick (etc.)

As for the second question of this thread, that’s a rather complicated answer. Technically speaking most of the heels in the WWE are already tweeners. By definition, a heel is a person that is supposed to be hated by as many as people possible; yet, nowadays, that is rarely the case. When was the last time you saw the majority of the people hate someone like Chris Jericho (arguably one of the top heels of the company)? Fact is, not many hate him; mostly everyone likes him; more importantly, mostly everyone cheer for him. Now, if Jericho is being liked, then technically speaking, he is not a heel; he would classify more as a tweener than an actual heel. Heels are supposed to be hated; yet Jericho isn’t…do you see the connection here?

A true heel is someone like Michael Cole. The guy is hated on by ALMOST, if not everyone. The guy cannot go 10 words without being boo’d by the crowd. I see people complaining, bitching, whine-ing about how Cole is an annoying fuck all the time. But the interesting thing here, is that Cole is merely doing his job---getting you to hate him.

Of course, just because one is a heel does not mean that you can’t like him (or her), it just means that technically speaking, it makes them more of a tweener than an actual heel. But as I said, the clarification in determining what a wrestler actually is relies on the technicalities of said situation. However, most of this technicalities is revolved around how the fan interprets said wrestler. If you like a wrestler that is a heel, the best way to support him is to ”Boo” him; if you like a face, the best thing you can do is cheer for him.

Alas, this rarely is the case for the average viewer and they just cheer for the wrestler regardless of the situation. But hey, what can you do, right?

 

[BillAlfonso]

Of course, just because one is a heel does not mean that you can’t like him (or her), it just means that technically speaking, it makes them more of a tweener than an actual heel. But as I said, the clarification in determining what a wrestler actually is relies on the technicalities of said situation. However, most of this technicalities is revolved around how the fan interprets said wrestler. If you like a wrestler that is a heel, the best way to support him is to ”Boo” him; if you like a face, the best thing you can do is cheer for him.

Alas, this rarely is the case for the average viewer and they just cheer for the wrestler regardless of the situation. But hey, what can you do, right?

Wow, I'm glad someone realizes this. Even if you cheer for guys like Jericho because you respect his work, you're still doing more harm than good as that's not what he's going for.

 

[Matt7584]

When was the last time CM punk mattered? its been a long time. He needs to fix his image and cme up with something new. using him as an announcer is fine. Being a tweener announcer is also fine. But why on earth would people cheer for him. what has he done in this company? what match have you walked away and said wow great match. His stable that had potential no longer exist. CM should keep announcing and then shock people by interfering in a big match and leaving the broadcast table. He needs to be top heel on raw. right now the best heel is the miz and hes starting to get stale with Awesome. Punk needs a new image and a stable of good workers. But the tweener talk has to end. seriously let the guy fix his image first.

 

[Ace333]

When was the last time CM punk mattered? its been a long time. He needs to fix his image and cme up with something new. using him as an announcer is fine. Being a tweener announcer is also fine. But why on earth would people cheer for him. what has he done in this company? what match have you walked away and said wow great match. His stable that had potential no longer exist. CM should keep announcing and then shock people by interfering in a big match and leaving the broadcast table. He needs to be top heel on raw. right now the best heel is the miz and hes starting to get stale with Awesome. Punk needs a new image and a stable of good workers. But the tweener talk has to end. seriously let the guy fix his image first.

CM Punk is a great wrestler and great on the Mic. The past months on smackdown he was against the big show. When he was solo he was awesome. He was winning belts, money in the bank. CM punk is a great heel. If he came back as a tweener like randy that wouldn't be bad.

 

[Via Armbar]

Being a tweener should never be a conscious decision on creatives behalf. The reason behind that is simple: you can't fake it. You can have a relatively nice guy play a heel. You could have a real life douche bag play a face. There's just something that comes along with a tweener though that can't just be written. Encouraged perhaps, but not written. It happened to Austin naturally. He was a pretty straight forward heel who had fans latched on to his charisma and thus was seen as a likable Joe Six-Pack type of performer. Just as some wrestlers aren't believable in both heel and face rolls, the true can be said for an overwhelming majority of wrestlers as a whole regarding being a tweener. It requires a certain kind of moxie.

With that being said, the question is can Punk pull off that type of character? I believe so. He's definitely one of the better mic workers in the WWE and that's the first and probably biggest step. He has the type of charisma I mentioned above and the right type of ring work to go along with it. I think a stunt as commentator will actually better his standings with the fans. As far as the Straight Edge being used while he's a tweener, that's a little harder to work with if it's the focal point of his character. When he was a face it wasn't touched on much but it was responsible for all of the momentum he gathered with the SES as a heel. It's too strong a heel character and not strong enough a face character to be balanced out in such away to maintain his status as a tweener.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I do not think that CM Punk should play a tweener. His heel character is too strong at the moment to be turned face. The announcers table is the perfect place for him to maintain his heat while he is injured. If he turns tweener in this straight edge messiah gimmick of his, it will dilute the impact of the gimmick which, in my opinion has a lot of potential. Punk could be the top heel of WWE one day.

That is not to say that Punk cannot turn face. I just feel that he should not turn face in this current gimmick. Punk is a funny guy, as he has shown on the announce table, and I think the crowd will connect well to him if he plays a funny, cocky face without referencing his straight edge character. But as of now he should play a heel.

Also becoming a tweener is not something that the creative has any control over. The best example I can give is that of John Cena. Its the men in the crowd over the age of 18 who have turned John into a tweener. Otherwise his character is that of a quinnessential charismatic hero. But a portion of the crowd does not like him and that has led to smark fans labelling him a tweener.

 

[JGlass]

Your last two questions are absurd, but the rest of your post brings up a fairly interesting concept.

Are all wrestlers tweeners? Absolutely not. Wade Barrett is 100% unadulterated evil, and guys like Kofi Kingston are 100% good guys.

Should all wrestlers be tweeners? Hell no. One thing that I like about wrestling, and I know I'm not alone, is the concept of good guys vs. bad guys, good vs. evil. While there's something to be said for having to decide who you root for when the decision is not clear cut (if you've seen The Social Network you may know what I'm getting at), professional wrestling is not the place to do it. Professional wrestling in many ways is like a comic book brought to life. There are heroes and villains, they all wear their own unique costume, they all know how to make an entrance, and they all have their own special power/finishing move. And just like in comic books, WWE tends to be very black and white, which lends to it's comic book-esque appeal.

Also, I could not disagree with you more about The Miz being a tweener. While the internet wrestling fans appreciate what he's doing, I don't think anyone cheers for him as a face, except for maybe Michael Cole. He's a pompous, he's cowardly, he cheats, he belittles everyone around him, he's a total heel.

As for your comments about CM Punk being a tweener, I think you may be onto something. CM Punk's commentary doesn't really lean to heel or face, as he generally seems to show disdain for heel wrestlers and appreciates faces, though he does the occasional face-bashing as well. I think the best way to bill him when he comes back is as a quick-witted guy who doesn't really like anybody, face or heel. CM Punk's natural comedic ability, wrestling style, and clean wrestling will keep him a face, but the fact that he sometimes targets other faces with either his words or perhaps even his actions will keep him a tweener. It's a fine line to walk, but I think CM Punk is talented enough to pull it off.

 

[cm ben]

Well, I don't think the last two questions are too absurd. I remember reading that someone--Russo??--thinks that the concept of face/heel is outdated; that every wrestler should be "free" to do whatever they want, and just be more like real people rather than cut-out "good guys" or "bad guys." That being said, I don't think it works very well in wrestling, which, of course, is driven by understandable narratives. Like others have said, it makes the stories more interesting and easy to understand with good guys, bad guys, and in between guys.

As far as CM Punk goes, I was actually planning on making a thread about this... I think that WWE is priming him to return in a tweener or even face role when he returns. On this week's RAW, when he approached the laptop, he received a huge cheer, even with CM Punk chants. Then he mocked Cole, arguably the biggest heel on RAW right now. Sure, he sort of made fun of Cena later in the show, but it was much less direct, and the fact that he is no longer a "Cole Miner," like he said he was when he commentated NXT a month ago, shows that he very well might return as a tweener.

 

[Ankos95]

I know that many people will disagree me, but imao dolph ziggler is somekind of tweener. I mean that he doesnt get much heat from the audience. Vickie is the one that gets heat in his matches, not dolph. just saying..

 

[Tech N9ne]

I think Punk will be Face very soon. I think a return as a Heel is probably the most likely scenario, but it depends how long he is out. Sometimes, the time a guy is out makes even a Heel's return so anticipated, they return as Face.

Either way, a turn is coming soon for him I think. I think so many people already like him, that it will be hard for him to be completely boo'd, thus not being completely Heel. So a Tweener return is definitely possible.

Even though he has been World Champion, he is still yet to receive that final, to the Main Event-push. I posted in another thread that he has been kept on the back burner by WWE as if he is a sure thing to be a star. Which allows them to take some chances in the mean time, guys like Sheamus, Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio have benefited from Punk not being exactly where he should be.

I think they feel like whenever they finally give the ball to Punk, he is a sure-shot to run with it and score!!