Mr. Artistic guy
Better Off This Way
The way i see it no matter what your gimmick is, you can categorise heels into a small number of groups. You may disagree, and if you do then alls you have to do is say why. But these are the categories the way I see em:
1) Dirty heel - Classic stuff. Really ran rampant in the late 80s early 90s. Ric flair of course personifies the role but there were a lot of guys like ric flair such at ted dibiase, and a lot of guys who had managers like bobby heenan or brother love or harvey whippleman etc. Obviously hateable because they win matches without deserving to and then talk they like had it covered. Generally smaller guys these and the need a lot of good mic work. Very successful but they never look very good in the ring so they need to be good sellers, good facial expressions etc.In short these guys have to be very good wrestlers usually because they have to sell, work a match from the floor and come out on top. Probably the hardest heel role to play.
2) Monster heel - Whole list of these guys. People like vader, kane after debut, yokozuna, it is a very long list. Anyway, these guys get an easier ride because they can play upon a natural physical aspect like weight (mabel) or height (khali). They dont have to be able to do any mic wrk whatsoever but are usually covered well by a good manager (Mr Fuji). These guys can be down-right shite just like khali and they will always get a reaction because they can always set up a david-goliath style match which is always interesting to watch. It does have to mentionned that some of these guys are quite good though. Brock lesnar, Kane or vader could speak, were memorable and all amazingly athletic for their body size. More than likely the easiest role to succeed in as a lot of these guys have been successful with little talent or effort.
3) Group leaders - Can be a wide range of things. These people can range from guys like HHH in DX or evolution to eric young in world elite. More similar to the first category of guys in that they often cheat to win, but more versatile and dangerous in that they often don't have to, they can usually out-wrestle their opponent when they have to. This group has to have immaculate mic ability because they need to lead other guys and be the mouth-piece of the group and more often than not they ought to be good in the ring but it isnt a pre-requisite because they can get backed up by their cronies if necessary. Possibly the hardest role to play but it is easier to play this role badly and still get by with it as long as you have good support. Probably second hardest behind dirty heel to do right, has strengths and weaknesses.
4) Cocky heels - These guys are good wrestlers and they know about it. They brag over they're acolades til your ears bleed and are great at getting on people's tits. Includes undisputed jericho, Miz and jonny nitro for example. They aren't always necessarily great on the mic but have a knack for being damned annoying, that may sound like a contradiction but it isn't (x-pac, jeff jarrett). These guys probably make up by percentage the highest of any heel category so it is assumedly an easier role to play. Well yes and no. Yes it is an easier role but you have to fend off all the competition. Requires little inginuity to make work, just being able to make outrageous claims like your the best ever, but obviously that doesnt mean every guy can do it well.
5) The social outcast - These can be divided into two groups, the mentally corrupted (generally psychopaths) and the dark shadowy loners. It's a difficult type of heel to pull off because you have to be good at making original ground-breaking promos like cactus jack in the early ECdub, makind in 96-7 days or say raven his entire career. There aren't that many that come to mind. The great example would be The Loose Cannon Brian Pillman. Others would be Jake Roberts, Raven, Sycho Sid, and Mankind, and arguably if we are looking for examples from today we could say Abyss, mickie james or now jeff hardy in recent years.Thats right WWE dpesn't really have many of these guys, probably worried they'll have to delve in the mental health area. These are the guys that will turn on anybody at anytime for any reason. I'd also put Golddust in this catagory back when he first debuted in 95. Not trying to say acting gay makes you crazy, but he was incredibley unpredictable and had no allies and he really creeped out the whole roster. The social outcasts are one of the best kinds ever because it makes the whole roster watch their back.
6) The fortunate/privileged - These are the heels who are able to use money, political power, or favoritism with the boss to get away with whatever they wish. Ted Debiase Sr. was a good example of the money aspect of this, but many heels (or those going through heel phases) made use of this. Triple H did it by being the boss's son-in-law and GM's husband for a while in his career. Batista and Randy Orton belonged to this category when they were McMahon's favorites. More recently, Drew McIntyre has been making an entire gimmick out of being "hand-picked by Vince McMahon". As we all know, Edge made use of that with his marriage to Vickie Guerrero when she was Smackdown GM. It's an instant and economical heat draw because being in bed with the boss (so to speak) makes you more or less untouchable. It makes for an instantly hatable heel. Being powerful gives you a big target on your back meaning everybody watches you, especially if you didn't earn that power.
OK well thats how I see it anyway, if you can think of any more categories or disagree with any or have any other queries dont hesitate. Have fun.
1) Dirty heel - Classic stuff. Really ran rampant in the late 80s early 90s. Ric flair of course personifies the role but there were a lot of guys like ric flair such at ted dibiase, and a lot of guys who had managers like bobby heenan or brother love or harvey whippleman etc. Obviously hateable because they win matches without deserving to and then talk they like had it covered. Generally smaller guys these and the need a lot of good mic work. Very successful but they never look very good in the ring so they need to be good sellers, good facial expressions etc.In short these guys have to be very good wrestlers usually because they have to sell, work a match from the floor and come out on top. Probably the hardest heel role to play.
2) Monster heel - Whole list of these guys. People like vader, kane after debut, yokozuna, it is a very long list. Anyway, these guys get an easier ride because they can play upon a natural physical aspect like weight (mabel) or height (khali). They dont have to be able to do any mic wrk whatsoever but are usually covered well by a good manager (Mr Fuji). These guys can be down-right shite just like khali and they will always get a reaction because they can always set up a david-goliath style match which is always interesting to watch. It does have to mentionned that some of these guys are quite good though. Brock lesnar, Kane or vader could speak, were memorable and all amazingly athletic for their body size. More than likely the easiest role to succeed in as a lot of these guys have been successful with little talent or effort.
3) Group leaders - Can be a wide range of things. These people can range from guys like HHH in DX or evolution to eric young in world elite. More similar to the first category of guys in that they often cheat to win, but more versatile and dangerous in that they often don't have to, they can usually out-wrestle their opponent when they have to. This group has to have immaculate mic ability because they need to lead other guys and be the mouth-piece of the group and more often than not they ought to be good in the ring but it isnt a pre-requisite because they can get backed up by their cronies if necessary. Possibly the hardest role to play but it is easier to play this role badly and still get by with it as long as you have good support. Probably second hardest behind dirty heel to do right, has strengths and weaknesses.
4) Cocky heels - These guys are good wrestlers and they know about it. They brag over they're acolades til your ears bleed and are great at getting on people's tits. Includes undisputed jericho, Miz and jonny nitro for example. They aren't always necessarily great on the mic but have a knack for being damned annoying, that may sound like a contradiction but it isn't (x-pac, jeff jarrett). These guys probably make up by percentage the highest of any heel category so it is assumedly an easier role to play. Well yes and no. Yes it is an easier role but you have to fend off all the competition. Requires little inginuity to make work, just being able to make outrageous claims like your the best ever, but obviously that doesnt mean every guy can do it well.
5) The social outcast - These can be divided into two groups, the mentally corrupted (generally psychopaths) and the dark shadowy loners. It's a difficult type of heel to pull off because you have to be good at making original ground-breaking promos like cactus jack in the early ECdub, makind in 96-7 days or say raven his entire career. There aren't that many that come to mind. The great example would be The Loose Cannon Brian Pillman. Others would be Jake Roberts, Raven, Sycho Sid, and Mankind, and arguably if we are looking for examples from today we could say Abyss, mickie james or now jeff hardy in recent years.Thats right WWE dpesn't really have many of these guys, probably worried they'll have to delve in the mental health area. These are the guys that will turn on anybody at anytime for any reason. I'd also put Golddust in this catagory back when he first debuted in 95. Not trying to say acting gay makes you crazy, but he was incredibley unpredictable and had no allies and he really creeped out the whole roster. The social outcasts are one of the best kinds ever because it makes the whole roster watch their back.
6) The fortunate/privileged - These are the heels who are able to use money, political power, or favoritism with the boss to get away with whatever they wish. Ted Debiase Sr. was a good example of the money aspect of this, but many heels (or those going through heel phases) made use of this. Triple H did it by being the boss's son-in-law and GM's husband for a while in his career. Batista and Randy Orton belonged to this category when they were McMahon's favorites. More recently, Drew McIntyre has been making an entire gimmick out of being "hand-picked by Vince McMahon". As we all know, Edge made use of that with his marriage to Vickie Guerrero when she was Smackdown GM. It's an instant and economical heat draw because being in bed with the boss (so to speak) makes you more or less untouchable. It makes for an instantly hatable heel. Being powerful gives you a big target on your back meaning everybody watches you, especially if you didn't earn that power.
OK well thats how I see it anyway, if you can think of any more categories or disagree with any or have any other queries dont hesitate. Have fun.
