wrestling / Columns
The Art of Wrestling: The Heel – Part Two
We all yearn for love. To love, and to BE loved. As much as some of us may portray a character or put on a mask exemplifying that we are in need of no one, the basis in human nature lies in our inherent need for companionship, admiration and respect. We all need one of the three to feel worth a damn in this life, and some of us have dedicated their entire lives (and drove themselves insane) obtaining all three in some form or another. Performers in any medium – whether stage, motion picture, music, sports, and even professional wrestling are ego-driven in nature and desire to be the center of attention. I know this all too well myself – even though I LOVE the art of cinema and discussing it with anyone who will listen, I won’t complain about being on local television to do so. The feeling of vindication I get from those in the community who respect my opinions is a great ego boost. I have no complaints about my status as a “local celebrity”.
Regardless of those feelings, though – if it was up to me, and I could be an in-ring performer in professional wrestling, I would rather be a heel. It is supremely easy to gain people’s admiration and respect in this world: treat others fairly and equally, do what you say you’re going to do, contribute to your community in a positive manner and employ empathy and compassion for those you care about. Those ideals come naturally to me – and even though I freely admit that I have had several (and will have several more) moments of pure unadulterated asshole-ness, more often than not I tend to fall on the “Lenny’s a good guy” side of the spectrum.
Being a douche, though? A Grade-A selfish prick that floats through existence hating everyone and everything, and exerting only enough energy for my own gains? Someone who manipulates others and my surrounding environment to gain a foothold on money, power and success? To be someone who has no tact and speak my mind regardless of whose feelings I may hurt? That is hard. Because I want to be respected. How many professional wrestlers exist today really want to be hated by 100% of the audience? Too many times in the past 20 years, we have encountered performers who are placed in a unique situation to embrace the ire of the audience and their peers only to stumble because they want to be “respected”. A heel smirks to the crowd after performing a maneuver that awes them. An asshole cracks a relatively funny joke to show he/she is hip to current pop-culture. Someone who draws boos from 80% of the audience goes out of their way to acknowledge those scattered in the arena who cheer them. These aren’t heels in the truest, traditional sense; these are anti-heroes waiting for a moment to be admired. It is hard to build stars with that mindset.
And in truth, to quote Sum 41: we are all to blame. Before we investigate this current dilemma, let’s breakdown some final archetypes of heels that brought us to this point.
THE “COOL” HEEL & THE CHANGING FANBASE
Fans of any form of entertainment have always had an affinity for following or cheering for who they felt were the best in their profession. This includes professional wrestling as well, albeit under a different guise. During the height of kayfabe, cheering Babyfaces and heckling Heels were commonplace, but every once in a while a Heel performer would shine so brightly and be entertaining that it sometimes forced promotions to turn him.
For me personally, the first time I feel I witnessed fans cheering for a bad guy was WrestleMania III between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat. Even though Savage was a pure villain proven by his actions (ringbell!), it was becoming strangely apparent that there was a subsection of fans that I knew that considered Savage too cool for school. Crazy voice that everyone wanted to imitate, flashiness, speed and a valet that made all the eight year olds feel new funny feelings made Savage someone not so much to root for, but I don’t remember anyone rooting AGAINST him. After losing the Intercontinental Championship, most of my friends pretty much hopped on the Savage bandwagon and awaited the day he would become a good guy.
There are some acts in professional wrestling that use motifs and symbols for fans to relate to, consciously or subconsciously. Even in spite of their dastardly in-ring actions, a group of fans may latch onto a particular symbol of a heel and earn some form of empathy. The Fabulous Freebirds dramatically altered the face of professional wrestling. They did everything different. They were not a tag-team, but a stable of three people – friends, in fact. They embodied a glorified, seductive example of the Rock & Roll lifestyle, complete with their strut to the ring to Badstreet U.S.A. – the first performers in the modern era to have their own entrance music. Seeing Michael Hayes strut and Moonwalk exemplified a side of the Heel performer that was just that – pure performance to entertain. Sure, they cheated and took advantage of the rules when it fit them, but they were compelling and entertaining when they were bad.
Then there is another aspect of the Freebird act that needs to be taken into consideration: The Confederate Flag. Before the comments section gets up in arms, this is not a spotlight on cultural bias in professional wrestling; I’ve already said my peace about that. But I would be remiss to ignore this symbolism, and how it relates not so much to the performers, but the FANS. One of the easiest ways to gain any form of “Heat” in the United States is to adhere to any mindset that absolves the attitude of slavery during the Civil War. For many, the Confederate flag is a symbol of traitorous actions, a bigoted mindset and the image of a sore loser who longs to live in the past. But for some, that same flag represents a past heritage, pride and a misunderstanding of what the U.S. Civil War was really about from that point of view: States’ Rights. Therefore, witnessing a group take part in dastardly deeds may not be enough for a contingent of fans to heckle them. If a fan had a sense of “Southern Pride”, The Freebirds aren’t so much bad guys as much as they are misunderstood. Take into account all the earlier factors mentioned, and one has a recipe to be evil, but be cheered for it.
This all relates to the changing fanbase, one that is more individualized, segregated in their formations of what a professional wrestler should be and more aware of their social, political, economic and psychological environment. In WWE, the 1992 Royal Rumble may have been ground zero in terms of mainstream fans voicing their displeasure with how faces and heels act and present themselves. Sid Justice eliminates Hulk Hogan to cheers, and how does the “heroic” Hulkster react? By pulling on Vicious’ hand and distracting him just long enough for the other Heel, Ric Flair to eliminate him and win the then vacant WWF Title – to a smattering of cheers? Confusion.
As a child of the 1980’s, Brian De Palma’s Scarface played a tremendous part in my life. The story of Tony Montana, Cuban immigrant who wanted to make a successful life for himself, only to be pulled into the life of drug trafficking and excess showcased a changing of the guard in terms of the anti-hero. Even though the film served as a cautionary tale, something got lost in translation. Bolstered by Al Pacino’s iconic performance, Tony Montana grew into a symbol of cool – a man who against all odds made something of himself and did not let anyone push him around. Twelve years later, and months after the incident at the 1992 Royal Rumble, Razor Ramon debuted. A point-by-point reference guide of Tony Montana with the gold chains draped over the hairy chest, the accent, the cool demeanor, the toothpick, the entrance music and down to the self-referential nickname he christened himself with – “The Bad Guy” quickly went from a cocky heel who should have been in over his head to a hero who was cheered for his individualistic and selfish beliefs that he was owed everything and did not need to play the game as it was set by those in power to get what he wanted. Acts like N.W.A., Public Enemy and Nirvana had entered the public consciousness, showing the world that they would write their own destinies and create music that would scare the bejesus out of the conservative hivemind of North America, but would sell nonetheless. The 1990’s embodied a moment where the Boy Scout mentality just was no longer cool – it was toxic.
A mere four years after Razor Ramon debuted, the man behind the character would hop the guardrail and re-invent the “Cool Heel”, while Steve Austin would proclaim his most famous catchphrase. A that point, the wheels fell off.
THE AUTHORITY FIGURE & THE PERCEPTION OF REALITY
Before “Stone Cold” Steve Austin caught lightning in a bottle and serve as the main catalyst that saved Vince McMahon’s company – he made a stop in Philadelphia-based ECW, where under the guidance of promoter Paul Heyman, would air his grievances against WCW and the backstage politics directed by Eric Bischoff. The holy trinity of North American wrestling promotion in the 1990’s – McMahon, Bischoff and Heyman each found themselves in a position where at different intervals their faces became synonymous with the promotion they led – and the fans that lead each to different moments of success. Each of them served one common thread to the changing fanbase: Reality.
We are all aware that the events in the wrestling ring aren’t so much “fake” as they are “choreographed”. Competitors “work” in the ring to tell a story and take the audience on an emotional journey. As the Monday Night Wars began, though – the work behind the curtain became more captivating than the stories told on camera. Paul Heyman made a vow to his ECW fans that he would act as a different promoter. The first to acknowledge the changing tastes of the fans, he promised that he would be “real” with them at all times. When a performer was injured, they weren’t “written” off by some injury storyline. If a performer made a blunder that would potentially threaten the existence of the promotion, like with the incident between Raven crucifying The Sandman, there would be repercussions and apologies. When Chris Benoit broke Sabu’s neck via a freak accident, the incident was not ignored, but expanded upon and Benoit became “The Canadian Crippler”. This sense of realism added to the dramatic ebbs and flows of ECW’s in-ring product, and also added to the drama of some of the more outlandish storylines in the promotion’s history – such as The Sandman being accidentally “blinded” by Tommy Dreamer.
In WCW, Eric Bischoff took Heyman’s mantra to the next level as he presented Monday Nitro and the WCW product in general as more rooted in reality. Once Scott Hall jumped the railing in June of 1996 (the same month Steve Austin made his mark), a shift in how heels were presented and how the fans would react to them would take another dramatic turn. As the New World Order ran rampant against the WCW lockeroom, WCW-bred heels and faces would align to take out the greater evil. Bischoff, in a move that was bold and unforeseen in modern professional wrestling, would use his real life power as a catalyst to become an onscreen antagonist as he turned Heel and joined the n.W.o. on November 18, 1996. The Heel Authority Figure rose to prominence.
Now dubbed “Sleazy E”, Bischoff did all he could to make the lives of WCW-loyal wrestlers miserable. Giving WCW-tenured talent 30 days to sign to n.W.o. contracts or risk becoming targets, firing referees who did not make rulings that benefited the faction and awarding n.W.o. talent championships became the norm for Bischoff. Hogan, Hall and Nash served as the brawn and star power as Bischoff was the brains behind the operation. Something strange happened, though – as by 1997 the New World Order was receiving more cheers than their WCW counterparts. n.W.o.-centric signs and t-shirts begin to flood arenas. For all the chaos and mayhem they were causing, the New World Order were being heralded as Babyfaces by a strong contingent of the WCW fans who appreciated the edgier product compared to WWE, who ran into hard times retaining fans with their “New Generation”.
This reality seeped in and slowly began to reshape the environment within WWE. Shawn Michaels’ “boyhood dream” had quickly fizzled. His heated rival, Bret Hart had just returned from a sabbatical after losing the WWF Title from Michaels earlier at WrestleMania XII to find out that the promotion he left as a hero had changed and began to embrace an even more flamboyant and hard-edged Heartbreak Kid, a more sinister and darker Undertaker, an unstable monster in Sycho Sid and a foul-mouth Texan who was somehow loved more and more every night even though he was the most vile human being in the promotion. Hart would take to airing his grievances to Vince McMahon on camera.
Here’s where things became murky and the role of the heel may had become re-defined – for better or for worse: while Paul Heyman cultivated a reality-based promotion behind the scenes and Eric Bischoff used his real-life power to add drama for storyline purposes, Vince McMahon slipped into a position where in the grandest sense of reality, had to play the villain to save his company. The Montreal Screwjob that chased Bret Hart away from WWE for 16 years gave birth to the Mr. McMahon character and was a different heel altogether psychologically. Bischoff was a Heel on camera, for storyline purposes – but was never placed in a position where the fans’ perception of the real-life man was anything more than storyline fodder. Sure, there had been rumblings about his politics and his friendship with Hogan, but Bischoff had never had to deal with the real-life backlash in store for McMahon when word came out that he really did “screw” Bret Hart. Vince McMahon, for all extent and purposes, was just as hated for his real-life persona as he was as an onscreen character. This dichotomy added another layer to the feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Even though Austin rose through the ranks with a character that was nothing more than a sociopath, the notion that his natural, real-life career trajectory could be derailed by a tyrant who seemingly showed no loyalty to his own talent whom he had cultivated for the past twelve years, and with an increasing disconnect between corporate and blue-collar America – with Fight Club-based cynicism and nihilism at the apex, Austin became the face that represented individuality, freedom and a break from the hive-mind of a politically splintered world. Black or White, Christian, Jew, Muslim or Atheist, urban or rural, people were pissed off at everything leading into the new millennium. The changing century, the uncertainty of what it held, and the unchanging socio-political climate that didn’t seem to care about the concerns of the world brought everything to a fever pitch. Austin became the champion and McMahon represented pure corporate evil. It may have been the last time mainstream professional wrestling had a true heel.
THE HEEL STABLE: SHIFTING FROM THE STAR TO THE ENSEMBLE
The logical psychology to how the Heel Authority character is played to audiences, is to surround themselves – and hide behind their corporate henchmen. You have the Fools (see below), The Bad Ass, The Future and The Corporate Champion. Sometimes, the Champion is a combination of all three. With having such a large faction of talent fighting to be noticed by audiences, each individual persona will do their best to play up their role so they don’t realistically get lost in the shuffle. Stables can become diluted (n.W.o.) or convoluted (The Corporate Ministry) and audiences will shift their focus on one or two talents that stand out. On top of that, the Heel Authority Figure logically needs to be involved in the highest-profile storyline because the stakes of the promotion’s future are the highest. The main issue with the Heel Authority figure in today’s environment is that the formula has played out every conceivable story with a payoff. We already saw Vince McMahon receive his comeuppance and humiliation. Triple H was defeated by Daniel Bryan and the “YES” Movement. Dixie carter was powerbombed through a table. Eric Bischoff was chased away – twice by two different promotions. The idea of competitors competing to be the best because professional wrestling is their way of asserting their dominance has faded away and replaced by a white-collar corporate melodrama.
Performers have been placed in positions where every second of screentime has been vital, and instead of going out and being truly evil and disgusting to the fans, need to resort to tactics to entertain and garner a reaction to stand out – logically because at all times, the very real corporate structure is always watching, and is always searching for a way to screw a performer over once they overstep their bounds. The fans have noticed for the past decade and await a new era where talent will be moved up the card based on natural abiity – and not when it conveniently serves the story because of some inevitable turning point where the Heel Authority will declare “this person represents what THE COMPANY should be, this person isn’t so cheer THE COMPANY’S CHAMPION and not the other guy over there. Reverse psychology should naturally lead to the audience cheering the opposite of the company’s chosen Face.
The psychology got played out once fans realized that in *reality* the company’s storyline purpose was just to do that: allow the fans two particular choices to declare who their corporate champion should be and somehow storyline bled into perceived reality. The current David and Goliath dynamic has pitted the corporation against the never-give-up face leading into main storylines for almost 20 years. In the wake of WWE being a publicly-traded entity, it is even harder to suspend storyline disbelief because logically, we KNOW that talent really cannot overstep corporate bounds and there is no real final risk. The final consequence of John Cena getting fired for being insubordinate…is always going to be John Cena being rehired. Unless John Cena does something in THE REAL WORLD that jeopardizes his standing in WWE, there is no way to empathize. As much as Cena wants to play up to the audience that he is “against the system” at times, Cena in the real world is the ultimate company man. He has accomplished it all and his legacy is set.
So when Cena is pitted against “the odds”, we know Cena will never buckle because in reality – and in the eyes of the Heel Authority Figure for the past decade has already earned his place in the history of the corporation as an all-time great. The underlying psychology that added fuel to the fire to the match between CM Punk and Cena at Money in the Bank 2011 was that Cena wouldn’t only lose his championship, but his job and his place in the legacy of WWE in Vince McMahon’s eyes. Once Punk exited Chicago with the WWE Title, logically – McMahon should have fired John Cena on the spot, or recreate the “Bret Screwed Bret” one-on-one interview with Cena in The Hitman’s place. If there was ever a time where Cena could have taken a break from the fans and taken the Heel Authority Figure’s ultimate power to a new place it was here. Instead, Cena was never fired, Triple H took the on-camera role of Heel Authority and retired Vince McMahon. Cena was then REWARDED for his insubordination by being placed in a tournament for a new champion and won. He was placed in the tournament because of his status, as his legacy is already met positively in the eyes of the same corporation who correctly should have fired him when the company no longer claims ownership of their own title which represents the best and main attraction of their industry.
Cena remained, symbolizing that even with the main championship of the title completely excluded from the company, he was still the main attraction. Punk, who was a heel in storyline terms for his too poignant and real insubordination, became cheered because he unveiled the very reality fans felt about the WWE product, and by proxy, John Cena. Cena served as the heel in the story – the corporate representative who stood in the way of the underdog breaking the glass ceiling and reaching the superstardom that alluded him. Cena’s consequence was doubly heel in the realist sense as he re-won the WWE Title from Rey Mysterio. CM Punk’s return is instantly cut-off at the start. Punk should have been the one to make the triumphant and defiant return first. Cena could have re-arrived as the desperate performer, willing to sell his soul back to the corporation for a chance at redemption and embraced his very real corporate persona.
With every main storyline competing against Cena’s plight or the fate of the Heel Authority Figure, which usually intertwine, each new Heel to emerge understands they must play up the fans to get either Cena’s or the Heel Authority Figure’s onscreen blessing to move up the card. It is honestly difficult to do so with just flashy and technically sound mat wrestling when someone like The Rock – who was the first choice as WWE’s corporate champion is the most successful performer in that company’s (and any company’s) history is immediately the benchmark and will forever be compared to. Can the newest talent bring their success to The Rock’s level? Most will attempt his path at being a cocky, trashtalking, over the top heel whose entertainment factor lies more in his words than his actions. Welcome to The Factory.
THE FOOL
Some performers have a great wit and sense of timing. Some don’t. Some are ingenious at improvising moments in and out of the ring that get the fans attention. Some don’t. These are a couple of the intangibles of having “it”. Having “it” in modern professional wrestling shows that you can show face as a talented storyteller in the ring and having the capacity to “show ass” and play to comedy to entertain outside the ring. Some are great at showing ass, but can’t convince fans they are a serious performer to save their lives. Some performers appear menacing and are gifted athletes but can’t emote to save their lives. Placing a performer’s life in the hands of a promotion that gives equal weight for both traits without concern for how their audience currently reacts positively or negatively to one or the other has soured fans and further diluted a true Heel.
“You got IT! You look the part. You are larger than life! You have presence! You can perform! Now, let’s see that SMILE! Now, make me laugh and they will laugh and you will be even more popular and we will make more money together!”
“Great, kid, you’ve proven to be funny – but now that you’ve been funny for so long, can you change the mind of the audience to buy you as a threat when we call on you? If you can, you will be even more popular because you make me laugh and you make them laugh and we will make more money together!”
Terry Funk didn’t make people laugh when he was serious. Neither did Vader. Gorgeous George was entertaining in hindsight, but his very essence made fans uncomfortable. Piper could be entertaining when he needed to be, but when it was time for him to be a jerk, he caused riots. To be a successful bad guy now means you have to make the audience love you enough to hate you, instead of just letting the audience hate you.
Brock Lesnar’s current dominance is refreshing logically because he is his own man, comes and goes when he pleases to the dissatisfaction of the audience and works outside of the WWE corporate structure. He also is there to leave people in piss and vomit. No jokes. His maulings are entertaining simply because they are just that. Lesnar appears, looks like a madman made out of bricks, destroys and exits like a boss. Fans who feel discouraged because they feel the WWE Champion should appear at most live appearances rationally hate Lesnar for his lack of visibility. That is nothing to joke about as to some fans, this is a very real issue that needs to be handled and showcases the ineptness of the corporate WWE structure.
Doink the Clown started out as a psychopath in a clown mask. The logical conclusion to Doink’s climb up the ladder to be taken seriously should have been to remove the makeup and unleash the monster beneath. Instead, he turned face and fell into the common tropes of a friendly circus clown. Chris Jericho tricked William Regal on the road to WrestleMania X-7 as he impersonated the clown to add seriousness to the rivalry for the Intercontinental Title. Jericho, who served as the anti-authority rebel versus the Corporate and Aristocratic Regal, also pissed in Regal’s tea. Moments where the Commissioner nearly had a stroke when he discovered the Ugandan Giant, Kamala incoherently dancing and grunting on Regal’s desk also placed Regal in a position to be mocked instead of feared by Jericho. Kamala, who used to be terribly feared in his heyday as a brutish, monster heel makes an appearance that served as a double-whammy for Regal. If he looks like a fool internationally to fans as he is unable to control a simple savage and not serve any permanent repercussions for Jericho, it is hard to take the (and Regal) seriously as opposed to if Regal smashed Jericho’s throat in retaliation for violating his privacy and embarrassing him.
Years later, the same fool commissioner won King of the Ring at the exact moment he was General Manager of Raw. The Heel Authority Figure had grown to be taken seriously as an in-ring competitor. With his storyline-driven backstage clout doubled with his proven viciousness in the ring, Regal was on the cusp of breaking out as a threat not to be trifled with. Regal abused his power, turning off arena lights and shutting down shows when he did not get his way and organically created palpable hatred from the audience. Regal was then suspended and any chance for WWE to be met with a heel who served as a truly hated individual was lost.
THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN TO EXIT THE FIRST DIMENSION
Vickie Guererro achieved some of the most passionate heckles over the past seven years. Serving as a Heel Authority Figure who also doubled as a Heelish Fool, she was able to make the current PG climate of WWE dislike her as well as further establish talent. Aligning herself with Edge, who was in between his Lunatic and Cowardly heel personas on his way to cementing his claim as “The Ultimate Opportunist” further drew the hatred of both. Edge had shown himself as a cocky and manipulative Heel with Lita as The Rated R Superstar and found success. Now a lone wolf, Edge needed to find a way to weasel himself back into World Title contention permanently. Playing to the whims and affections of the gullible SmackDown General Manager was a perfect ploy for Edge to be even more vilified, while Guererro’s short-sightedness and unwavering loyalty to her Cowardly champion doubled the volume. The hatred came from the comedy of the old woman looking like an oblivious, lovestruck idiot.
Female Heels have strayed far from the strongwomen and tough as nails sociopaths that accompanied their Narcissistic male counterparts.
Fabulous Moolah would pull hair, bite and cheat behind the referee’s back to get fans loathing her. When she threatened her opponents, she acted as a chick who could out drink (and outfight) most of the men in the crowd. She was not a lady in the ring, driving fans crazy. Her mere presence added fuel to the feud between Wendi Richter and Lelani Kai for the first WrestleMania. Sensational Sherri was the tough 80’s bar chick who would claw your eyes out while Guns N’ Roses blared in the background. She was also a psychopath, who was the closest personification of a professional wrestling witch with her shrill voice and intense makeup. Chyna was an imposing presence who played the serious-as-a-heartattack straight man (yes, a play on words) to D-Generation X’s antics. When it was time to her to mix it up, she dominated all other women in her way. Her bodybuilder physique added a new dimension to how strong heel women were portrayed, and also added a cowardly sideshow to Triple H’s act as Shawn Michael’s wingman. Then Chyna got breast implants, became sexualized and the road to how to portray a unique female heel in North American became homogenized. The Diva was born.
Tending to display unpleasant, prima donna-like personalities towards fans and opposing divas and wrestlers, Female Heels in recent history have shown jealously towards her opponents, especially one that is receiving high-profile recognition. This definition was turned on its ear as the storyline between Sable and Marc Mero reached a boiling point. Taking a page out of the arc between Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth that played out in the 80’s and 90’s, the changing times and new fan attitude allowed Mero and Sable to add physicality to their rivalry. Mero falling victim to a SableBomb completed the story and culminated not only Sable’s freedom away from Mero’s chauvinistic hold on her career, but her self-worth and proof of physical strength took an interesting turn as she fell victim to her own hype. The Grind was loved by all the men, but a cockiness attached to it began to draw jeers from female fans. Sable had proven her superiority over her other opponents as she climbed to become the WWE Women’s Champion and had resorted to humiliating opponents to prove her superiority. Sable adopted the traditionally 1990’s trope of female heels and played to the stereotype of a woman with loose morals, both in style of dress and in attitude (particularly true of the heel divas in ECW, such as Francine and Dawn Marie.)
Ivory became the most hated woman in mainstream wrestling as the female voice of reason in the Right to Censor stable, going the opposite direction as an uptight pride deriding women who she perceived to have “loose morals”. The inverted nature of the traditional rivalry between her and Chyna allowed fans to embrace women as sexualized symbols of power. Ivory’s role was played for laughs as well, as bra and panty matches involving her sometimes ended with Ivory being disrobed to unveil unflattering Granny-Panties. Again, the natural progression for Chyna was to give in to the corporate hype surrounding her, but because most of the face females were placed in vignettes for comedic value and to please the male-dominated 18-34 demographic, there were not many women that could step to the plate that could be taken seriously and Chyna’s place in WWE was no more. It was not until Chyna made her exit that talent like Trish Stratus, Lita, Jazz, Molly Holly and Victoria brought a renewed renaissance to the women’s division.
WE ARE NOW HEELS
The emergence of Trish Stratus as a heel at WrestleMania XX single-handedly exposed another shift in the attitudes of how heels are portrayed, and in turn, unleashed the most interesting dichotomy in mainstream professional wrestling. Trish was so entertaining as a heel as an accomplished Narcissist with nothing left to prove, she ran circles around most of her competition with the exception of Lita. At WrestleMania XXI, Trish feuded with new Playboy cover girl Christy Hemme. Hemme was considered by the majority of the fans way, way, WAY out of her league and was never considered a threat by way of her entrance into professional wrestling as a model and not an athlete. Lita, as Trish’s nemesis was shoehorned into the feud as Christy’s “trainer” to add some form of drama to the build. Trish entered Los Angeles into WrestleMania a hero, with fans cheering her antics, while Hemme, the plucky underdog babyface, was never given a chance by that same audience.
The tide turned on my fellow Toronto native a year later as Stratus was embroiled in a rivalry with Mickie James. Mickie was a super fan and represented a modern take on celebrity culture. Even though Mickie had some tendencies that indicated a broken psyche, she entered as a fan who was only too happy to be acknowledged by her idol. As the months progressed, the storyline took a turn for the worst, as it was revealed that not only Mickie James was a psychotic, she was also physically attracted to the beautiful Trish. WWE may have assumed the sexual undertones would make fans uncomfortable and garner sympathy for Trish. What happened instead was the company that encouraged fans to chant “HLA” just a mere three years earlier bit off more than they could chew. WWE had found their new Corporate superstar in John Cena, who won over the fans through his cool demeanor, anti-authority attitude and contemporary persona as a rapper at a time when Eminem was at the top of the charts. Something funny happened from the day Cena was drafted to Monday Night Raw as the #1 Draft Pick to the road to WrestleMania 22: Fans were already tiring of Cena’s act. That dissention came to a fever pitch one fateful night in Chicago.
Psychologically, it is easier to root for the fan who had worked hard to live her dream, compete for a world title and meet their hero – only to find their hero is not who they assumed to be. Even though Mickie James acted irrationally towards Trish Stratus, to some fans she was justified in her frustration. How many fans had expressed their affection for a counterpart only to have it soundly rejected? That is a common thread in life. How many of those fans worship a particular talent, whether in sports or entertainment, to end up heartbroken when that talent disappoints them? It should not have surprised WWE to have the fans cheer Mickie James as she was portrayed as the underdog against the WWE’s handpicked champion in Trish Stratus. What happened instead led the WWE to make a life-altering decision that have been felt to this very day.
I was at WrestleMania X-8 in Toronto and witnessed the greatest wrestling spectacle I could imagine when The Rock and Hollywood Hogan faced off. No one was sitting, no one was quiet. It was an unimaginable event that was made even more unique based on the overwhelming positive reaction Hogan received. It was the Immortal One’s first WrestleMania in nine years. The last time Hogan appeared in Toronto he created a classic with The Ultimate Warrior. There was no way – even against The Rock – that he was going to be welcomed back as nothing short of a god. Upon watching the Pay Per View on television, I noted Jim Ross mentioning the reaction as “nostalgic”. He was right as in part, it the praise for Hogan was appreciation for the years of work he put into his first run at the top of WWE. Sidestepping the bizzaro-world reaction as that as a once in a lifetime circumstance was not hard to believe. Four years later in Chicago, though – was an entirely different ordeal.
I have already proclaimed John Cena as the most interesting case of a professional wrestler who manipulates the fans to gain a measure of success I can think of. John Cena is the anomaly and in my mind – the final piece of the puzzle as to why it is a true struggle to become a successful heel in mainstream wrestling. This is not because of any glass ceiling or booking that seems to halt a wrestler’s momentum dead in his tracks the moment they face off against The Cenation. How can one play a heel effectively against the face of a promotion – who also double’s as the company’s top heel?
Pandora’s Box is opened when John Cena comes into play. His WrestleMania 22 WWE Title defense against Triple H was elevated as Cena came into Chicago as the ultimate underdog. Cena was pitted against Triple H, who at that time was already known as the man to cut off a career at the knees if they didn’t meet his criteria of what a superstar should be. Cena had never defended his title at WWE’s annually biggest show. Jim Ross – the perpetual Babyface announcer made it a point to admit that he didn’t think Cena had a chance. Then Cena arrives to Chicago to be welcomed to an overwhelming ovation of boos. WWE in that moment, effectively turned its own fans into heels. Nothing has changed since. A reaction in mainstream professional wrestling is gauged by how emotionally invested the fans are towards the performer presented to them. When Cena is in the ring, fans cheer, “Let’s Go Cena!-Cena Sucks!”, a chant that directs all the focus on Cena himself, immediately emasculating his forgotten opponent – since everyone is cheering FOR or AGAINST Cena, and not FOR his rival. Cena’s antics are just as loved by fans as they are hated because they play into the notion of a hero who is exceptional in his role as a non-conforming, non-surrendering superhero for one audience while reacting at times as a self-aware, transparent corporate hypocrite for another. When the fans are the heels, there is no one else we can hate. Well played.
SO WHAT?
The Anti-Hero craze of the 1990’s changed everything, and professional wrestling has not been able to recover from it. The reality is once you open a can of air, you cannot put it back in. We are immersed in a world where heroes aren’t fully noble. Most of us realize that the human race is inherently flawed and the ideal incorruptible persona is a dying, if not already dead myth. Because of this, modern fans tend not to cheer so much for those who are booked as “good”, but who – through their real work inside and outside the ring – cheer those with talent and a relatable character.
Heels can return to form, though – and in the grand scheme of things in our globally-connected world, it is not that hard. Just last week, CM Punk was accused by a fan for acting stand-offish at a recent Blackhawk’s game. Punk, who is notorious for his privacy and interaction with fans – in reality – is a heel. The more stories like this come to light, the more the perception of CM Punk diminishes in the eyes of the fans. If there ever came a time when Punk decided to make a return to professional wrestling, it would not be hard for Punk to embrace that.
Raven has been famously quoted that the smart fans are the easiest to work because they feel they know everything that goes on behind the scenes and promotions can manipulate those fans based on that theory. The stories that are released about the real-life conduct of a performer and the perception/backlash from it can truly make or break a career if the cards are played right. In light of the recent events concerning Alberto Del Rio and WWE, despite fans earlier dismissal that he had no character or was boring is now seen in some circles as a martyr of the cultural insensitivity of WWE.
Why any North American promotion has not taken greater advantage of our TMZ and 24-Hour media and celebrity-obsessed society is something I have not been able to wrap my brain around. A professional wrestler’s purpose is twofold: one, to tell an entertaining and engaging story through their actions in and out of the ring; and two, to use those stories to garner an emotional response from the audience. I cited Kanye West as a celebrity that – while immensely popular and is capable of selling out arenas, is despised by a good chunk of Western civilization. Political celebrities like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Rachel Maddows have millions of fans – and just as many, if not more detractors based on their belief system. It is one thing for Zeb Coulter to play a riff on the Tea Party – imagine the real-life heat he would receive if he really believed all that he spouted.
A great and experienced professional wrestler, according to French essayist Roland Barthes, “know perfectly how to direct the spontaneous episodes of the fight so as to make them conform to the image which the public has of the great legendary themes of its mythology. A wrestler can irritate or disgust, he never disappoints, for he always accomplishes completely, by a progressive solidification of signs, what the public expects of him.” That is what the modern heel is missing and that currently, only John Cena has been able to (or…allowed to) achieve. When Cena arrives, he is given the desired reaction that acts as a justifier for his success. When Cena arrives, we, he and WWE never expect apathy from those in the arena. There is no contradiction. This is what also makes someone like Daniel Bryan an effective Babyface in spite of Cena’s existence as in the current landscape, to not have tens of thousands of fans gesturing “YES!” when he appears for fans would be mind-boggling.
It would also be mind-boggling to see Daniel Bryan return, only to sell his soul to keep his spot as a top competitor. A part of me is intrigued at the prospect, just to see how everyone reacts. Hate runs deep in professional wrestling, and nothing cuts deeper than a fallen hero.
Len Archibald is the former Executive Director of the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, and is a current movie reviewer for WLIO in Lima, Ohio.
ADAMS & ARCHIBALD AT THE MOVIES: THE JUDGE REVIEW
Do Adams and Archibald give the courtroom/family drama THE JUDGE starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall a guilty verdict? Or do they acquit the film based on its merits? Find out.
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