The 5 Best Heels in Wrestling Today

Here's my list of the top 5 heels in the business today. If you were to start a wrestling promotion who would be your main event heel? I'm talking the 5 best heels in the business, guys that are basically better suited heels than faces and drawing hatred from the crowd is just natural for them. That's first. Other stuff counts as well, like in-ring ability, career accomplishments, and overall gimmick. Simply put, heels make the business go round. I love heels. Most of my favorite wrestlers are heels or my favorite moments of most wrestler's careers are usually when they're playing the "bad guy". So, that being said, here we go...

Honorable Mention

Desmond Wolfe - Wolfe is one of my personal favorite wrestlers and has the potential to be one of the top heels in the entire business. In-ring abilities? Top notch. Mic Skills? Check. Gimmick? Think a heel version of James Bond. What's keeping Wolfe out of the Top 5 is that he hasn't really accomplished anything yet. TNA has yet to push him to true main-event status and his biggest success has come in Ring of Honor. Smarts in the wrestling community have been crossing their fingers for Nigel McGuiness/Desmond Wolfe for a long time now, so hopefully he'll break though and get a nice run with a big league World Title soon.

Edge - Edge has main-evented and won World titles as both a heel and a face, but in my opinion he's better suited to play a heel. There's something sort of slimy and sinister about his appearance and I think his gimmick is at its strongest when he's emphasizing the devious parts of his character. I'd place him in the top 5, but I think he's the definition of borderline guy. He has a long list of great matches, but I'm not sure if he's ever really been over with the crowd. Is Edge a true main-event draw? I think he's very close and will eventually get there, but something seems to be holding him back in my opinion.

Triple H - Still one of the best in the business right now and one of the all-time greats. However, I don't want to put in the Top 5 heels today because I think he's proved himself equally suited to play a face. His runs as the top face world champion and his time with DX make him almost more of a face than a heel when you look back over his career. You could rank Triple H no. 1 and I'd accept that, but for my personal criteria I choose to put him on the bubble. Plus, he's getting old and his in-ring work has really begun to drop off recently.

Ric Flair - The greatest heel of all-time and one of the top 3 wrestlers of all-time in my opinion. He's proven with his run with TNA that he still can draw heel heat with the best of them and at age 61 his promos are still wild train-wrecks that you simply can't take your eyes off of. Look up the definition of heel in the wrestling dictionary and there's a picture of the Nature Boy. The only thing slowing this man down is age. To be the man you have to beat the man....whooo!


The Top 5

5. The Miz - Just making the cut, the Miz appears to have what it takes to prove me wrong and become the next "awesome" main event heel in the WWE. When I first saw Mike Mizanin on the Real World in 2001 I found him to be slightly annoying and although his pro wrestling dreams were admirable, I certainly didn't take him seriously. Then came Tough Enough. The Miz was clearly the most talent contestant on season 4 and deserved to win, but still, he did earn himself a contract. And although I could admit the Miz was talented, I still only saw him as a mid-carder. But then came Miz and Morrison, where Miz would really begin to shine. Finally, I began to see what a few others had seen. The Miz has always been great on the mic and he's full of personality, that's never been the issue. The main problem I saw was that he wasn't big enough, nor did he fit the look of a main-event player. But that's changed, he's gotten bigger physically, and he's defined and improved his style/look/gimmick. His in-ring ability still isn't great, but he does sell moves well and understands pacing and how to use the crowd. He's proved himself to be a hard worker and diligent student of the industry. Basically, the Miz has shown that he has what it takes to become a big draw. He still needs to improve in the ring, but that's not what is going to make Miz a star. It's his acting ability, his character, and his "awesome" gimmick. Don't be surprised to see a World Title around his waste soon.

4. Mr. Anderson - Easily one of the best heels on the mic today. His whole gimmick revolves around his verbal slandering abilities and his arrogantly, abusive tirades. He's also funny and entertaining. The guy just knows how to draw heat, in fact, it's his strongest attribute as a wrestler. He also understands how to draw and absorb people's attention. When Ken "Mr." Anderson talks, you listen, but of course, the bright spotlight doesn't hurt either. In the ring, he's decent. He's not going to blow you away with his athleticism or his technical wrestling ability (certainly there are much better workers out there), but he understands how to put on a good match and how to play off the crowd. After arriving in TNA he was put right into a program with Kurt Angle and they had a great, long-lasting feud that drew a significant amount of heat and emotion from the audience. Anderson and Angle put on a **** star match at Lockdown and it's a prime example of the type of main-event level feuds that Anderson can drive with his cocky, ruthless, and cunning gimmick. The WWE shouldn't have ever released him. Rumors have circulated that he was let go because of injury issues, or because of drug addiction, or because he injured Randy Orton in a match, or a combination of these reasons. Either way, the WWE shouldn't have given up on him so early. Now, TNA will benefit. Mr. Anderson should be a main event heel for years to come in TNA and win multiple World Titles. He's an absolutely huge part TNA's future.

3. CM Punk - The future of the WWE. Could be the next great WWE legend along the lines of Stone Cold, the Rock, and Shawn Micheals. Think I'm crazy? First, you're talking about a guy with solid in-ring skills. Put him in a program with anyone and he'll find a way to put on a good match. He has a unique and devastating finisher and a specific in-ring style. CM Punk also has a great look and gimmick. It's diverse. He can play up the whole alternative culture or he can emphasize his straight-edge history. I see a guy that has the look and feel of the ultimate underdog, a cocky, wild, gutsy, tough, and competitive champion, in others words, I see the next Shawn Micheals/Stone Cold. One day CM Punk could be a mega baby face for the WWE. So, why is he a top 5 heel then? Because he's done his best work as a heel so far in his career and I think he'll always be a better heel than a face, but not because he's not a good face, but because he's so damned good at being bad. The Straight Edge Society is a great gimmick and Punk does a masterful job beings it's cult leader. Punk understands how to be a "punk" and draw heat from the crowd. His mic skills and acting abilities are very strong. He can deliver long promos with passion and his facial expressions, body mannerisms, and other little details contribute so much when he's acting out his character. His work and promos have proven to be well-thought out, intelligent, and well delivered. Punk has the total package, charisma, gimmick, wrestling ability, mic skills, and whatever else you could want, including the best entrance music in wrestling today.

Check it out......



2. Randy Orton - The other future pillar of the WWE. The Viper has become a very unique and interesting character. A calm, cool, ruthless, and demented killer. He's made runs as the WWE's top heel on multiple occasions over the last few years and at times has carried the company. He's confident and well-spoken on the mic and is expressive with his facial expressions, especially that steely glare in his eyes, the look of pure evil that comes across his face when there's bad intentions swirling in his mind. In the ring, Orton is pretty decent wrestler. He sells very well and certainly doesn't have a problem putting over his opponents. He also has a viscous and creative move-set, including a back-to-back back & neck-breaker, stomping all over and around a grounded opponent, the hanging middle-rope DDT, and the soccer punt to the head. The unsympathetic brutality of his in-ring offense really compliments his cold-blooded and heartless character. And at such a young age, its amazing the history Orton already has in the WWE - he's the son of a legend, he was a member of Evolution, and with Legacy, Orton was the front man for the top heel faction in the WWE over the last couple years. So, it should be no surprise when I say that Randy Orton has the potential to go down as one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time. However, he's got a long way to go in his career and likely his gimmick will evolve as the years go by to try and keep him fresh. With the recent break-up of Legacy, the Viper's first main-event face push is about to begin and I suspect it'll be quite a big success. Orton has a believable look and he always pulls huge reactions from the crowd, in fact, Orton could eventually take over Cena's spot in the near future. Don't be surprised to see him main-event the next Wrestlemania as the WWE's main-event babyface. RKO! RKO! RKO!

A cool Randy Orton mix, there's a lot of them out there....



1. Chris Jericho - The best in the world at what he does. And what Jericho does is masterfully draw heat from the crowd in a creative, hilarious, detailed, and intelligent way. He's truly dedicated to his craft. Jericho lives and breathes being the cocky cowardly-heel and in fact, he loves it. Its apparent by the sly grin on his face when he calls the crowd a bunch of hypocritical sycophants and parasites. And the best part? All Jericho does is make his opponents look awesome. Whether its begging off with a look of sheer terror over his face when many other "heels" just go through the motions, almost reluctantly. Or whether its putting a guy over in the ring, making him look better, taking a big bump, realistically selling his moves when there are plenty of wrestlers who can't or refuse to take a "fall". It's all about making your opponent look good by making yourself look bad and nobody does this better today than Chris Jericho. You want accomplishments? How about the first ever Undisputed Wrestling Champion (holding both the WCW and WWE Heavyweight titles at once), a 6 time World Title holder overall, a Grand Slam winner, and a wide range of wrestling experience from all over the world. He's almost put on too many **** star matches to count. Jericho will easily go down as one of the greatest to ever lace em' up and watching the subtle evolution of his character over the years has been an absolute joy. For instance, I loved the Rufus personal security era, but Jeri-Show was even funnier....he's like a fine wine, better with age. Jericho has a way to make me laugh with him, dislike him, and respect him all at once, and that's pure genius.

Jericho and Big Show break up! Hilarious...


The pre-match promo is classic Jericho...