5 best heels in WWE in 2018 so far
In the post-kayfabe era, the distinction between babyfaces and heels has been blurred. It's often just fun to cheer for heels, particularly since WWE has had such a horrible recent track record in booking babyfaces.
Ultimately, the purpose of a heel is to eventually get a babyface over. There would be no reason to cheer a hero unless he had a superb villain to contrast with. The audience should want to see the hero get to the top of the mountain and put that bad guy in his place.
Too often, WWE has dropped the ball on this. The problems are usually more pronounced in the women's division. Alexa Bliss and Carmella, for example, have proven terrible heels, because no babyface has ever looked good feuding against them.
WWE, and especially NXT, has done a better job with some other superstars, however. 2018's best heels have done an excellent job with their characters, and though the good guys haven't always yet prevailed, their struggle has enthralled the audience, getting them more over as a result.
#5 Randy Orton
It's only been a few weeks, and he's already done it. Randy Orton has become the most despised man on SmackDown. While the audience respects Samoa Joe, despite his bad guy mannerisms, and finds The Miz entertaining even with his flaws, this version of Randy Orton has no redeemable qualities whatsoever. Knowing that his finisher is the most over move in the company, Randy Orton wouldn't even let the audience cheer that. He teased it, then executed a simple beating on a fan favorite.
He didn't just beat down Jeff Hardy or even put him through the announce table. No, that would have been too simple. He instead yanked the chain off his neck, erased his face paint, and therefore took a shot at his opponent's very identity. This followed weeks of ambushes and even an incident with the Viper stretching Jeff Hardy's earlobe beyond human limits.
There was nothing to cheer for, no attribute to get behind. Randy Orton was a vicious, cold-blooded snake. That's how a superb heel operates, and you can tell that he loves playing that role. These past few weeks have been better than the entirety of the past two years for him.