WWE 2013: The advent of the heels

Heels have always been important in the WWE. It’s a fact that the greatest heels ever have been more interesting that the greatest faces ever.

And hence it’s no surprise that etching out a heel character is much more difficult than a face. A good heel has to have layers of complexity. Why is it that they’re so bad? What makes them different than the rest of us?

But in the end, they have to lose. A great heel is someone who can make you want to hate him/her. They make you want to buy a ticket to show them exactly how you feel .

That’s why John Cena, in my opinion, is an iconic character. He is unique in the kind of reaction he evokes. People will not miss a chance to either boo him profusely or drown him with cheers.

One way to look at him is as the face of the WWE. To his fans, he is the righteous, honourable, hard-working, fair, fearless, loyal employee. And to his detractors, he is again righteous, honourable, hard-working, fair, fearless, loyal employee.

He is like an optical illusion. And because of that, he’s been invincible. In no way is he an anti-hero. His deeds have always been sugar coated, noble and perfect, whereas an anti-hero is an imperfect hero.

CM Punk is a great anti-hero. When he turned face in the beginning of his second WWE title reign, WWE seemed to run short of options finding a perfect heel for him. As a matter of fact, Laurinaitis was the only one apart from Vickie Guerrero who was booed passionately. But they were plain annoying, they weren’t great heels, not at all complex. They have some annoying aspects, like their voice, but being a great heel takes more than that.

But now the WWE seem to have curbed that problem. With the likes of Bray Wyatt, Damien Sandow, Triple H, Randy Orton, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman and The Shield, the WWE is finally finding balance in their universe.

The three hour RAW has not seemed a drag for quite some time now. Though filler matches and a few boring moments do occur, it has seen a lot of character development with a lot of characters.

The ones who are always good on the mic never need to worry much as they can speak their way through, but even that cannot stop them from having pointless matches and stuck in creative limbo.

But it seems like the show is moving fast. Quality matches on free television are a treat. The babyfaces and heels have clearly become distinct and maybe more equal than before. Being equal applies to the fact whether they both get their respective desired reactions.

With Damien Sandow moving closer to a championship reign by winning the MITB, Bray Wyatt seems to be the best fictional character WWE has introduced since Damien Sandow.

Wyatt is riveting in every video promo that he’s ever given. His entrance is unique, but his match with Kane was a little awkward. But Wyatt has still not lost his momentum. It’ll be exciting to see who he picks next to be his follower.

With the evergrowing presence of heels, it seems like an interesting time for the WWE.