JerryvonKramer Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 On the subject of Rude: I had a thought the other day ... Was Rick Rude in 1992 the most over heel of all time? I just mean in terms of sheer heat. Who has ever got a better heel reaction than him at, for example, Superbrawl II? Who would even be challenging him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 On the subject of Rude: I had a thought the other day ... Was Rick Rude in 1992 the most over heel of all time? I just mean in terms of sheer heat. Who has ever got a better heel reaction than him at, for example, Superbrawl II? Who would even be challenging him? Bobby Heenan, 1980-81, AWA. For starters. I was watching some 80-81 AWA stuff last night and even though I've seen the matches and angles dozens of times, it never fails to amaze me how hated Heenan was in that time frame....and that might not even have been the worst of his heat (his Chicago stuff from the 70's, for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 In terms of a visceral, hate-filled reaction, I've never seen another heel consistently get the reaction Shawn Michaels got in 1997 during the last few months of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 90-91 Sgt. Slaughter comes to mind as a contender, although I'm not sure he'd overtake 92 Rude or late 97 Michaels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I think DiBiase in 87/88 is at least in the mix. The basketball skit, the press-up challenge, the kissing of his foot etc., he was very very over as a heel in that year. If we were looking top 5 then: Heenan in 80-81 Rude in 92 HBK in 97 DiBiase in 87-8 Slaughter in 90-1 Anyone else? What about Vince? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I've never seen trash pelted at DiBiase (which is my personal barometer for getting heat) and crowd noise was so piped in at that point that it's hard to get a feel for genuine heat. I really, genuinely loved his act at that point and I know people hated him. But did they hate him so much that they wanted to jump the rails and attack him? The MSG cage match is the only example I can think of there, but then I think of 1987 Ric Flair in the cage against Jimmy Garvin with a few fans trying to climb the cage and Flair's reaction when he crawls away to get away from Ron Garvin being pretty awesome. And that was hardly the only example of a fan getting feisty during that time. DiBiase is definitely in the running for most hated WWF heels. But most hated heels in all of wrestling? Probably not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I think the fan at MSG actually attacked Virgil, been a few years since I watched that match because it's on my old WWF Macho Madness VHS. I've just been looking at the PWI "Most Hated" awards and noticed that DiBiase won that in 82, guessing for the JYD / Stagger Lee feud and Ratpack stuff. On Flair - the thing with him is that there was always a portion of any given crowd who suppoted him -- and the horsemen in general -- even in 1987 or 1996 when he was at his most heelish. I think it's difficult for a guy with that much charisma not to have a few guys who love him. Also, another one that comes to mind for some reason is Jerry Lawler in 93 and his "burger king" heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hogan at the beginning of the nWo era was getting serious heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Slaughter may have gotten huge reactions from people in attendance (though he didn't really get anything out of the ordinary at the house show I saw him at, which was during his title reign), but I can't in good conscience place him among the most hated heels of all-time when his run was such a dud. Not really his fault because I thought he played his role well, but the Iraqi angle turned off more people than it drew in. Jim Cornette & the Midnights in Mid-South circa 1984 seem like they would belong, if only for the 6-man in Houston teaming with Ernie Ladd that ends with an NWO-worthy trash job on the ring and ring announcer Bruce Pritchard pleading with fans to return to their seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Shane Douglas from mid to late '96 until early '97. At Barely Legal the fans were chanting "Break his neck!" during his match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I could never tell in ECW if Shane Douglas was hated because he was a great heel and fans were into his act, or if he was hated because people wanted him to go away and never return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I could never tell in ECW if Shane Douglas was hated because he was a great heel and fans were into his act, or if he was hated because people wanted him to go away and never return. Come on. Douglas was hated because he was a terrific heel. The scene where he shooked Pitbull #1's halo turned into a near riot, the heat was nuclear. From supposed smart marks to boot, which made the thing even more fun to watch. People just hated his guts. Him & Francine were awesome during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 It's possible you're right. I'm just saying I could never tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Douglas was arguably doing the best stuff in his whole career at that point, in terms of matches and promos. If they just wanted him to go away, I'm not sure why they would've wanted that. Hogan at the beginning of the nWo era was getting serious heat.Yeah, there were several fan run-ins during his early heel reign. However, I'm not sure "the fans tried to attack him" is the best barometer, since that varies wildly from territory to territory. In some places it almost never happened, in others it was a nightly occurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 From the wrestling I know best... Piper at his 84-85 peak. Orndorff in 86. Savage after the turn on Hogan/Elizabeth (actually, turning on her probably made him more hated than anything) Bret Hart in the USA in 97 (or Austin in Canada--I lost my voice screaming at him at the Canadian Stampede PPV) Or any heel from the old days that was stabbed or had to fight their way back to the dressing room after the end of a match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I could never tell in ECW if Shane Douglas was hated because he was a great heel and fans were into his act, or if he was hated because people wanted him to go away and never return. Definitiely the former, in my opinion. Especially '96-97. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The Sheik has to be up there. Couldn't identify his peak. Andre the Giant in '87. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 What about Jake Roberts during his "Trust Me" period? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Blackwell and Adnan were REALLLYYYY hated in the AWA. I have seen wrestling "riots" and most of them are overrated affairs with some scuffling and fans throwing shit. I have seen a riot involving Blackwell and Adnan where the fans are literally running up to them and hitting them as hard as they can in the face. Both guys maintained a shocking degree of heat in the AWA and were incredibly hated. Heenan is a great pick too. I actually think the FBI is one of the most viscerally hated acts of the 90's. Not the J.T. version which I love and was "lol" heat, but the Tommy Rich version, which got some unbelievable responses from crowds. Most of the time ECW crowds came across as either playing along and/or picking and choosing but my God did they hate Tommy Rich, particularly in the small Southern towns and big Northeast towns. The fucking Queens crowd could not stand him. Amusingly the act of Southerners, with Little Guido working a Thomas Sowell gimmick for legitimacy, were trolling largely Italian crowds to chant "where's my pizza" at them while they mocked their culture. The Dudleys got some great reactions to, but that was for doing shit like calling peoples mothers whores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 On the subject of Rude: I had a thought the other day ... Was Rick Rude in 1992 the most over heel of all time? I just mean in terms of sheer heat. Who has ever got a better heel reaction than him at, for example, Superbrawl II? Who would even be challenging him? Considering the levels of attendance and buyrates and TV ratings, it would be hard to say that Rude was the most hated heel of all-time. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Jim Cornette & the Midnights in Mid-South circa 1984 seem like they would belong, if only for the 6-man in Houston teaming with Ernie Ladd that ends with an NWO-worthy trash job on the ring and ring announcer Bruce Pritchard pleading with fans to return to their seats. Yeah, they are a good example. Got major hate heat against Watts and against the R'n'R. Popped crowds as well. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The Sheik has to be up there. Couldn't identify his peak. This is all based on various bits and pieces I've read over the years and not an ounce of first hand knowledge, but his peak was probably the late-60s to about 1974, and based on drawing big crowds in several major territories alone, he has to be near the top. His time on top in Toronto is legendary, as he didn't run out of gas as a draw for at least five years, and I've met several non-wrestling fans over the years who grew up in Ontario during the time and his name is almost always the first mentioned when the word "wrestling" comes up. He also had a hot run in Detroit during this time, of course, but also in New York (where he was eventually banned IIRC), LA against Blassie, and huge matches with Dick the Bruiser in Indy and Detroit. Based on a lack of footage, it's tough to say how "Viscerally Hated" he was by crowds, but he had to be doing something right as a heel to draw all that money for so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busterira Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Roddy Piper in WWF 1984/1985 was pretty crazy as generating heat goes. That scene when he slammed the gold record over Albano, kicked Cyndi Lauper and body slammed David Wolff was pretty crazy. I mean didn't Wolff get legitimately hurt? Another one that hasn't been mentioned is the end of the Lawler/Idol cage match in April of 87. Pure pandemonium. The heat on Idol,Rich and Paul E was crazy. They actually stayed in the cage till they got decent enough security to get them backstage and even then, they had to run for their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I'd give the Sheik 1965 to 1974 as far as being a major hated heel. People that watched Detroit when he was the top guy speak of him in a kind of awe that you see reserved for the very top guy. I've seen the footage of him on the Wrestling Gold sets, Meltzer gives a good recap of his career, and I've dug up some other matches. He pretty much wrestled the same match and looked about the same age for the 15 year period of matches that I've found. People fucking hated and feared him. Especially in Toronto. Meltzer said on the Wrestling Gold set that Toronto had a high Hindu population and they fucked hated him with a passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chess Knight Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Shane Douglas from mid to late '96 until early '97. At Barely Legal the fans were chanting "Break his neck!" during his match. To be fair wasn't the angle that he broke Gary Wolfe's neck? It was one of the Pitbulls, I think. Douglas def got a lot of heat, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.