Your ideas for heels that would get over today

[PeteF3]

How about a heel that insists on a DQ whenever he's punched and who campaigns for refs to start enforcing the rules more strictly?

 

I know ECW is way down on your radar level but you'd love Bill Alfonso, Parv.

[tim]

So what we're saying is WWE is now too corporate, too sponsored, too sanitized to actually have proper heels who are disliked by fans?

 

If that's what we're saying then it might be time to transition to a different model.

 

Maybe one based on localities and regionality like a lot of sports? (Home and Away fans)

 

Or a model of everyone kind of getting cheered but some guys REALLY getting cheered like in Japan.

 

Because if heels can't get heat there is literally no reason to have heels at all.

 

I think there might actually be something to this, but with heels being rare. Like, only a couple heels on the roster compared to far more faces. Mostly you can have the Japan dynamic with everyone being cheered more or less and feuds based more on competition than animosity. Already that's not so great a change. I mean look at the Dusts/Usos feud for example. The Dusts are nominally the heels but you'd hardly notice. They don't cut heel promos, they haven't really done too many dastardly things to the Usos ... you don't get a sense these guys want to kill each other. Does the heel/face dynamic add ANYTHING to that feud more than it would be if it were just treated like a competition between two teams? Not really. But then have a couple BIG heels on the roster who are partly especially distinguished just because they ARE heels. A guy like Rusev would hold that role. You can have your wink-to-the-smarks heel too. I don't think we're at a stage where no heel can be booed because we've seen heels get strong heat lately. Just not most of them. Maybe what we are passed is a model where heels are accepted to be hees just because and fans feel mentally comfortable that any given feud should have one guy they actively want to boo.

[Grimmas]

So what we're saying is WWE is now too corporate, too sponsored, too sanitized to actually have proper heels who are disliked by fans?

 

If that's what we're saying then it might be time to transition to a different model.

 

Maybe one based on localities and regionality like a lot of sports? (Home and Away fans)

 

Or a model of everyone kind of getting cheered but some guys REALLY getting cheered like in Japan.

 

Because if heels can't get heat there is literally no reason to have heels at all.

Great post and something I had never thought about before. The heel/face dynamic may be dated. I'm not advocating the shitty Vince Russo shades of grey bullshit as a replacement though.

 

Maybe most people are faces and there are few heels. That could work out well, of course eliminate the heel authority figure too!

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

A gimmick that would get a lot of heat is if they introduced a military veteran character and had him cut promos about the years he spent in Iraq and all the friends he lost in war. At first he would be a face, but then he would start going over the top with it, demanding that he receive title shots without earning them in the ring simply by virtue of his military service. He could demand that everyone, from the referees to his opponents to the timekeeper, salute him and say "thank you for your service" before each match. And then maybe one of the other wrestlers does some research, or maybe an old friend or family member comes forward, but somehow it is exposed that he is a fraud and has no military record. He will deny it at first, accusing his critics of "hating freedom," but he will be forced to admit it and he will do a sanctimonious sitdown interview with Renee Young where he admits that yes, he lied but that's in the past, he's about positivity now and can't we all just forget it? And then he could still come out in his military gear and cut pre-match promos where he says that even though he never served, he's going to continue to dress in his fatigues because he just loves the military so much, and if you boo him you are DISRESPECTING EVERY MAN AND WOMAN WHO EVER GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THIS COUNTRY. I think we all know the current WWE that is trying to be politically correct less offensive would never do a gimmick like this, especially considering all the work they do with the National Guard, Tribute to the Troops, etc., but imagine the heat!

[chrislatimer]

A gimmick that would get a lot of heat is if they introduced a military veteran character and had him cut promos about the years he spent in Iraq and all the friends he lost in war. At first he would be a face, but then he would start going over the top with it, demanding that he receive title shots without earning them in the ring simply by virtue of his military service. He could demand that everyone, from the referees to his opponents to the timekeeper, salute him and say "thank you for your service" before each match. And then maybe one of the other wrestlers does some research, or maybe an old friend or family member comes forward, but somehow it is exposed that he is a fraud and has no military record. He will deny it at first, accusing his critics of "hating freedom," but he will be forced to admit it and he will do a sanctimonious sitdown interview with Renee Young where he admits that yes, he lied but that's in the past, he's about positivity now and can't we all just forget it? And then he could still come out in his military gear and cut pre-match promos where he says that even though he never served, he's going to continue to dress in his fatigues because he just loves the military so much, and if you boo him you are DISRESPECTING EVERY MAN AND WOMAN WHO EVER GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THIS COUNTRY. I think we all know the current WWE that is trying to be politically correct less offensive would never do a gimmick like this, especially considering all the work they do with the National Guard, Tribute to the Troops, etc., but imagine the heat!

 

I am not american but i can imagine this would be the wrong sort of heat to do this gimmick in america. the Americans are so patriotic and adore their armed forces. using the forces in this way to get heat would have an adverse reaction and not in a good heatseeking way in my opinion.

[Loss]

I think with the political climate being what it is, it's harder to get heat because of the polarization. What makes you a babyface to half of the viewers probably makes you a huge heel to the other half. I can't remember the last current events issue where pretty much everyone had the same opinion. So the more I think about it, the more I do think loading up the roster with babyfaces and only having a few heels might be the best approach. In a way, they've already done that.

[flyonthewall2983]

That makes me wonder what kind of heat Randy Orton got when Mick Foley talked about his desertion on national television.