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.

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#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.

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura

Those 15 seconds tell you everything you need to know about Shinsuke Nakamura right now. Though his feud with AJ Styles was mediocre despite his heel turn, his character work has been top-notch since it occurred at WrestleMania 34.

In Shinsuke Nakamura, SmackDown has a vicious, psychotic, and yet obnoxious heel that frightens and annoys at the same time. Knowing that his entrance theme was super over, Nakamura and the company changed it so the fans couldn't sing along. From his taunting grins to his flamboyant mannerisms, he's the perfect opponent to get inside anyone's head, and Jeff Hardy has looked better feuding with him than anyone else since his return at WrestleMania 33.

Nakamura is the right choice for US Champion at this moment, and a feud between him and a yet to debut Aleister Black late this year or early next year would make the title one of the most exciting in the company.

#3 Shayna Baszler

Shayna Baszler might not be quite up to par with her predecessors in terms of pure ring work, but the current NXT Women's Champion has carried on the legacy of the tremendous characters to hold that championship. Her reign has felt far more important than Ember Moon's, despite her immediate predecessor being more gifted in the ring.

Shayna Baszler has terrorized and tortured the NXT women's division with her methodical joint manipulation and her vicious beatdowns. Ember Moon looked far more sympathetic against Shayna Baszler than she ever did against Asuka. Who couldn't help but feel for poor Dakota Kai when Shayna struck her with stark terror? Just this last week, Candice LeRae found more relevance than she ever has in NXT by being victimized by the champion.

When Kairi Sane made the save, the audience erupted. The Brooklyn crowd is going to be clamoring for the Pirate Princess to end the Queen of Spades' reign of terror in the Barclays Center.

That's what a good heel should do. Alexa Bliss and Carmella, take note.

#2 Brock Lesnar

Say what you will about the angle itself, but WWE has done a remarkable job blurring kayfabe and reality with Brock Lesnar and making him go from respected to despised. Playing his part-time status and mercenary nature to the hilt, the company has successfully put go away heat on him. Many fans are now clamoring for him to drop the Universal Championship and go back to UFC forever.

Whether this will work to get Roman Reigns over remains to be seen. WrestleMania 34 didn't give much room for hope, and there's no reason to believe another encounter in Brooklyn will be any different.

Still, if anyone other than Reigns were feuding with him, that man would be the most over in the company, which says a lot about how effective this heel run has been in doing its job, horrible as the overall angle has been for the quality of the programming.

#1 Tommaso Ciampa

Was there any other choice?

Tommaso Ciampa is the best heel in the business right now. He combines the irredeemable qualities of Randy Orton, the obnoxiousness of Shinsuke Nakamura, the brutality of Shayna Baszler, and the mercenary nature of Brock Lesnar into one. Aleister Black losing the title to him has made him more over than he was as champion, which was ironically the low point in his NXT career.

Johnny Gargano was the most beloved man in the company until Ciampa caused him to descend into madness, and when he gets out of it, he will be again. Whenever Gargano takes the title from Ciampa (and he will), it will be the most cathartic moment in NXT history, and in the company in general since Daniel Bryan's triumph at WrestleMania 30.

That's how good Ciampa is right now. He's 2018's MVP, heel or babyface, and it isn't close.