WWE: The heel epilogue

The Bryan betrayal

I’ve been writing about professional wrestling for about good four years now, and have been following the “Sport” (No, Vince, not entertainment) for a better part of 15 years.

Right from the days of Owen Hart to the Austin – McMahon feud, from the Ministry of Darkness to the Corporation, I’ve seen my fair share of ‘bad guys’ in the WWE. I was always impressed by the so called ‘heels’ (A wrestling term for villains) than the faces, because of the psychology involved in making people hate them.

Whether you talk about the greats such as Roddy Piper or Jake Roberts, everyone had their own ways to garner ‘heat’ (A negative reaction from the crowd). It could be as simple as ripping into the city they were performing in or a much more intellectual, psychological one – upping, making people loathe their demeanour and their attitude; the bad guys were always the most interesting part for me in this industry.

The reason I thought about bringing this topic up was because of the negative reaction the SummerSlam main event has garnered. It wasn’t the Cena – Bryan match for the WWE championship that caused an outrage among the Internet Wrestling Community and the WWE Universe; the match itself received rave reviews from everyone, but the ending of the PPV was the cause for such an outrage.

After Daniel Bryan won the WWE title after nearly 15 years of hardship and sacrifice, he was betrayed by the corporate stooges, Triple H and Randy Orton. As Orton took away the richest prize from the most beloved individual in pro wrestling today, the majority of the fans exploded in anger and in disgust. This was very similar to Christian losing the World Heavyweight championship to Randy Orton two years ago, and the fans despised the very thought of Daniel Bryan not being the WWE champion.

There is always a bigger picture to certain storylines; whether you talk about Cena having a bad 2012, thus making 2013 his ‘year of redemption’ or about CM Punk being the WWE champion for 434 days. I for one believe the whole Daniel Bryan storyline has been amazing so far, playing well within the boundaries and contours of the WWE’s policies, and him losing to Orton worked so well because of how the angle was booked. Due credit should be given to Vince McMahon and Triple H, as most of the fans didn’t see the ‘turn’ coming, thus making the angle much more successful.

Hulk Hogan joins the NWO

Even when you go back in time, the biggest heel turns were the ones that happened when the fans expected it the least. Everyone remembers the Bash at the Beach ’96 in WCW, not because of the PPV itself, which was mediocre at best, but because of the ending of the PPV. Hulk Hogan, who was the biggest babyface in professional wrestling history turned on the fans and WCW, thus joining forces with The Outsiders.

If it were someone else, such as Ric Flair or Savage/Luger, it wouldn’t have been as impactful. Although Hogan was the biggest star at that time, the timing and the execution of the turn gave a perfect example of how the bad guys provide the necessary ‘spice’ in professional wrestling.

But a psychological turn doesn’t happen with a superstar saying something against the crowd or the host city, but by understanding the fans’ mentality and using it against them. The perfect example of that being the Bret Hart – Steve Austin double switch at WrestleMania in ’97.

Not only did it create sympathy for Austin in the minds of the fans. It kick started the Steve Austin era in the WWF. Austin went on to defeat Shawn Michaels the next year at WrestleMania and became the face of the WWF, and also the biggest superstar in the history of professional wrestling! If it wasn’t for a perfect protagonist – turned – antagonist like Bret Hart, it’s hard to imagine that happening. So in a way, Austin wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t for a Bret Hart or a Vince McMahon.

The best storylines are the ones involving the best bad guys, and professional wrestling would’ve never been the same if it wasn’t for them. There wouldn’t have been a David if it wasn’t for a Goliath. Professional wrestling is a lot like movies/fiction; for someone to become a hero, they’d need a perfect villain, and the same applies to professional wrestling. Characters like Jake Roberts and The old Undertaker fascinated me, along with the likes of Owen Hart and Mr. Perfect.

While some needed a character for people to hate, there were others who could do that by being themselves. These are the guys the fans love to hate, and these are the performers that make professional wrestling interesting.