Welcome to the Heel Report, a weekly breakdown of the best heels in professional wrestling right now. Each week the heels will be ranked out of ten and then those numbers will go on to form the rolling chart that continues each week. This is a place to evaluate and praise the ‘baddies’ of wrestling in their efforts to make us boo them mercilessly so let’s show them some love and get on with the report!
*I’m crazy ill this week so forgive me if the Report is a little streamlined this time*
Weekly Top Ten:
10: Drew McIntyre
He’s not the messiah, he’s a very angry scotsman.
9: The Shining Stars
Got a cheeky rollup win against Enzo and Cass on Raw. I’m not sure why.
8: Rockstar Spud
He didn’t win the X Division title but he did smash everyone with a chair. He also remains the only heel in the division that I give a damn about.
7: Charlotte & Dana Brooke
Raw seems to be learning from NXT on how to exist and still thrive with only a few talented people in the spotlight. I’m looking forward to seeing where this division develops as time goes on.
6: Chris Jericho
I think Jericho played his role perfectly in the first episode of Raw after his friend Kevin Owens’ title win. He reminded everyone that Owens was the longest reigning Universal champion, whilst subtly hinting that he should perhaps get a shot at the title at some point in the near future.
5: AJ Styles
Styles was set to be much higher on the chart this week until he came crashing down at the end of Smackdown, now the only thing that is ‘higher’ is his singing voice. Still, he still remains the best heel on Smackdown going forward though, which is something I never foresaw when he came in at the start of the year, so my hat’s off to him for that.
4: The Miz & Maryse
He came to play this week, like he does every week with his ‘safe’ style. There is some questioning over why the WWE has ‘dropped’ his angle with Daniel Bryan when it seemed so hot, but maybe they are just spacing things out since, at least for now, Bryan is not an in-ring talent and there is only so much they can do with this if they pursue it hard right out the gate.
3: The Revival
After their universally praised match with Gargano & Champa at Takeover the NXT tag team champions capitalised on their success by taking out the remaining half of their former challengers. I have no idea who will be next for the champs, maybe Gargano & Champa will come back, or maybe they will find new challengers in the Authors of Pain or TM61, either way despite some earlier hesitations, the two are gradually carving a real place for themselves as the best tag team on the superior product.
2: Mike Bennett & Maria
While Bennett might have gotten (arguably) screwed out of the world title at the end of the show, his partner Maria still managed to bully her way to become Knockouts champ on the same show. Making Allie lay down just one week after her accidental win of the title is a strange move, although it does make sense for both characters. There was a good chance for Allie to get some good face momentum from the win and being an unlikely champion, but now I’m not sure a comeback will work as well, but only time will tell.
1: Kevin Owens
Revenge is a dish best served when you are champion. The new Universal title holder managed to see off his long-time rival Sami Zayn in the main event of Raw, meaning that while he has Rollins and Reigns still gunning for him, at least he doesn’t have to worry about his former best friend vying for his title as well, or not any time soon anyway. In a way I would have liked to see Owens lose here, just so we could head to another multi-man match down the road. On the other hand though with HHH handing him the belt last week, which I actually think was great to give him the top heel rub, having him lose here would have made him look super weak. While I don’t believe that a heel champion has to win all the time to keep his position it is hard not to want to avoid another Rollins scenario where fans don’t connect in the right way because they want to cheer for him but he looks too weak. You have to wonder if the old mentality of having a heel champ who could lose at any time even works anymore since at least half the audience will always be behind a good heel anyway, rather than automatically rooting for his face rival.
Rolling Chart – Week Thirty-Four
1st Place: Kevin Owens (245) (-)
2nd Place: Chris Jericho (158) (-)
3rd Place: Maria & Mike Bennett (114) (-)
4th Place: Charlotte (109) (-)
5th Place: The Miz & Maryse (104) (+1)
6th Place: Matt Hardy (101) (-1)
7th Place: Seth Rollins (81) (-)
8th Place: The Club (74) (-)
9th Place: AJ Styles (67) (+1)
10th Place: Bobby Lashley (65) (-1)
That’s all for this week, it was a little sparse in terms of dastardly heel actions and I am uncertain as to whether Lashley is even a heel anymore on TNA at this point, he certainly didn’t seem to play one against Mike Bennett. TNA is going crazy at the moment with title matches and challengers and you have to wonder if it is desperation, or a product of not having to work to any real PPVs, but either way it looks somewhat sloppy. At this point I just can’t wait for the return of Lucha Underground, where the rudos will have even more chance to place now that the brand split has evened out the chances for heels on every show to make more of a weekly impact on the chart.
Agree with the rankings? Disagree? Who was your favourite heel of the week? Whatever the case, leave comment down below and come back next week for another dose of heel-ly goodness and for now this is James Wright signing off.
