The Heel Report: 01.25.12: Big Red Vegan

Each Week there are ten places, with points out of ten awarded based on these positions. These points are then added to a rolling chart that will continue each week to show who is wrestling’s overall top heel.

This is a place where the heels of TNA and the WWE can be praised for all the hard work they do trying to get us all to hate them, so without further ado let’s get on with the report…

Weekly Top Ten

1st Place: Daniel Bryan

The man with the plan comes in top again after once again defending his title like a true pro and never really trying to take on what would appear to be a much stronger opponent. Bryan is like the antithesis of Cena in that he overcomes the odds, but instead of Hulking up he Bruce Banners down and thinks his way out of things. This week it was by manipulating his surroundings so that he got those lumberjacks around him to attack in a frenzy and allow him to escape with the title, setting up for the inevitable meeting between him, Big Show and Mark Henry in a steel cage at the Royal Rumble. There will be no running, no distractions and no escape and I can’t wait to see how Bryan manages to weasel his way out of this one!

2nd Place: Kane

The Big Red Machine finally stepped up, as Jericho proclaimed the end of the world and broke his silence, Kane stopped with all the smoke & mirrors and sneak attacks and instead had a real match, against the WWE’s newest punching bag; Zack Ryder. Kane destroyed Ryder on Raw, although I have to say it wasn’t exactly exhilarating television. It was nice to see Kane get brutal, and it’s all in aid of Cena’s slow heel turn before facing the Rock, but I think they could have made things go a little bit quicker and smoother. I think the real question is whether this will be the end of Z! True Long Island Story?

3rd Place: Mark Henry

While the World’s Strongest Man is threatening a face turn he was still mostly heel this week and that means that he got a World Title shot in a specialty match in the main event on Smackdown, which equals points! Henry is like an unstoppable force right now and while I’m in full support of Bryan as champion I could easily see Henry coming out of the Rumble with the belt back around his waist, whether that will be as a face or a heel will be an interesting question that will have to be answered this Sunday.

4th Place: Cody Rhodes

Rhodes shows just how much of a douche he can be on Smackdown by picking on the little guy and tossing him around like a rag doll, he also tried to face Hornswaggle. Seriously though, it was interesting to see Gabriel get a slight glimmer of hope in terms of possibly being allowed into the hunt for the IC title. Things didn’t exactly pan out for the South African superstar as he ate a Cross-Rhodes in the middle of the ring but it’s certainly a start at least. As for where Rhodes stands in having a match with his brother, I have no idea.

5th Place: Wade Barrett

The Irish faced off against the English this week and the Irish got a’tablin’ and then got the bad mouth on Raw. You see the English called in some help from an old friend, and by old friend I mean the formerly occupied and suppressed people of India in the shape of Jinder Mahal. Jinder has played the sacrificial calf in this rivalry and has only very rarely gotten any type of victory or even offence in on the Great White. Barrett on the other hand has looked pretty good as the weeks roll on, but I’m betting that this will all be put to rest in the Rumble when Sheamus no doubt sends both men crashing to the floor, probably at the same time.

6th Place: Dolph Ziggler

Damn you, you sneaky Ziggler you! First he gets the quick win on Punk by grabbing the tights after a distraction from Johnny Ace, and then he finishes the night by catching Punk from behind with a Zig Zag and finishing Raw in style by looking like a legitimate threat heading into this Sunday. Ziggler winning his match with Punk is quite unlikely but I wouldn’t rule out anything at this stage of the game. One of the things that the WWE has done right is that by having Elimination Chamber after the Royal Rumble you just can’t guarantee who is going to be champion heading into Wrestlemania due to the unpredictability of the matches, hell you can even get guys switching shows by entering a chamber that they weren’t even booked for! We will just have to wait and see what happens when the dust settles, all I will say is that I hope Ziggler doesn’t win since he will most likely have a damn short reign, not as short as his last one, but pretty short never the less.

7th Place: Bully Ray

The bully stepped up this week and helped himself take a step closer to fulfilling his promise to get a TNA title shot in the near future. I can see a fatal 4-way happening with Storm, Hardy, Roode and Bully at the next PPV (I still can’t remember those damn names, maybe they should make them more obvious) Attaching himself to the champion is a nice way to keep the title close and while I highly doubt that Bully will ever be in possession of said belt I at least partially believe that he could take the belt at some point before he leaves TNA, it might take a miracle but at least he is closer than he has ever been before.

8th Place: Robert Roode

It’s an interesting time when the World Champ is coming behind his lackey in terms of heel stats, Robert Roode did some good talking this week but he didn’t do much of anything else. Roode is playing a clever game though, trying to eliminate both his challengers from contention before they get a chance to step in the ring again with him for the title. Of course these actions never work and they always lead to the champion simply having to contend with more than he would have if he had never acted, that is the delicious irony that is being a heel in professional wrestling, and Robert Roode is well versed in it.

9th Place: Austin Aries

The X Division Champion finally got some competition this week and it helped him get enough time on the mic to get onto the chart on a non-PPV week. Aries cut a promo about cutting a promo before cutting a promo and it was good stuff. A-Double is one of those guys who you wonder why he never made it in the WWE, given his mic skills and natural charisma. Being paired against Shelley for the time being will give him a lot to do at least.

10th Place: John Laurinitis

Talking BS and taking a GTS is what Johnny Ace did this week, and he didn’t do too bad a job of it either. Laurinitis has really mad himself a thorn in the side of the WWE champion and it will be interesting to see what he does on Sunday to try to cost Punk the title. The best thing about this developing story is that you can understand both man’s motivations, the only problem I have is that Johnny Ace couldn’t really explain why he didn’t want to fight this week, although I suppose that just goes towards the idea that he is a whiny little snake who lies and cheats while all the while acting like he is a fair and rational guy.

Rolling Chart (Week 25):

1. Mark Henry (143)

2. Cody Rhodes (129)

3. Alberto Del Rio(96)

4. The Miz (87)

5. Wade Barrett (86)

6. Dolph Ziggler (81)

7. Robert Roode (80)

8. Christian (59)

9. Bully Ray (57)

10. Austin Aries (51)

The Wright View

The Face-Off: John Cena

This has to be one of the few times in recent memory that the writing and booking in a WWE angle have been better than the performance given by the wrestler in question. Cena’s potential heel turn has been handled quite well, making Cena’s actions for the good start to become questionable and having him appear as a man getting closer and closer to the edge. However in trying to convey a man who is being pushed to the limit Cena decided to show his ‘angry face’ and shot from head on this looks ridiculous and comical, undermining the whole effect. Hopefully Cena will step up to the task and continue his heel turn, however short it might be, through and after his feud with Kane, which I hope sees him lose to the Big Red Machine, at least at the outset.

Face the Facts: William Regal

Now I know you could put Regal in the heel section and rightly so to an extent. However with his actions and popularity it is hard to put him anywhere else. Regal’s antics have become more delightful than dastardly, not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Having a program with Regal against Brodus Clay is an interesting route to go with the new funk-a-saurus but it is also a dangerous one. As already seen on Smackdown, when Brodus splashed Regal for no real reason the crowd nearly turned on him. Luckily Brodus just carried on regardless and won them back, but at this stage it is touch and go as to how the crowd takes to him. I just hope that Regal vs. Clay helps both of them out in the right way and doesn’t condemn the two to relative obscurity.

On the Rise: Michael Cole

A strange one this week, I usually hate everything that Cole has to say, but as the voice of Vince McMahon what he says is telling of what the company thinks and I was pleased with what I heard this week for two reasons. The first is that on the 100th episode of NXT Cole came back and put over Johnny Curtis in a big way, a guy who sorely deserves recognition for being the creepiest guy in the WWE today by a long shot. Then there is his questioning of Teddie Long and why he is still GM of Smackdown, something I ask myself every week. I really hope that the WWE are planning on getting rid of the guy since he adds very little to the product apart from drooling over foreign temptresses and making obvious tag team matches. He needs to go, holla!

Flat-Footed: Chris Jericho

While I like many others have liked Jericho’s new take on being a heel I have to say it clearly hasn’t worked as people are still cheering him just as much as they were when he first re-debuted. The whole Highlight Reel segment was a good idea but there was a hell of a lot of grandstanding that didn’t necessarily need to happen and wasn’t really any aid to making the crowd hate Jericho through his lack of real delivery. I’m not too sure on what his video package was supposed to mean and while his announcement of the end was dramatic I am not sure if anything will come of it, just like the camera shaking effect that took place before he returned.