The New Generation marked a marked departure from WWE’s usual practice. The Golden Era was filled with bulking wrestlers who, most of the time, were lacking in the work rate department.
In their place were smaller wrestlers who focused on more technically motivated matches. It was a huge change for the company and the audience, a change that didn’t produce higher ratings but did produce some of the best characters in WWE history.
These characters ranged from the heroic good guys to the more interesting heels. These villains drove all major storylines and gave the babyface a perfect foil.
They were some of the best heels not only of their generation but in the history of wrestling. These are those heels.
Yokozuna in WWE
The Golden Era was filled with monster heels. They were built as foils for the biggest babyfaces of the day, but there was one huge flaw: They always fell. These heels were never given a chance to shine until the 600-lb Sumo Champion made his way to WWE.
Yokozuna was an impressive sight. His size drew the eye, but his surprising agility made him one of the greats. He was a man who could have a great match with any wrestler, regardless of size.
That made him indispensable when matched up with any babyface. He could be plugged into any program and give the babyface a legitimate heel face-off against.
Yokozuna was also one of the only WWE heels that achieved great success. He was a two-time WWE Champion and ran the top of the card for over a year. Not many monster heels can boast his level of success.
Jim Cornette in WWE
As far as loudmouth managers go, there may be none better than Jim Cornette. Cornette was a staple of WCW/NWA programming for years and was the manager that everyone loved to hate. His persona was perfect to elevate his charges, and his negative responses became a badge of honour.
When Cornette made his way to WWE, he continued his record of being a detestable heel. He aligned himself with the biggest heels of the era and created his stable in Camp Cornette. It was comprised of hate men, but men that were elevated by having Cornette in their corner.
His ability to talk his men up drew that much more heat onto the wrestlers. The high-pitched whine and arrogant demeanor of Corny was exactly what the stable needed.
Even before he began speaking the boos would rain down from the rafters. It was Jim Cornette’s world, and we were all living in it.
Doink The Clown
Doink the Clown spent more of his time as a babyface, but that shouldn’t take away from the fantastic heel work that followed him in his early run. When Doink came in, there was an aura of tension that surrounded him. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing as he came to the ring with the promise of joy for the children.
The reveal of him throwing water or popping balloons in front of children was a great subversion. It created a character that had instant heat when they stepped through the curtain.
Also, Doink was a clown, plain and simple. In the history of fears, clowns have to be at the top of the list. They project a creepiness and unease that has followed the character for years.
We just don’t want to trust a clown, and Doink was never to be trusted. In an era of cartoony characters, he was one of the few that worked out.
Shawn Michaels
As part of the Rockers, Shawn Michaels was an incredibly popular wrestler. The fans loved the tandem so much that when the team broke, the hearts of the world broke. Those same cries of anguish turned into cries of hatred toward the newly minted Heartbreak Kid.
Once he turned toward his singles career, HBK became one of the most hated mid-card talents on the roster. He adorned himself in the most obnoxious ring gear and strutted to the ring, stating that he was better than everyone. In a sense, he was.
His ring work was head and shoulders above the rest of the company. It made him the heel who talked the talk but could also walk to walk. A heel who could back up his swagger was hated more than anyone.
HBK was also a man who was pined for by many of the female fans. That put him in the bad books of every male wrestling fan who was unfortunate enough to bring his partner to a show.
Jerry Lawler
The King was a top guy in Memphis wrestling for years. He flourished as both a babyface and heel, but it wasn’t until he made his way north that his heel persona took off. Jerry Lawler was the perfect heel announcer for the New Generation.
He played very well opposite Vince McMahon. His overwhelming support for every heel, that stepped into the ring, was almost nauseating. Very entertaining, yes, but it got to the point that the heel could do no wrong, and that made everyone listening hate the man as much as anyone could.
When Lawler stepped from behind the announce desk, things didn’t get much better for the babyface-loving audience. Clothed in his royal gear, he would make his way to the ring, dressing down individual audience members with borderline offensive insults.
It was a great way to separate himself from what others were doing, and the barbs were evil enough to get anyone against him. It was a great way to showcase the heel talent of The King.
Owen Hart
The whining younger sibling character is a trope that is used across all kinds of mediums. It’s a great way to get a negative reaction from your audience as it’s a thorn a great number of people can identify with.
It is this type of whiny character that made Owen Hart such an endearing heel. His voice broke as he voiced his thoughts on his brother and family into the microphone. He sounded like an undeserving character who didn’t earn his keep.
Granted, Owen Hart did earn his keep in the company with his talent in and out of the ring. That still shouldn’t take away from his mastery of his craft. He was well-respected but well-hated by anyone who recognized how great of a heel he was.
Goldust in WWE
We have always been a society that fears the unknown. Those things, or people, that are not familiar cause a sense of mistrust. It’s a feeling that is ingrained in many of us and a feeling that had us hating the bizarre one known as Goldust.
Goldust was such an odd character, played brilliantly by Dustin Runnels. There was such an air of mystery surrounding him, and he kept everyone on their toes with his antics. These antics bordered on the offensive at a time when his type of behaviour was not tolerated.
His advances toward the top babyfaces were a strange sight to behold. It was uncomfortable and had us questioning what his true motives were.
This was a mastery of character work from Goldust. It was creative and cutting edge and a heel that was almost before his time.
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