My Top 5 Heels

Hi guys,

Well, hasn't it been a crazy few weeks for wrestling. The Coronavirus stopped a lot of Japanese shows, Goldberg became the WWE Universal Champion and then was challenged by Roman Reigns, Chris Brookes wants to make Antonio Honda bleed and DDT's MAO wore shorts for the first time in what seemed like forever. I also had my first attempt at ring announcing and didn't completely make a fool of myself.

Yet, in the midst of all that, I thought it was about time to get another list out. If any of you listened to my podcast last week then this will make sense, if you didn't then make sure to go and listen to it now (or after you've read this post). Basically, I spoke about the whole concept of being a heel and whether it's plausible or not in this day and age. My conclusion was pretty inconclusive but I think that wrestling isn't black or white. However, despite that, heels are a must in wrestling and I thought I'd have a look and see who my top 5 heels are at the moment.

1. Jay White

I mean as much as I love Jay, he is definitely the best heel in wrestling today. He is basically a bastard! In New Japan, Jay White is so hated that he managed to bring together two factions (Chaos and Taguchi Japan) and unite the fans in their hatred. It's for good reasons too. Since returning from excursion over two years ago, White has done everything by his own rules and turned on the Dojo system he was trained on. Even his move set has adapted to his character as White now uses less of the basic Young Lion moves and also hardly ever leaves his feet preferring to use a ground based offence, I mean I can't remember the last time he did a drop kick. That isn't even counting the number of times he avoids actually starting a match, jumps out of the ring or jump starts an opponent. He is hated so much that, after he beat Naito, people actually started leaving because they were so upset.



Alongside all of this, White just has this heel arrogance about him that is unrivalled. From the way he holds himself to the way he speaks, White knows that he is one of the best in the business and has achieved so much at such a young age that others couldn't even dream about. Jay White is a natural heel and he's made it so easy for us to hate him but also appreciate what he's done in the past few years, like the guy has made New Japan his company. Jay as a heel is understated, cool and slightly chaotic - the best kind.

@JayWhiteNZ Instagram

2. MJF
If Jay White is a natural heel, MJF is the dick heel. Since making his mainstream debut on All Elite Wrestling, he has become one of the most hated men in wrestling. For me, MJF had this perfect story that seamlessly led into his heel turn. Starting as someone who wanted to learn from Cody, he became the star prodigy all beady eyed and willing to do anything to protect his mentor. It seemed to good to be true, which it obviously was. We saw glimpses of the more menacing and calculating side to MJF in Being the Elite all out of sight from Cody building his character and show audiences that this guy isn't just a dick but a two faced dick. It all culminated during AEW when MJF finally showed his true colours in front of Cody. Everything about it just worked and got him heat straight away - how could he do that to his idol?



After that, MJF became THE heel. With his crowd interactions, they are second to none. He has this natural ability to say things that make the crowds chant and boo him which he responds with so effortlessly to get himself even more heat. There is also something unique about MJF in the sense that he's always a heel, even when he's out of the ring - you don't see that much anymore. He might be young, but MJF has cemented himself as a major player in professional wrestling.

3. Shayna Baszler
Sometimes, I think there aren't many pure heel female wrestlers nowadays. We used to have the likes of Charlotte Flair and people like that but their babyface runs ruined that mystique for me. However, one person that never ceases to amaze me is Shayna Baszler. From the minute she stepped into NXT, Bayzler cemented herself as a heel coming in and causing mayhem to whoever she stepped in the ring with. Unlike White and MJF, Baysler is a lot less vocal than many heels nowadays but that just makes her even more amazing. It's so hard to get people to hate you without constantly talking trash about crowds and opponents but Baszler does this perfectly. By just having this domineering, dominating and badass persona and presence, she just has this way to always make you root for the underdog. Also, like many heels, her offence, not just because of her MMA background, is very much ground and submission based, she can tap you out in so many ways and make you hurt.


After an amazingly dominant Elimination Chamber performance that only made Baszler look stronger and more badass, I don't see this mystique changing any time soon. She continues to put fear into her opponents and not care what anyone says, and that's what being a heel is all about.

4. KENTA
Since making the move to New Japan Pro Wrestling and aligning with the Bullet Club, Kenta has become a heat machine. Coming to NJ, Kenta got a mixed reaction and wasn't getting the love from the fans that he thought, so his attitude became, 'If you don't like me, I'll give you a reason to hate me'. By betraying his best friend and New Japan legend Shibata, he cemented himself as a heel and quickly embraced this new outlook. Even with his playfulness in post match comments, he managed to combine this lightness with subtle heel tactics whether it was calling Yoshi Hashi ugly (poor baby) or giving nicknames to his opponents. The peak of Kenta's rise as a true heel came on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom when he ruined Naito's big moment after winning the double title dash. I don't think I've heard a reaction like it. It takes a special kind of person to get that kind of crowd reaction in Japan.



However, it's easy to forget how good a heel Kenta has always been whether it was in WWE or NOAH. Something about Kenta just amazes me. He has this amazing aura about him that makes him both easy to love and hate him but, like Jay, appreciate everything he does. There's this carefree essence about him that just riles crowds up even more adding to his ammo and ability to just get heat. Whether he's speaking or not, he just has a heel aura that you can only have from years in the business.

5. The Miz

I almost didn't put the A-Lister on this list because of his recent babyface turn which I wasn't a huge fan of. However, after the return of John Morrison, the Miz has gone back to his dastardly ways and it couldn't make me happier because he might be one of the best heels in WWE history. From the day he stepped into a WWE ring, he just oozed this dislike-ability if that makes sense. From the way he looked to the way he acted, he became the modern day heel.


There is just something about the arrogance and unrivalled confidence of the Miz that just gets to people and make them hate him whether it's the fans or wrestlers themselves. With not only a great and consistent ring style but also one of the best mic skills I've seen, the Miz is a complete heel package. If you want to see proof of how good a heel the Miz is, the video of the little girls face when he won the WWE title says it all. Whenever the Miz is in the ring, you want the other person to win just so that you can see the smug grin wiped off his face. So, even though a lot of people appreciated Miz's babyface turn, he should stay a heel because he is one of the best and will always be remembered as an amazing one!

Of course, all these choices are personal and the definition of a heel and people's criteria differ depending on the person. These are the five people that I think best represent heels in wrestling today for the reasons I said. Who knows, it might change next month or even next week. We're in such a good place in wrestling that lists like this change all the time and it's because of the high standard of wrestlers/

So, that was my list and hopefully you see where I am coming from!

Be sure to keep an eye out for any new posts from me and you can do that by following me on my social media:

(@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG)! I

Also, keep an eye out for my fortnightly podcast where I talk a lot about all thing wrestling: https://www.mixcloud.com/WrestlingChatter/ because I just released my podcast counterpart to this post and there will be more coming!

Until next time,

Bye