Heel and Rudo's and Overall Booed People in Modern Wrestling

[HeadCheese]

Thoughts?

[VilinskiKonjic]

My thought is that they're... good? Useful to have, though I think these days it's a lot harder to be a good heel than a good face.

[ChutiyaHogaTeraBaap]

Thoughts?

Best in the world are Y2J, Shingo, Doi and the Miz

[Planet]

I don't think Y2J is anywhere near the top of the list of top heels in the world, he gets cheered relentlessly even against people who were getting cheered just months earlier. I do think Jericho is amazing, even at this advanced point in his career he's still innovating his character without even really completely changing it. It's a testament to his abilities and his mind for wrestling. This does beg the question, "What is a modern heel, what has it become and how is it different than the old days." I mean, I'm not saying he needs to grab a rest hold or kick a puppy or stab a guy or anything to get heat. Heels and heel characters have or, in the case of the WWE, still need to evolve and be an ever changing part of the wrestling ecosystem.

But still, if you get cheered, you're not a heel.

[ayaashm]

Doi is more a comedy heel but yeah Shingo is #1 in the world right now.

[suplexberry]

Heels getting booed is obviously right and good.

Some promotions just can't seem to book heels properly, some modern fans feel self-conscious by 'acting along' as opposed to just cheering a guy they like, some fans quizzically misunderstand any heat as go-away heat (the metaphysical question, is that even a real thing?) like a Reddit post recently admonishing fans for telling heels at an NXT house show to "shut the fuck up". I don't know, I love getting swept up in emotion by wrestling, but I recognize it's complicated in the modern landscape. Sometimes that complexity takes away from my enjoyment of it, because roles get confused and therefore meaningless, but other times the complexity is perfectly fine because it adds layers beyond the traditional dynamic. It really comes down to not just what's being done, but how it's being done, and by whom.