BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) RIC FLAIR
Ric Flair is great heel/face wrestler. The idea I have a “heel/face” wrestler is someone that has both aspects mastered and gets over with the crowd no matter what. There are plenty of folks who have had success as both, but almost always someone strides just a little more in one area. To me, Ric Flair is balanced in the middle. He’s a great cocky bad guy and a great cocky guy. His personality and charisma can put over anything he’s asked to or wants to. If a crowd cheered for him and he wanted them to hate him he’d be able to flip that switch almost instantly and vice versa.
(THREE) RANDY ORTON
I know I’m mostly alone with this one. For some reason there are a lot of Randy Orton haters out there. Mainly for things no one has proof of happening and a reputation that the internet and bitter former coworkers made up. Even so, Orton is awesome. He’s this generation’s Randy Savage to John Cena’s Hulk Hogan. Orton has done more with his character and personality than John Cena could ever imagine doing with his. He’s been cocky, snarky, vicious, dickish, and just about every other heel combination in between. At the same time he’s been doing the same persona, but just as a good guy. It’s over and it works. If John Cena is Superman then Randy Orton is Batman. Everyone knows Batman is cooler than Superman…
(TWO) CHRIS JERICHO
Y2J, Jerichollics, The Best in the World, The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla, and all the famous nicknames and gimmicks he’s used in the past were great. Chris Jericho is one of the greatest wrestlers and performers in the business of all time. He can get a crowd going like it’s nothing. Hell, in early 2012 he actually did get the crowd going by doing exactly nothing. Not many people could do that. It’s just the charge the guy brings to the show that makes it hard not to love him or hate him. Regardless, he’s going to be one of the most over guys on either side of the equation and work better than 99.9% of them.
(ONE) SHAWN MICHAELS
Duh. He’s the best of all time. I have no problem admitting that I’m bias. I don’t care that others drew more money than him. The business works in cycles and every part of that cycle has to happen for the peaks to occur. Shawn Michael’s helped usher in the “Attitude Era” but was around for the Hogan era, the New Generation era, and even the recent PG times. The consistent thing here is that Michaels always brought it. As a jerky asshole heel, a jerky face, a crazy face, a crazy heel, a loving face, a loving heel, a conflicted face, a conflicted heel…. You get it. Shawn Michaels was such a great heel that I always wanted him to be a heel again when he was a face. The thing is that he made being a face really cool too.
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