10 Basic Qualities All WWE Heels Should Possess

By Matt Davis /

10. A Tendency To Cheat

One of the best ways to establish the villain during the match itself is by showcasing the heel's tendency to break the rules. While this behavioural trait has been cheered in the past due to fantastic work of Eddie Guerrero and Stone Cold Steve Austin, generally speaking, cheating will not be cheered by the masses. It's one thing for superstars like Eddie and Austin, who have built up years of support thanks to their great character work, to be cheered for it, but those are the exceptions and not the rule. The job of the heel is to get the audience to dislike and root against them. Using the ropes for leverage, eye gouges, low blows, illegal chokeholds, and using concealed foreign objects are just a few simple actions that cheaters will use to gain an unfair advantage. Unfortunately, these tactics aren't seen as often as they should be on WWE programming today. The current crop of superstars would do wise to remember that this role doesn't need to be a lifelong, career-long categorization, but something that requires their full commitment for as long as they're cast as a villain. Some of the biggest babyfaces in WWE history were once the biggest heels before changing their allegiances. Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin were constantly cheating as heels before they began to hear the cheers of the fans. The booing may not last forever, but heels should have a goal that gets them hated while they are portraying bad guys and cheating is one of the simplest ways to accomplish that.