10 Dirtiest Players In WWE History
Bad to the bone.
Serving as a heartbreaking end to a once-beloved act, Big Cass' two turns on Enzo Amore were equally vicious. However, his second calculated assault represented the necessary cruelty required for a heel to be truly detestable. His back against the wall, Cass was forced to attack Enzo when he revealed his plan. Sneak attacking his former sidekick after Enzo's peacemaking operation was intentionally cut-throat.
Being a thoughtless dirty rotten cheat is something of a lost art in the modern era, with performers still trying to work out how to generate genuine heat in the era of super-workers and the complete dissolution of kayfabe.
After early jitters as a babyface on the main roster, Charlotte Flair was a superb heel alongside her father Ric. Joined at the hip with the 'Dirtiest Player In The Game', her reliance upon paternal shortcuts and cheap victories to retain her Divas and Women's Titles was a callback to a simpler time, where bad guys chased victory at all cost even if it meant failing to use the skills or talents that had elevated them to success between the ropes to begin with. Her father and others were rogues in their purest form. Rebels without causes and antagonists without remorse.
Eschewing the fan-friendly fiends, the true outlaws cared little for anything other than stealing the winner's share of the purse. Rock bottom morals and bereft of principles, these heels thrived on chicanery.
10. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels' turn on long-time partner Marty Jannetty is now rightfully eulogised as one of the finest moments in a legendary career, but his maiden run as a heel in the immediate aftermath is a forgotten by-product of the brutal assault.
Embracing every aspect of what it meant to be a scumbag heel in 1992, Shawn was a revelation as a narcissistic boy toy, strutting to the ring with the arrogance of a performer 20 years his senior and the assuredness of the star-in-waiting he truly was.
Between the ropes, he sacrificed the flashy style he'd return to as a babyface to embrace his position as a total chickensh*t. Acutely understanding the dynamics of his role, he'd back off and back down, only to strike at a moment's notice, usually with a closed fist or eye rake if it meant stealing a quicker advantage.
His Intercontinental Title victory over the British Bulldog in November that year was a rewarding assemblage of the act. Zeroing in on Davey Boy Smith's injured back, Michaels was a shark smelling blood for the entirety of the contest, despite constantly having to stick and move against his bigger opponent.
Utilising the environment for evil, he took advantage of a turnbuckle he'd exposed earlier in the bout, ramming Bulldog's back into it, allowing him to fall lifeless on top of the champion during a misguided superplex attempt for a cannily cheap victory.