8 Most Underrated Heels In Wrestling Today

8. Roderick Strong

Despite being as bland as bland can be during his initial NXT run – not helped by his pairing with Austin Aries coming to a premature halt due to A Double picking up an injury – Roderick Strong has blossomed as a smarmy, numbers-game-playing heel as part of The Undisputed Era.

Going back to his Ring of Honor days, Roddy has long been viewed as one of the best in-ring technicians in the industry today. But while his wrestling ability has never been in question, there have often been questions asked over Strong’s charisma and personality. Now though, any such questions are null and void as The Messiah of the Backbreaker continues to shine on WWE’s gold and black brand.

Since turning heel and joining Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly at April 2018’s NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, the former ROH World Champion has gone from strength to strength as Undisputed has run roughshod.

NXT Champion Adam Cole has clearly been positioned as the star of The Undisputed Era, but Roderick Strong more often than not steals the show whenever the villainous faction is competing. The NXT North American Champ is as good as he’s ever been in terms of in-ring ability, but it’s the little nuances, mannerisms, and trash-talking that is marking Roddy out as one of the best heels of 2019.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 20th Nov 2019

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Zack Gibson