10 Most Effective Wrestling Heels Of The 21st Century
4. Christian
Industry legend has it that Vince McMahon hated Christian’s face so much that he at one pointed wanted to cover it with a blue dot at all times. It was an inscrutable whim for which the man has become notorious, but when Christian was at his weasel-like, slimy best, you can almost forgive him for getting worked.
Consider Christian’s World Heavyweight Championship feud with Randy Orton in 2011. It seemed destined to fail; Orton, whose popularity as a babyface had cooled off, dethroned Christian cleanly two days after his uplifting title capture at Alberto Del Rio’s expense at Extreme Rules. When it became apparent that we were meant to accept Christian as the heel in their series, raised eyebrows hovered above rolled eyes. It was a totally tone deaf idea.
But Christian, with his impeccable character work and slimy attempts to avoid Orton’s offence, found a way to pop audiences when Orton finally countered him into it. Christian even spat in Orton’s face, years before one Tetsuya Naito popularised the tactic in New Japan, to set up their feud-capping No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam 2011.
Orton, who has never been received or felt entirely comfortable operating within the face role, was a standout and massively over performer that Spring and Summer. Christian’s detestable foil had much to do with it.