10 Staples From Wrestling's Past WWE Must Bring Back

9. Proper Heels

Undertaker Kane Unforgiven 1998
WWE

Hardly anybody in today's wrestling landscape can hold a candle to the real heels of wrestling's past.

Kevin Owens is probably the best WWE has at their disposal. He draws the ire of live crowds everywhere with his subtle heat-building tactics, the most infuriating of which sees him feign pulling off a spectacular move before applying a dreaded rest hold instead. He is very, very good at deceiving fans.

But he hasn't yet mastered the art of true heeldom; to do that, he also needs to improve at deceiving referees and opponents to regain the advantage in his matches. He could also do with reigning in his incredible offensive arsenal, which is too diverse and impactful to really jeer him for. Content-hungry fans demand more action these days, but he'd arguably make better strides by employing a less is more approach.

Even more infuriatingly, Stephanie McMahon would be one of wrestling's best heels - if only she focused her act exclusively towards faces and showed them some a** every now and then. A heel should be measured by the catharsis they dole out to the paying public. Her dad was only effective because he p*ssed his pants.

Heels are too often fortuitous or vicious - the plain old cheats are greatly missed. The Revival are one of the hottest acts in WWE for a reason.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!