10 Worst Babyface Backlashes Of All Time
2. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme The Honky Tonk Blues
Without a doubt, the worst babyface debut in WWF/E history was the Honky Tonk Man. History tends to rave about his record-setting run as the Intercontinental Champion, and what a magnificently scuzzy heel he was... few people remember that he debuted as a babyface so white meat that he made fried chicken look like rare steak.
Vince McMahon saw merchandising in the Honky Tonk Man's character: kids dressed in jumpsuits, fake sideburns, the works. All that would require him to play a babyface, of course.
The real life Wayne Farris told him that he wasn't sure he'd make a good good guy, that he had no practice at it, but McMahon refused to listen.
So keen were the WWF to get Honky over as a clean cut fan favourite that during his first few matches they had inset promos from Hulk Hogan telling the fans at home, "Mercy mercy mercy, shake rattle and roll all over the WWF! You know, this Honky Tonk Man, he's got it all together dudes! This guy trains, says his prayers and eats his vitamins, and I think he's gonna rock n' roll this whole WWF!".
The Honky Tonk Man did not have it all together. Despite dropping Hogan's name in his own promos, fans mercilessly booed the Elvis impersonator to death.
The problem was that the real life Wayne Farris had been working on television on the Canadian territories as a vicious heel immediately before joining the WWF, and the first TV tapings were in Canada.
Three weeks of TV were taped at once, and the Honky Tonk Man came out three times that night to increasing hostility.
Two months after his debut, the Honky Tonk Man went to the lengths of asking for a 'vote of confidence' from the WWF fans, who were encouraged to write in with a yay or nay. It was Jesse 'The Body' Ventura who broke the news to Honky a couple of weeks later.
Supposedly, 674,383 votes had been cast (a work, naturally), with only 71,111 voting for him. Over 600,000 people voted the Honky Tonk Man down, and his ensuing hurt and rage at the public rejection fuelled the heel turn that characterised his character and his career for the rest of his life.