10 WWE Faces Who Were Actually Total Heels
Whatever happened to the heroes?
What is it with WWE and babyfaces?
It seems that no matter how hard they try, the company just can't build likeable, engrossing protagonists anymore. Heels have never been an issue, but something has gone awry in WWE's babyface star-making machine, and there appears to be no fixing it.
Long gone are wrestlers like Dusty Rhodes, whose everyman charm superseded his physical limitations, or even Daniel Bryan, who will forever remain one of the most likeable men in wrestling. Wrestling faces just aren't sympathetic anymore, but the trend is far from new.
Babyfaces are supposed to be defined by their honour, spirit, and integrity, but that hasn't stopped some of the sport's biggest fan favourites from behaving like textbook villains. Regardless of their popularity, it'd be a stretch to call these competitors "good guys" by any stretch of the imagination, and while each of them were cheered, none were what you'd call a positive role model.
Here are 10 WWE faces who were actually total heels.
10. Sheamus
WWE have never quite found the perfect role for Sheamus. He’s always been far better as a villain than a hero, but aside from a few spells here and there, Sheamus has rarely connected with the crowd in the way WWE have wanted. His heel runs almost ran him into the ground, particularly during the League of Nations debacle, and Sheamus was even subjected to the dreaded “X-Pac heat” for a while.
Somehow, Sheamus’ big babyface run was even worse. From 2011 to 2014, Sheamus was the absolute worst kind of WWE face: an obnoxious, smug schoolyard bully who pushed heels around and attacked without provocation. His character was completely devoid of redeeming features, and his cheesy insults and corny jokes made it incredibly tough to get behind him.
Furthermore, Sheamus was far too dominant in the ring, and steamrolled through almost everyone he faced (see: Bryan, Daniel). His world title runs were unmemorable, his feuds incredibly one-sided, and WWE never gave fans a reason to build the all-important babyface sympathy.
Sheamus has fortunately found a nice niche as Cesaro’s tag team partner on Raw these days, but he’s still very much a heel despite his allegiance with the crowd-pleasing Swiss Superman. This is probably for the best, as the last thing Raw needs is another unsympathetic babyface with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns going around.