7 Ways Modern WWE Heels Created 'Bad' Heat
6. Babyfaces Losing In Their Hometowns
This is a problem that WWE have created by copying something from old school wrasslin’ territories.
In a vacuum, a babyface losing to a heel in the face’s hometown is a devastating and effective way of generating heat for the heel. The problem is that, like most good tropes, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and context is key. In the territory days, it was fine for a babyface to lose in their hometown, because it was likely the next week, they would run a show in the same town, and the babyface would get their heat back. When is the next time WWE will be in San Jose? Will Bayley get her heat back on Alexa Bliss? Probably not. Will Randy Orton get his revenge on Jinder Mahal after Jinder beat him in St. Louis? I wouldn’t bet on it. Will Sasha Banks gain redemption from her loss to Charlotte in front of Boston? Hell to the no.
The point is: babyfaces losing in their hometown is a useless method of gaining heel heat in modern WWE, and it’s trope best thrown to the wolves.