Heel heat vs Real Heat.

What’s up everyone, I’m the Aussie Mouthpiece. This article was going to be the 2nd part of that trilogy I was writing, but considering I didn’t actually get any responses, I’m going to leave that alone for now. Maybe I’ll get back to it another time, but for now, I’ve just read another article which has given me an idea.

I’ve been writing about wrestling for nearly a year now. I started my blog (http://aussiemouthpiece.blogspot.com) in June last year, and not too long after that, I wrote my first piece that wasn’t just a review or preview.  I called it “I hate you, you’re so good”

It was about heel wrestlers getting the recognition that they deserve, and how I felt sometimes they didn’t.

So initially I thought about re-posting that article on here, but reading through it, I noticed that my writing skills were still developing at the time I wrote it.

So this post will touch on that, because I think it’s still a valid point, but also I want to bring up the topic of real heat, versus heel heat.

Before I get into that though, let’s talk about heels, and how important they are.

In the eyes of the fans, I feel like a lot of the top heels do not get the credit that they deserve for the work they do. Backstage obviously would be a different story, otherwise we would never see any heel champions, or heels getting the best of their adversaries during storylines. However, sometimes I think the way that heels are removed from TV can make them seem like a bit of a joke, and that can tarnish their reputation.

The main example I can think of to support that argument is Lita. Now I know that I’m going back a few years here, so some of you younger wrestling fans might just remember Lita as “Edge’s slutty girlfriend”, if at all. But to me, I remember Lita revolutionising, and really pioneering modern women’s wrestling. She was the first woman I can remember seeing hit a Hurricanrana, and even a Moonsault. I’m not sure that she was the first ever, but she, I am fairly sure, was the first to do those things in the WWE.

But, does anyone really remember that these days? Most people, like I said earlier, if you ask them who Lita is, would say “Edge’s girlfriend” or “That girl who cheated on Matt Hardy”.

And, who remembers how she left the WWE? I do. It’s still one of the more disgusting things I’ve seen.
Cryme Tyme (remember when they mattered?) came out with a cardboard box full of “Lita’s possesions”, and proceeded to try to sell them to people in the crowd. Including her underwear. Lita then ran down to the ring to try to stop them, and reclaim her dignity, but of course she was unsuccessful, and was promptly booed and sung out of the arena, with that “Na na naa na. Hey Hey Hey.. Goodbye” song/chant.

I do get the whole idea that in a strange way, that is the best way for a heel to leave. I remember watching Jericho’s dvd, and he talked about the time he was “fired” by Bischoff in 2005, and was carried out o fhte arena by security guards, all while kicking and screaming and crying. He was saying people come up to him saying “I can’t believe that was the way they had you leave”, to which he replied something to the effect of “That was the best way I could have gone out”. So I do understand that, I just think that in a few instances, it hurts the wrestler’s legacy.

Look at Trish Stratus. She’s an example of the best way a babyface can leave. She won her last match, and in fact won the Women’s championship in her last match. She had her last match on an amazing Pay Per view event, and then retired the next night on Raw, as the only 7 time WWE women’s champion. Great way to leave right?

Compare that to Lita, and while you’re doing that, remember that Lita and Trish had an ongoing rivalry for something like 5 years. They were the female version of a Rock/Austin feud. Lita was just as much responsible for the Women’s division becoming as great as it was back in the early 2000’s, and she deserved the same kind of recognition that Trish Stratus recieved, and still recieves to this day. But instead, she’s remembered as a slut. Which is not right.

JBL is another really great example of a great wrestler who’s final wrestling appearance may have hurt his legacy.
It was Wrestlemania 25. JBL was the Intercontinental champion. He was facing Rey Mysterio. Rey beat JBL in 30 seconds. JBL’s response? He picked up a microphone, and yelled “I quit”. And once again, was sung out of the building, all while saying “You are going to miss JBL!” and other lines of a similar nature.

Now when I think of JBL, i think of how much I hated him. This is going to lead into my point about heel heat vs real heat, but first off, let me explain. JBL delivered these amazing, seemingly “shoot” promos at times, usually at ECW One Night Stand events. They were incredible, they were right on the money, and they felt real. He came across as a bully, and an asshole. Basically, the perfect heel. And when you added in his gimmick of the wealthy tycoon, it was a perfect storm.
Remember the matches he had with Eddie Guerrero? I’ll never forget Judgement Day 2004 when he destroyed Eddie with that chairshot. To me, Bradshaw was probably the top heel of that era between 2004 and 2008. With the exception of one man.

Edge.

Edge had everything it took to be a top guy in the wrestling business. He was well on his way as well, and then real life crossed over with pro wrestling. I’ve always thought that whenever that happens, it always brings about something positive. I know that Matt Hardy got released, and all of the circumstances surrounding that whole issue weren’t the greatest, but what came of it? Matt got a great push, and Edge became the most hated guy, possibly ever, in wrestling.

Edge unfortunately was a victim of the change in direction of WWE programming. It’s very hard to be a Rated-R superstar when you’re on a Rated-PG TV program I would imagine. But luckily Edge was able to take that new direction, and use it to become a wonderful babyface, and retire, the same as Trish did, as Champion.

I guess what I’m trying to get at with this part is that sometimes even though it’s a great heelish sendoff, it can harm the legacy that some of the better wrestlers of the last 15 years have, at least in some of the less avid fans’ eyes.

Ok onto the second part of this article… Real Heat vs Heel Heat.

What I mean by that is that I feel like there is a difference between getting wrestlers being booed for being a heel, and being booed because the people do not want to see them or can’t stand them.

The way I see it, heels are meant to be booed, but the fans should still want to see them, even if it’s just so that they get what’s coming to them. But there is a difference between that, and people booing a wrestler, or on air talent simply because they don’t want to see them.

For example; Edge would get booed when he came out to the ring to do anything, but the people would pay money to see him get beaten up, or see Mick Foley in a hardcore match with him, or even just tune in to see what he was going to do next, or see if whoever was feuding with him would get the better of him this time. That is heel heat.

The Great Kahli (when he first started) got booed because he couldn’t throw a punch, and no-one wanted to see him on tv, and really didn’t want to see him as champion, standing on the Undertaker to get a 3-count.
That was real heat.

So really all I’m talking about is people booing, yet still wanting to see the guy, vs people booing because they don’t want to see the guy. Or girl.

John Laurinitis is a good example of “real heat”. Or, at least he was initially. I’m not so sure that lately he hasn’t become more entertaining. But what I do remember vividly is not wanting to see him at all last year. He would fumble simple english words, not speak clearly into the microphone,and generally was just an awkward bumbling fool on camera. However, it WAS good TV, because we would then get to see CM Punk verbally rip apart everything that I just said. But people just didn’t want to see him on tv.

Now for me, that hasn’t changed. Triple H is a much better figurehead to be running the shows in my opinion. He’s been around on camera for a long time, and that to me has always helped when it’s come to GM’s. To me the best General managers, heel or face, are the people that have been around. Bischoff (a great example of Heel heat), Stephanie McMahon, Teddy Long. Even Vince (probably the best example of someone getting heel heat, not real heat).

But let’s get back on topic.

The last thing I want to talk about is John Cena. Uh oh, I hear you say, not John Cena. He’s the most bland, overrate… you know what? I’m not even going to finish that.

I am not the biggest Cena fan, but I am also not in the blindly hating “cena sucks” camp. I respect John Cena. I don’t like a lot of aspects about his character, butI have nothing but the utmost respect for John Cena the man. Even if for no other reason than all of the wishes he grants for the make-a-wish foundation.

Now John is a unique case, in the sense that he gets that real “we hate you” kind of heat, yet is portrayed as a babyface. There are some people who are just sick of seeing him on tv, sick of seeing him win all the time (which doesn’t happen.. Wrestlemania 28 remember?) and sick of the “super-cena” character.

I agree with some of this, like I still cannot work out why Cena won at Extreme Rules. But that’s really not what this article is about.
John gets heat for apparently not being able to wrestle, and in years past, only knowing 5 moves. Chants of “same old shit” and “you can’t wrestle” would emanate throughout arenas. Nowadays we get “Let’s go Cena/Cena Sucks!” and to me, it almost seems as if people are chanting that because it’s ‘cool’. That chant started even before Cena came out of the curtain at Extreme Rules. It’s lost it’s impact to me.

Also, saying that John can’t wrestle is borderline idiotic. He would not be in the position he is in if he could not wrestle a match. Think about some of the matches he has been a part of in the last 5 to 6 years. Cena/RVD at One night Stand 2006. Unforgiven 2006 vs Edge. MiTB 2011 vs CM Punk. Do you really think that those matches were single handedly made great by Cena’s opponents? What about the Raw match that Cena had with HBK. They went for an hour. No-one.. I repeat.. No-one has done that in recent memory. Undertaker/HBK at WM 25 only went 45 minutes, including entrances and post match stuff. Anyone that honestly thinks that Cena had nothing to do with that match even being able to last an hour, sorry, but you are an idiot.

Cena will never be up there with the Shawn Michaels, the Kurt Angle’s, the Eddie Guerrero’s in terms of in ring work, but look back about oh.. 25 years, and have a look at who was on top then. Hulk Hogan, and an aging Andre the Giant. So boo the man if you want, but remember, you’re still paying money to see him, you’re still watching the show, and you’re still talking about him.

Ok that’s about it, I hope you enjoyed this post, I know it was a little rambling at times, but nonetheless I  feel like it covered what I wanted to say.

Until next time, follow me @The OZMouthpiece and also don’t forget to check out my personal site http://aussiemouthpiece.blogspot.com

Business is concluded… for now.