This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (June 2007)

In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character.^[1] In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in pro wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face (crowd favorite). Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms. Heels are often portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner, breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of their opponents outside of the bounds of the rules of the match.^[2] Others do not (or rarely) break rules, but exhibit unlikeable personality traits. No matter the type of heel, the most important job is that of the antagonist role. Heels exist to provide a foil to the face wrestlers. If a given heel is cheered over the face, a promoter may opt to turn that heel to face, or to make the wrestler do something even more despicable to encourage heel heat. Many heels today subscribe to the beliefs espoused by Mick Foley in his autobiography, Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks - that a heel must always believe that whatever they do is justified and that they are in the right.^[3] Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... For the NES video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... Bad guy redirects here. ... In professional wrestling, an angle is a fictional storyline. ... In professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analagous to villains. ... In professional wrestling, a tweener is a character who is portrayed as being morally neutral or ambiguous (that is, they are between a face and a heel). ... For other uses, see Antagonist (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about a professional wrestling term. ... Michael Francis Mick Foley, Sr. ...

History

The term "heel" is most likely is derived from a slang usage of the word that first appeared around 1914, meaning "contemptible person."^[4] For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ...

Common heel behavior includes cheating to win (e.g., using the ropes for leverage while pinning or attacking with foreign objects such as folding chairs while the referee is looking away), attacking other wrestlers backstage, interfering with other wrestlers' matches, insulting the fans (referred to as cheap heat), and acting in a naughty or superior manner.^[3]

Once in a while, faces who have recently turned from being heels will still exhibit some heel characteristics. For example, in TNA, The Naturals, though they turned face after the death of manager Chris Candido, sometimes used the ropes for pins and used the megaphone of former manager Jimmy Hart to gain victories. Kurt Angle, even after turning face for his feud with Mark Henry, used a steel chair, an exposed steel ring peg, and leverage from the ropes during his pin to secure his victory at the Royal Rumble 2006. John Cena, after his initial face turn, often used a steel chain to win some of his matches, such as the one against the Big Show at WrestleMania 20.^[5] Also certain wrestlers, such as Ric Flair, or the late Eddie Guerrero, gained popularity as faces by using heel tactics. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett in May 2002. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In professional wrestling, a manager is a character who is paired with a wrestler. ... Chris Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005), better known by his ring names, Chris Candido and Skip, was an American professional wrestler best known for his participation in the World Wrestling Federation tag team known as The Bodydonnas with Zip, and his girlfriend and valet Sunny. ... A megaphone, with a three-inch lighter to scale. ... The Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart (also known as The Colonel) (born January 1, 1943 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer and musician. ... Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. ... Mark Gordon Henry[1] (born June 12, 1971 in Silsbee, Texas) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its SmackDown! brand. ... Royal Rumble 2006 was the nineteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ... John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr. ... Big Show Paul Wight (born February 8, 1972 in Tampa, Florida), best known by his ring names of The Big Show or simply The Giant, is a professional wrestler currently working for WWE on the SmackDown! brand. ... WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event from World Wrestling Entertainment, which took place on Sunday, March 14, 2004 in New York City at the world-famous Madison Square Garden. ...

Types

While behaving as a heel is often part of a wrestler's gimmick, many successful heels fall into one or more categories: In professional wrestling, a gimmick is a wrestlers personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. ...

• Crazy heel: A raging madman, dangerous and unpredictable - may attack others for no apparent reason, or blame others for being "held back" from championship opportunities and other privileges. Sometimes psychotic behavior is displayed. An example of this would be Brian Pillman, Victoria, Mickie James, Snitsky, or Brock Lesnar during his final heel run. However, an aspect to kayfabe which is never acknowledged is that if these character's personalities were in fact, real, this would create an unsafe working environment for other wrestlers.
• Comic heel: A heel character with comical aspects to his or her gimmick. Though the heel's mannerisms and overall character are silly, the comic heel can still be a serious heel contender, such as former World Champion King Booker or Edge and Christian, who would be featured playing kazoos and exercising in chicken suits. Examples include Simon Dean, Doink the Clown, King Booker, and Santino Marella.
• Cowardly heel: A wrestler who, in addition to breaking the rules and displaying characteristics of other heel types, often runs from his face opponents when threatened or otherwise placed at a disadvantage. A cowardly heel who is champion may often intentionally get himself disqualified (through outside interference or deliberately breaking a rule) or counted out when he is clearly losing the match against a face opponent. One example of a cowardly heel is The Honky Tonk Man during his run as WWF Intercontinental Champion in 1987-1988. A recent example is Edge during his feud with The Undertaker.
• Delinquent heel: A troublesome and disrespectful character who verbally and visually displays uncivilized conduct such as profanity, vandalism, violence and associated "criminal" behavior. Sometimes the wrestler will harass or bully opponents and rebel against authority. An example of this would be D-Generation X during their first heel run in 1997-1998. Other examples include Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and the New World Order, Randy Orton, Edge and Lita during their Rated-R gimmick.

Egotistical but popular heel Mr. Kennedy arrogantly taunts his downed opponent Hardcore Holly

• Egotistical heel: An obnoxious and self-important character who is arrogant or cocky; some wrestlers play on their own fame, achievements, or good looks. Examples include Hollywood Hogan, Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian Cage, JBL, The McMahon family, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Mr. Kennedy, John Morrison, "The Model" Rick Martel, Montel Vontavious Porter, Rick Rude, and Shawn Michaels.
• Female heel: Female heels have tended to display unpleasant, prima donna-like personalities towards fans and opposing divas and wrestlers. They have often interfered in matches and attacked opponents from behind without provocation. Female heels in recent history have shown jealously towards her opponents, especially one that is receiving high-profile recognition. In response, the heel will try to prove her superiority over her opponent. Traditionally, female heels in wrestling have tended to lean toward the stereotype of a woman with loose morals, both in style of dress and in attitude (this was particularly true of the heel divas in ECW, such as Francine and Dawn Marie). In recent years, notably in WWE, heels like Molly Holly and Ivory as a member of Right To Censor have been portrayed as uptight prudes championing conservative values, who antagonize other divas whom they perceive to have loose morals. Certain females (often those who are larger than the average woman) have also been portrayed as Amazon-like warriors, such as Jazz, Linda Miles in her "Shaniqua" character, Victoria, and Beth Phoenix.
• Foreign heel: In United States wrestling, these are heels who stir up the crowd by expressing strong anti-American sentiments. They may also refuse or be unable to speak English, preferring instead to render their tirades through an interpreter. Often these characters would be topical, playing off global events and crises current at the time. Examples include The Great Khali, Yokozuna, The Iron Sheik, and Muhammad Hassan. In Mexican wrestling, Americans are often portrayed as heels. Alternatively, there is a variation on the foreign heel gimmick - a wrestler who is actually an American, but has turned his back on his country in favor of an (ostensibly superior) one (called a traitor heel). In Japanese wrestling, a "traitor heel" is someone who goes against the established (usually mainstream, face) group he was part of within a promotion. They could be considered more properly as delinquent/rebel heels, but because of Japan's societal mores, delinquent wrestlers are more often seen by Japanese fans as "traitors" to the promotion.
• Monster heel: An unstoppable juggernaut who squashes his opponents. Sometimes, monster heels violently "injure" other wrestlers (sometimes through rule breaking tactics), terrorize valets (injuring them on occasion), and commit other heinous acts in order to set up a feud with a promotion's lead face. Notable examples include The Undertaker as leader of the Ministry of Darkness, Abyss, Kane, The Great Khali, Big Daddy V, Beth Phoenix, Mark Henry, Umaga, Snitsky, Kevin Thorn, Yokozuna, André the Giant, Vader, and Awesome Kong.
• Popular heel: Certain heel performers are known to receive enthusiastic cheers from the fans instead of heel heat, in spite of their heelish antics. These heels display confidence, toughness, coolness, and bravado that set them apart from more cowardly heels, almost to the point that they become tweeners and, eventually, babyfaces. Examples include Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Orton, Edge (occasion), The Rock, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Undertaker (late 1991, early 1999), Mr. Kennedy, The Big Show (in 2008 career), Hollywood Hogan, Samoa Joe (2005 and early 2006) and Mickie James.
• Heel stables: A large gang of heels that usually create an advantage through numbers. The concept of the heel stable was largely innovated by the Four Horsemen. Such groups commonly self destruct due to an inability to work together or selfishness of the group's leader. Other prominent heel stable examples include the New World Order, the Corporation, The Right To Censor faction, various incarnations of Team Canada, the Dangerous Alliance, and Evolution.
• Celebrity heels: Are celebrities who act like a heel and would start a major feud with the top face (or in some cases, other heels). Examples would be former Professional Boxer, Mike Tyson when he was with the first heel run of DX and was feuding with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Rapper, Kevin Federline is another example when he was feuding with then WWE Champion, John Cena. This also makes the storyline more interesting to the fans. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is the most recent celebrity heel, getting negative reactions from the crowd by bragging about his money, despite the fact he was feuding against another then heel, The Big Show.
• Figure of authority: A heel in a position of power. He/she often books face wrestlers against seemingly impossible odds, such as handicap matches, or matches against monster heels. Figures of Authority often feud with the top face, rarely interacting with other wrestlers. Examples: The McMahons, Eric Bishoff, Paul Heyman, Jonathan Coachman, William Regal, Vickie Guerrero and Kurt Angle.
• Moralistic heels: A heel who in his or her own mind is a babyface, and takes every opportunity to lecture the fans and other wrestlers about their perceived lack of values. They make it their mission to "clean up" the world of wrestling and eliminate elements the fans love, but they see as distasteful. Despite their high moral standards, they will often express their beliefs through terroristic threatening and radical, violent behavior. They often feud with outlaw, degenerate faces such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, D-Generation X, The Godfather, and Val Venis. Moralistic heels include Bob Backlund, Bret Hart, Owen Hart (as the Blue Blazer), the Right to Censor stable , CM Punk (in Ring of Honor), and Matt Striker.
• Young heel: A younger wrestler who believes that he is the "future of wrestling" and spends much of his time antagonizing older, more established wrestlers. They believe that these older wrestlers should simply retire and "make room" for the younger talent. Examples include Randy Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick and the Natural Born Thrillers stable.

Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American football player and professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling. ... Lisa Marie Varon (born February 10, 1971), is an American professional wrestler better known as Victoria. ... Gene Snitsky better known simply as Snitsky (born January 14, 1970 in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania) is a professional wrestler currently performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand. ... Brock Edward Lesnar[4] (born July 12, 1977[3]) is an American mixed martial artist, former professional and amateur wrestler. ... In professional wrestling, a gimmick is a wrestlers personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. ... Michael Bucci (born June 5, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Booker Tio Huffman[2] (born March 1, 1965)[2], better known by his wrestling personas Booker T and King Booker, is an American professional wrestler. ... Anthony John Carelli (born March 6, 1974) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring names, Boris Alexiev and currently, Santino Marella. ... Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man. ... Originally the second-most important title in WWE, the Intercontinental Championship is now one of the major championships on the RAW brand. ... Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973 in Orangeville, Ontario),[5] better known by his ring name Edge, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestling on the SmackDown! brand. ... In cartoons, profanity is often depicted by substituting symbols for words, as a form of non-specific censorship. ... Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or anything else that goes against the will of the owner/governing body. ... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... Harassment refers to a wide spectrum of offensive behavior. ... A very common image in many schools around the world. ... This article is about the stable in WWE. For the Pay-Per-View event, see In Your House 19: D-Generation X D-Generation X (commonly known as DX) is an on and off professional wrestling tag team (formerly a stable) wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Steven James Williams (born Steven Anderson on December 18, 1964)[2] better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... Terrence Gene Bollea (born on August 11, 1953) is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan. ... The term new world order has been used to refer to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. ... Randal Randy Keith Orton[1] (born on April 1, 1980), nicknamed The Legend Killer, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand. ... Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973 in Orangeville, Ontario),[5] better known by his ring name Edge, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestling on the SmackDown! brand. ... Amy Christine Dumas (born April 14, 1975) is an American former professional wrestler. ... Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Mr. ... Robert William Bob Howard[2] (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name, Bob Hardcore Holly. ... Terrence Gene Bollea (born on August 11, 1953) is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan. ... Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian actor, radio host, rock musician, and professional wrestler. ... Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973 in Orangeville, Ontario),[5] better known by his ring name Edge, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestling on the SmackDown! brand. ... William Jason Jay Reso (born November 30, 1973) better known by his ring name Christian Cage, is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. ... “John Hawk” redirects here. ... Vincent Kennedy McMahon (born August 25, 1945) is an American wrestling promoter, occasional professional wrestler, on-screen personality, former play-by-play announcer, and film producer. ... Randal Randy Keith Orton[1] (born on April 1, 1980), nicknamed The Legend Killer, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand. ... Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. ... Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Mr. ... John Randall Hennigan[7] (born October 3, 1979),[8] is an American professional wrestler better known by his former ring name Johnny Nitro. ... Rick Martel (born Richard Vigneault on March 18, 1956 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a former Québécois professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1980 and 1995. ... Alvin Burke, Jr. ... This article is about the wrestler. ... Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Shawn Michaels. ... Look up Prima donna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Noreen Nora Kristina Greenwald (born September 7, 1977) better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. ... Lisa Mary Moretti (born November 26, 1961 in Inglewood, California) is an American professional wrestler. ... Steven Richards, leader of RTC (Right to Censor). ... André the Giant after winning the WWF World Championship. ... Dalip Singh Rana[2] (born August 27, 1972) better known by his ring name The Great Khali, is an Indian professional wrestler and actor. ... Rodney Anoai (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Yokozuna. ... Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (حسین خسرو وزیری), (born March 15, 1943 in Tehran, Iran) is a retired Iranian professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik. ... Mark Copani (born November 7, 1981) is a currently inactive professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Muhammad Hassan, a controversial heel wrestler forced into an unceremonious exit. ... One of the most well known Lucha Libre wrestlers (luchadores), Rey Mysterio. ... New Japan Pro Wrestling is one of the most popular professional wrestling promotions in the World. ... In professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analagous to villains. ... Mores are strongly held norms or customs. ... In professional wrestling, a squash is an extremely one-sided match; one performer dominates the other and quickly defeats him with virtually no resistance. ... A professional wrestling feud is a staged disagreement between two wrestlers or factions of wrestlers over a purported slight or insult. ... For the Combichrist song, see Everybody Hates You Mark Calaway (born March 24, 1965[2][3]) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name The Undertaker. ... Christopher J. Chris Parks [3][4] (born October 4, 1973), better known by his ring name Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for 1 Pro Wrestling. ... Glen Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967) better known by his ring name Kane, is an American professional wrestler. ... Nelson Frazier, Jr. ... Elizabeth Carolan née Kocanski[2] (born November 24, 1980) better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix, is an American professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on its RAW brand. ... Mark Gordon Henry[1] (born June 12, 1971 in Silsbee, Texas) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its SmackDown! brand. ... Edward Fatu (born March 28,[2] 1973) is a Samoan professional wrestler better known by his ring names Jamal, Ekmo, and currently Umaga. ... Eugene Alan Snitsky (born January 14, 1970) is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Snitsky who is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestling on its RAW brand. ... “Kevin Thorn” redirects here. ... Rodney Anoai (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Yokozuna. ... André René Roussimoff (May 19, 1946 – January 27, 1993), best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. ... For the football player of the same name see Leon White (football player). ... This article is about the currently active female wrestler. ... Steven James Williams (born Steven Anderson on December 18, 1964)[2] better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... Dwayne Douglas Johnson[6] (born May 2, 1972)[4], better known by his former ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... Paul Michael Levesque[4] (born July 27, 1969)[4] is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former Hunter Hearst Helmsley moniker. ... Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Shawn Michaels. ... Glen Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967) better known by his ring name Kane, is an American professional wrestler. ... For the Combichrist song, see Everybody Hates You Mark Calaway (born March 24, 1965[2][3]) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name The Undertaker. ... Nuufolau Joel Joe Seanoa (born March 17, 1979 in Orange County, California[6]), better known by his ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler currently performing for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is the reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion. ... Mickie Laree James[2] (born on August 31, 1979) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand. ... Mara Salvatrucha suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. ... In professional wrestling, a stable is a group of wrestlers within a promotion who have a common element -- friendships, either real or storyline, a manager who manages all of them, or a common storyline, which puts them together as a unit (recent examples include Evolution, La Résistance, The Cabinet... The Four Horsemen (also spelled IV Horsemen) is a legendary professional wrestling stable in the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling that was disbanded in 1999. ... The New World Order was a stable of wrestlers, originally in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ... The Corporation was a heel stable in the late 90s in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ... Steven Richards, leader of RTC (Right to Censor). ... In professional wrestling, Team Canada may refer to: The Hart Foundation Team Canada (WCW) Team Canada (WWE), better known as the Un-Americans Team Canada (TNA) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Dangerous Alliance The Dangerous Alliance was a heel professional wrestling stable that made a name for itself in World Championship Wrestling. ... Evolution was a Heel stable on World Wrestling Entertainments RAW brand consisting of Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Triple H, and Batista. ... For other meanings of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer. ... Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is a former two-time American world heavyweight boxing champion and is the youngest man to have won a world heavyweight title. ... Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978), is an American back-up dancer, model, actor, and rapper. ... The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. ... John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr. ... Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. ... Paul Randall Wight, Jr. ... Eric Bischoff (born May 27, 1955), is a former professional wrestling promoter and on-screen personality, most known for serving as President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later General Manager of World Wrestling Entertainments RAW brand. ... Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965 in Scarsdale, New York) is a professional wrestling manager, on-air talent, and former promoter formerly employed by World Wrestling Entertainment. ... Jonathan Coachman (born August 12, 1973) also known as The Coach is an American professional wrestling personality, college wrestler, basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer and color commentator, as well an occasional wrestler working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand where he is Vince McMahons... Darren Kenneth Matthews (born May 10, 1968),[1][2] better known by his ring name William Regal, is an English professional wrestler. ... Vickie Guerrero (née Lara) is a professional wrestling personality and widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand, where she is the Assistant General Manager. ... Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. ... Steven James Williams (born Steven Anderson on December 18, 1964)[2] better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... This article is about the stable in WWE. For the Pay-Per-View event, see In Your House 19: D-Generation X D-Generation X (commonly known as DX) is an on and off professional wrestling tag team (formerly a stable) wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment. ... Charles Wright[1] (born May 16, 1961) is an American businessman and retired professional wrestler. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Robert Louis Backlund (b. ... Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor, and is a member of the Hart wrestling family. ... Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999)[1] was a Canadian professional wrestler who was most known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ... Phil Brooks[4] (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brand where he is the reigning ECW Champion. ... For other uses, see Ring of Honor (disambiguation). ...

Common heel tactics

The tactics of a kayfabe heel were perhaps best summed up by Jesse Ventura: "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat." However, it can backfire and eventually lead to the heel's defeat. Such tactics include: In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced KAY-fayb) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, that is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as unstaged or not worked. ... Jesse Ventura (born July 15, 1951), also known as The Body, The Star, and The Governing Body, is an American politician, retired professional wrestler, Navy UDT veteran, actor, and former radio and television talk show host. ...

Mr. Kennedy with a roll-up pin on Hardcore Holly, using common heel tactics of illegally holding the ropes for leverage

• Using the ropes or grabbing the opponent's tights during pinfalls.
• Masquerading face wrestlers.
• Insulting fan-favorites or face wrestlers by using signature poses of the face wrestlers (showing humiliation or no respect to face wrestlers).
• Sticking thumbs, throwing powder/salt, or spitting foreign substances into an opponent's eyes.
• Removing the padding on turnbuckles to expose the steel underneath it, and then smashing an opponent's head, face, or body onto it. Also, during a steel cage match, smashing the opponent's face or body into the mesh.
• Use of concealed weapons (brass knuckles, rolls of coins, etc.). Some heels are less subtle when deciding to use a weapon, sometimes grabbing a chair from ringside in full view of the referee with no regard for the consequences.
• Dragging an opponent's face across the top rope.
• Low blows.
• Hard legal tactics, such as shoot kicks to the face, if done repeatedly and with the intention to make the face wrestler look weak.

Foreign heel William Regal is admonished by the referee following a typical heel action; note his tights are even labeled with "Villain"

• Use of "cheap" tactics or "bending the rules", for example knee hits intending to break the knee, hyperextending the arm and striking the elbow to break the arm, foot stomps, hair pulls, headbutts to the opponents nose with intent to break the nose, and/or punches or palm strikes to attempt to break the opponents nose.
• Utilizing an "arrogant pin," such as posing or mocking the crowd while making a clearly ineffective pinfall attempt.
• Holding a forearm down on an opponent's face during a pinfall attempt.
• Lifting an opponent off the mat during a seemingly effective pinfall attempt (generally by pulling the opponent's hair) in order to continue the match (and to continue "beating up" on the opponent).
• Bringing a valet, manager, or another wrestler to the ring to help the heel by cheating.
• Using the outside of the ring to rest, or ducking into the ropes to slow the match down.
• When defending titles, intentionally getting himself/herself disqualified or counted out to lose the match without dropping the title that the wrestler is defending. (Note: this tactic cannot be used in TNA because titles change hands on a loss for any reason, and in other companies, this sometimes leads to either a No Holds Barred match or a match where the title can change hands on a disqualification or count-out.)
• Insulting the fans or mocking the city in which he or she is performing during promos. Heels might also mock local sports teams who have suffered disappointing results.
• Assaulting the opponent after a match or interfering in a rival's match in an attempt to cost them the win.
• Purposely getting themselves counted out in order to avoid a clear pinfall loss. This is often done in title matches; the heel champion will keep his title despite the countout loss
• Kicking the opponent's foot off the ropes during a pinfall, in order to continue a pinfall.
• In lucha libre, utilizing illegal maneuvers such as the Martinete.
• Heels are often also noted by commentators to be "targeting a specific body area" - often to render their opponent's finisher move ineffective or weaken them for a pinfall. These includes usage of "rest holds", which works on a specific body part while giving the heel some rest.

Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Mr. ... This article is about the pinfall (or pin) as it is defined in professional wrestling. ... Robert William Bob Howard[2] (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name, Bob Hardcore Holly. ... This article is about the pinfall (or pin) as it is defined in professional wrestling. ... // Foreign object is a professional wrestling term for an object introduced into the match. ... Darren Kenneth Matthews (born May 10, 1968),[1][2] better known by his ring name William Regal, is an English professional wrestler. ... For the NES video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... For the NES video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett in May 2002. ... In professional wrestling, a promo is short for promotional interview, a dialogue or monologue used to advance a storyline. ... A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponents head into the mat. ...

See also

• Face
• Turn
• Tweener
• List of professional wrestling slang

In professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analagous to villains. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In professional wrestling, a tweener is a character who is portrayed as being morally neutral or ambiguous (that is, they are between a face and a heel). ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ...

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins, 511. ISBN 0061031011.