For years, the WWE has been home to sometimes outlandish and cartoonish superstars such as TL Hopper and Aldo Montoya. But with every great good guy, there's an even better bad guy. A bad guy that would take a rivalry to the next degree, make it personal. Who was the best at pushing buttons and revolutionizing the Sports Entertainment industry?
10. Chris Jericho
In 1999, the world embarked on the countdown to the new millineum. The countdown ended and Y2J, Year 2000 Jericho interrupted The Rock in his now infamous WWE debut. In just a few short months of his WWE debut, he sparked a feud with female Intercontinental Champion, Chyna, wanting to prove that women belong in the kitchen so much that if he lost, he would have a live sex-change. In 2003, at WrestleMania 19 after one of the most successful heel comedic tag team runs with partner in crime, Christian, he'd put on one of the greatest matches of all time, with Shawn Michaels, and in the post match hug, low blow the Heartbreak Kid.
Chris Jericho, would return in December of 2007 after a "Save Us" code, and came to save the WWE Universe. In 2008, on his talk show, the Highlight Reel would destroy Shawn Michaels eye throwing him into the Jeritron! At Summerslam, Shawn would try to announce retirement when Jericho would come out, and belittle him, and punch his wife in the jaw, what a heel! Shawn would destroy him at Unforgiven, when Jericho later in the night would become the World Heavyweight Champion, and the top heel in the business. But like a lot of the heels in this countdown, there's truth in every word Jericho would say, and the fans hated that, and it gained him a lot more heat.
9. Mr. McMahon
Without Vince McMahon, wrestling wouldn't be what it is today; and it is possible that wrestling as a whole would still be territorial if Vince hadn't ran the Crockett's, Blanchard's and Gagne's of the business out. But in 1997, Vince McMahon did a little more than his normal announce table role when he screwed Bret Hart, who was going to WCW, out of the WWF Championship in his homeland of Montreal, Canada. An irate Bret spit on him, and punched him in the face backstage. After making the WWE the three-headed monster he made it, the next night on Raw he'd have one of the most famous lines in the history of Pro Wrestling, "Bret screwed Bret. I have no sympathy whatsoever for Bret". With the heat gained, Vince would use this to launch what is now known as the Attitude Era.
A great heel draws heat with whatever he says and can keep you hanging onto every word, Vince was the type of powerhungry egomaniac that kept you reading his lips over and over, with his feud with smashmouth redneck from Victoria, Texas, Stone Cold Steve Austin. You can't have a great heel without a decent face, and Steve Austin was better than decent. Using stuff like bedpans and toy guns, it became the biggest feud in WWE history. Mr. McMahon as a character would cross many boundaries, including telling his son Shane "I will never forgive your mother for giving birth to you", or making out in front of his wife, and even creating his own religion, McMahonism (teaming Shawn Michaels with God)! Mr. McMahon was an evil, but different type of heel, and that's why he makes that top 10.
8. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Being able to get the crowd to go "I HATE that guy" at anything you do is the mark of a great villian, which means possibly the best would be "The Brain" or the "Weasel" as the fans would call him, Bobby Heenan. Always aligning himself with a heated bad guy, such as Haku, Andre the Giant, and Rick Rude, Bobby Heenan would have his own Heenan Family, talk about a stable, the Heenan Family had some of the best in ring talents of the generation, such as The Brainbusters and Curt Hennig.
Heenan, able to work the crowd like none other in the 1980s, Heenan would watch on the apron, and often try to get involved, when somebody like Hogan or Warrior will give him what he's had coming, and the mark of a good heel is a loud pop when that happens. Heenan would also host Primetime Wrestling with Gorilla Monsoon and use a lot of cheap insults for heat, that is until, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper joined the studio show and even the playing field, making it highly entertaining. Bobby Heenan makes this list for his entertainment, while getting some of the cheapest heat in WWE history.
7. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero made his debut in 2000, with buddies from WCW Perry Saturn, Chris Benoit, and Dean Malenko. After turning on Mick Foley, who "got them jobs" they would go full on heel, pairing Eddie with fan favorite diva, Intercontinental Champion "Chyna" during a match with Chris Jericho for the European Championship, Eddie would make fans mad across the world, betraying her several times, including doing things never before heard of, such as sneaking into the playboy mansion....
After heel runs with his nephew Chavo, Eddie would turn heel against tag team partner, and best friend, Rey Mysterio, revealing the ultimate secret....that Dominic was Eddie's kid, not Mysterio's. Eddie would do some maniacal things, including going to Dominic's school, and reading him a bedtime story. Until, Rey beat him in a ladder match for custody at the 2005 Summerslam event. Eddie finally defeated Rey in a steel cage match on Smackdown, in the 9th match of the series, and ending his heel run all together, up to his death, with a match with Batista for the WHC in between. R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero, Viva La Raza!
6. Edge
Edge was a heel that gained more heat than almost anybody in his era, even with guys like JBL and Chris Jericho. Edge would use anything and everything at his disposal, including his sexuality, his mind, and his 2 indentical Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, bro.
Debuting with Christian and Gangrel, they would come from the fire, until E and C would turn on Gangrel. In 1999, Edge and Christian joined forces with Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle to create Team Eck and get on everybody's nerves involving five second poses. They would enter a triple threat TLC feud with the Dudley's and Hardyz, and even have people dress up as them. But, the Edge we all remember was yet to come. At WrestleMania 21, in 2005, won the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match, and later that year, in the Gold Rush Tournament, joined Lita after she betrayed her husband, Kane. However, it was real life controversy including Matt Hardy's real life girlfriend Amy Dumas (Lita) having an affair with Edge that made him a main event star, Edge would use this controversy to his advantage, which made him standout.
Edge and Lita went all out to every extent, involving a live-sex celebration! Edge and Lita would gradually go their seperate ways when Edge went to Smackdown, and got engaged to Vickie Guerrero, after winning the World Title (before Triple H revealed him making out with Alicia Fox, that is). Edge would sooth things over with Vickie, and go on to headline WrestleMania with the Undertaker. Edge would go so far out to having his own Edgeheads (who joined him, Vickie, Chavo and Bam Neeley).
5. Triple H
In 1995, the world was introduced to a rising star from Greenwhich, who was sick of all the "rif-raf" in the WWF. His name? Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Triple H came in as the snobby, rich, blueblood. However, he didn't hit full heel potential until 1999, when he and Chyna turned on X-Pac, and then on Heat did his now infamous, "My Time" shoot (which also got him one of the greatest theme songs of all time). Triple H would then take a common heel character to brand new heights, crashing a wedding, while claiming he got the bride drunk and married her in Vegas....and, it was the Boss's daughter.
Stephanie would turn on Vince at the Armageddon PPV joining HHH, and being the powercouple for the next year. The couple you loved to hate. After years, in 2013, HHH and Stephanie came back to join forces with The Shield, Big Show, Kane and Randy Orton to turn on Daniel Bryan and keep him down because, well he's a B+ Player....nobody in history has gained more heat than The Game.
4. Ted DiBiase
Everybody's got a price! Whether it was the laugh or the character, heat was naturally drawn to the Million Dollar Man. You love to hate the rich guy, it's just a natural thing. But, DiBiase, feuding with guys like Savage for the title would do things that made you hate him. Each week on Primetime Wrestling he'd bring a fan onto the stage or into the ring, including making them shine his shoes for money, or even stooping so low as to offering a kid $100 if he could dribble a basketball ten times (then kicked the ball out at 9).
DiBiase's biggest claim to fame was in the very beginning of 1988, when on The Main Event, in the highest rating wrestling show ever. DiBiase payed a referee to look like Dave Hebner (senior official) and screw Hulk Hogan over in his title defense against DiBiase's client, Andre the Giant. After all the controversy, Andre would sell the title to DiBiase (before he was stripped). DiBiase would go onto hold the tag titles with IRS, known as Money Inc and have his own stable, before finally departing with the WWE in 1996.
3. Bret Hart
"A good heel always has an element of truth as to what he's saying"~~Chris Jericho....that's the case for Bret Hart.
At WrestleMania 13 in Chicago, Bret Hart put on one of the greatest contests in wrestling history, defeating Steve Austin, and was irate when Austin was cheered and he wasn't, after passing out to the pain of the sharpshooter.
Bret would turn on the fans in the United States, claiming that the Canada fans are the only fans that matter. Bret would whine about being screwed, and make the weasel heel what it is today (and that's why Seth Rollins is a great heel). But, what made him even better, is the fact that there was always that shed of truth into every word that came out Bret's mouth. Nobody in this time frame had more heat in the states, he had kids flipping him the bird. That is up until The Survivor Series, when Vince screwed Bret Hart, who was leaving for WCW in his homeland of Canada. An angry Bret threw a fit, destroying everything in sight, spitting on Vince's face (and punched him backstage). But in 2006, all wounds were healed, when Bret would take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
2. CM Punk
The one person you hate is the person who's always correct in every single word that they say, but can also keep you hanging onto every word that they say.
The WWE Universe caught their first glimpse of a heel CM Punk in 2009, three years after his WWE/ECW Debut; cashing in the Money in the Bank on Jeff Hardy at the Extreme Rules PPV. CM Punk went to the biggest face in the company (at the time) and exposed and aired his dirty laundry on TV in front of the world, bringing up his history of drug abuse. Punk would rave on and on about how the fans only cheer for him because they can relate to him, because they do drugs and suffer from alchohol abuse, and even put Jeff's neck in between a chair and smashed it against the ring post. After trading the World Championship with Hardy, Punk would retire Jeff Hardy and enter a feud with The Undertaker, basically doing the same thing. But heading into his feud with Rey Mysterio, when he started shaving people's head and having his own Straight Edge National Anthem, and joining forces with Luke Gallows, Joey Mercury, and Serena, making himself like a modern-day Christ image, per say. The feud started when CM Punk sang to Rey's daughter and made her cry. After months, Rey finally got Punk's head shaved at Over the Limit, forcing him to wear a mask, and enter a feud with the Big Show (who took the mask off).
Punk would go to Raw in the WWE Draft, and after months of not being used at all and midcard matches with Randy Orton and the Nexus, before they gave him an open mic live on TV, after costing John Cena a tables match against R-Truth. CM Punk would go onto to hand the WWE Universe one of the most infamous promos in history, and even got himself suspended (before being lifted). He would leave the company after beating Cena for his first WWE Championship. He would return to face Cena in a unification match at Summerslam, before being cashed in on by Alberto Del Rio and turning face. Punk would join Paul Heyman and have heel feud's with The Ryback and The Rock (after attacking him at Raw 1000), before his second feud with the Undertaker, where he stole Paul Bearer's (R.I.P.) urn. He would lose to Taker before finally going face, until his final departure with the WWE.
Who is the greatest bad guy in the history of the WWE? Sad to say that not every great bad guy could make this list....
Honorable Mentions:
Rick "The Model" Martel: Very underrated heel and worker all together. Once breaking up with Tito Santana, the rest of his WWF tenure was "Arrogance". Played the heel too into his looks like none other.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts: Jake Roberts was great at gaining heat because he was cold, maniacal and methodical and everything that he did you felt had a purpose, whether it was giving Elizabeth and Savage a snake for a wedding gift, DDT'ing Ricky Steamboat on the floor, or even slapping Miss Elizabeth!
Kevin Owens: Very new to the WWE fans and that's why he's not in the top ten just yet, but he's slowly getting up there. Within the last 3-4 years, the best heel in the business. He's never wrong, and targetted the Cenation, even beating Cena in his WWE debut.
Paul Heyman: Like stated a plethora of times, a great heel always has truth as to what he says. Even as a manager representing CM Punk, Antonio Cesaro, or Brock Lesnar, Heyman always has truth, and keeps you mouthing every word. That's why he's a great heel.
Who made #1 on the greatest villians in WWE History?
1. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
"Without Roddy Piper, there is no WrestleMania"~~Hulk Hogan.
Again, behind every good-face, there's a better-heel. That's the case for the feud that made the WWE a three-headed monster. Roddy Piper was straight up shockproof! Roddy Piper would go from town to town and almost cause a riot each and every night, insulting the crowd like nobody else could or would, and just looked like a prick. The Hot Rod would use racials slurs on favorites Bruno Sammartino, shave the head of a midget, or smash Jimmy Snuka's head in with a coconut.
Roddy Piper made you want to pay to see him get his tail kicked from Hulk Hogan, and that is the sole reason WrestleMania was a success, and everytime he'd get beat, he'd always have a truthful claim to another match. Roddy Piper was the Heel of Heels, the Scott you loved to hate, with the kilt and bagpipes, using his talk show to attack a lot of opposition. But being the voice of truth to Hulkamania is ultimately what made him so great. Roddy Piper returned in 2003, and hit Hulk Hogan with a pipe at WrestleMania 19 during his match with Vince McMahon. Piper would engaged in a short-lived feud against Rikishi, with Sean O'Haire (RIP), and even tried to hit Rikishi with a coconut, too. That's the last piece of Roddy Piper heel in the WWE. Sadly, Piper would pass away on Friday, July 31st. Legends never die.