Top Ten Villains/Heels of All Time
Villain. Heel. Bad guy. No matter what you call them, professional wrestling would not be successful without villainous and easily hateable superstars on the roster. People hate them for a variety of reasons, whether it be an awful gimmick, ‘cheating’ to win, or insulting the fanbase of the promotion. The best heels get fans to hate them, but also show some fans that it can be ‘cool’ to root for the bad guy every now and then. Without further ado, here are the top ten villains/heels of all time brought to you by MSB Fight Club.
Honorable Mentions:
– Vickie Guerrero: Following the unfortunate and untimely death of her husband Eddie Guerrero, Vickie Guerrero began to take a liking to the limelight of the WWE. She became the Smackdown General Manager, where she coined her famous “excuse me” shriek that bugged every WWE fan. Couple that with a feigned neck brace, and an on screen relationship with Edge in order to ‘gift’ him the WWE World Heavyweight Title, and you have one of the most hated female villains in WWE history. If her shriek and her disturbing relationship with Edge weren’t enough to make you hate her, she then teamed up with Dolph Ziggler and made a two year run which saw her help Ziggler win the United States Championship. All in all, Vickie Guerrero needs to be on this list as a result of her being the most hateable woman in the history of the WWE in recent memory.
– JBL: John Bradshaw Layfield. The epitome of class and wealth. He rode to the ring in a limousine. He had a ‘cabinet’ of superstars that would allow him to pick up a victory at a moment’s notice. His most notable feud was with John Cena through Wrestlemania 21 and Judgement Day later that year. He was instrumental in putting the career of Cena on the fast track to stardom. JBL was able to maintain a ten month reign as champion, winning nearly all of his title matches with some help from an outside party. He even beat the Big Show in a steal cage match after being chokeslammed through the ring, and crawling out from under the apron. At his height, JBL was one of the most hated villains in the last 15-20 years. Although it was for a short time, his impact is still memorable to this day.
– “Classy” Freddie Blassie: Whether it be his feuds in Japan, in which he engaged in a storyline involving his biting and ended up leaving a few wrestlers with crimson masks. He knew how to use every trick in the book. He was the perfect prelude to what Ric Flair would eventually become. A superstar that epitomized ‘class’ and yet used every dirty trick in the book to pick up victories. Blassie moved on to managing Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik, who eventually won the tag team titles. When you are so good at your job that fans actively want to commit violence, it means that you have reached peak villain status. Blassie had items thrown at him in the ring, his car vandalized, and eventually was on the receiving end of a stabbing following a show. Blassie was one of the first to draw true ire and hatred from wrestling fans, and for that he must be mentioned in this category.
10. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho, you have made the list! For those unfamiliar with the early work of Chris Jericho, it may come as a shock that he used to be quite the hot head. Actually, let’s be honest he’s always had a mean streak a mile long and a big mouth to match. While many wrestling fans are huge fans of Chris these days, he used to be one of the most hated heels of his time. He began in WCW, where after a string of losses he snapped, throwing chairs and beating a few other superstars senseless. He became synonymous with a bad temper, and continued that reputation in his transition into WWE. He ran his own talk show on Raw, ‘The Highlight Reel,’ where he’d use the time to insult his guests or attack them. He constantly claimed that he was the saving grace, that the WWE would “never, eevvvveerrrr be the same” after his arrival. The epitome of cockiness, with skills and a mouth to back it up. Chris Jericho could be one heck of a heel.
9. Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle came to the WWF as a clear villain, playing up his Olympic gold medals. He embraced the hate as he claimed to be the top athlete in the company, and stood by what many call ‘good guy principles.’ Angle feuded with Edge and lost a hair vs. hair match, having his head shaved bald. He then led a hateful campaign against bald people and eventually had his song mocked by Edge, which started the ‘you suck’ chants during his entrance theme. Angle then held open challenges, calling wrestlers or members of the WWE Universe into the ring to face him. He continued this again in 2005, giving anyone 3 minutes to try and withstand his ankle lock, even putting his gold medal on the line. He was hateable in his time as a dominant force early in his career, and was equally hateable when he was Smackdown general manager. Kurt Angle was the peak of athletic achievement, and his eagerness to let everyone know lands him firmly on our list of villains.
8. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
The “Million Dollar Man,” was one of the most hated characters of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. He was a self proclaimed millionaire, dressing and playing the part to perfection. He was billed from his residence in one of four areas depending on the seasons, he created his own ‘million dollar championship’ belt, and even had an assistant by the name of Virgil, who would regularly perform humiliating tasks. Vignettes saw DiBiase bribing different authority figures, throwing around $100 bills like they were candy, and he even bought the WWF championship belt from Andre the Giant. He created a group called Money, Inc. with IRS and later ran the stable ‘The Million Dollar Corporation,’ created to buy out every superstar in the WWF so he could finally get his hands on the title belt. Though he never truly held the WWF championship, Ted DiBiase was one of the most hated villains of all time, landing him at number 8.
7. Triple H
The King of Kings. The Cerebral Assassin. The Game. Triple H earned all of these nicknames on his way to becoming one of the best wrestlers to ever grace a WWF/WWE ring. From his early time with DX as a supposed heel during the Attitude Era, to his transformation into a sledgehammer wielding gorilla, Triple H maintained a reputation for being a good villain. He was the man behind the parking lot rundown of Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1999 at Survivor Series. He turned on his best friend and fellow DX member Shawn Michaels, smashing his face through a car window to prove his weakness. He joined forces with Ric Flair beginning the popular stable that would become known as Evolution. After adding Randy Orton and Batista, the group eventually all held titles simultaneously. His alignment with Flair and his claim as ‘the king’ helped elevate his heel status, however he was still cheered by many during his tenure during the WWF/WWE. Triple H was a part of the revolution during and after the Attitude Era that proved heels and villains could be loved too.
6. Eric Bischoff
If you have always been a WWF/WWE fan especially through the ‘Monday Night Wars,’ I don’t need to explain Eric Bischoff’s villain status. Bischoff was one rare case of being a hated villain both in and out of the ‘ring.’ He took over as executive vice president in 1994, and immediately recruited two icons in Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash came to WCW as The Outsiders, Bischoff was initially butting heads. After Hogan’s heel turn, Bischoff was revealed as one of the masterminds behind the plan, making him into one of the most hated villains of the wrestling era. He and WCW enjoyed an 84 week winning streak over WWF in ratings. He was notorious for scalping talent from smaller promotions like ECW. He then took over as general manager of Monday Night Raw in 2002, gaining one of the strongest adverse reaction from a crowd you may ever hear. Bischoff was hated to an extreme level, but he was an intelligent wrestling mind and in the end made both WWF and WCW better because of his ‘villainous’ tendencies. He knew how to play the ultimate villain, and did so to perfection.
5. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Most fans know “The Brain” as one of the most notorious managers for some of the biggest heels in wrestling history. Heenan was a heel manager and commentator in AWA, WWF, and WCW through his career. He managed Nick Bockwinkel in his early days along with other members of his stable ‘The Heenan Family,’ interfering and making his presence known as the stable went on to win several major titles. Heenan was famously shot at in Chicago during a match when he interfered on behalf of Bockwinkel. Again, if you’re a good enough heel to draw so much heat that it nearly gets you killed, you can’t be left off of this list. He managed well known heels in WWF such as King Kong Bundy, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Andre the Giant, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude. He helped Rude to the Intercontinental title against Ultimate Warrior, which saw Heenan hold down Warriors feet so he could not kick out of the pin. Heenan later moved to commentating, where he would regularly insult fans as ‘humanoids’ and rag on wrestlers that he didn’t like. He was one of the very first heel commentators, being followed by the likes of Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, and presently Corey Graves.
4. Ric Flair
WOOOOOOOOOO!! The dirtiest player in the game made his living as one of the most hated villains in all of wrestling. His long blonde hair, his good looks in his prime, his lavish robes. He was the definition of flare and success, while also being a know-all technician in the ring. Flair’s beginnings saw him lead the stable of the Four Horsemen through the 1980’s and 90’s as one of the most successful stables of all time. At one point in time, Flair faked a face turn to help fan favorite Dusty Rhodes, only to then turn and attack with the rest of the Horsemen. His antics often caused riots and unparalleled outrage from fans, particularly in his most successful run during the 1980’s. He won nearly all of his record 16 world titles by some cheap or ‘dirty’ means, whether it be a low blow or a few thumbs to the eyes. Ric Flair will always be known as ‘the dirtiest player in the game,’ and his actions both in and out of the ring elevated him to one of the most hated heels of all time in professional wrestling.
3. Hollywood Hogan
The all american hero was one of the biggest villains of all time during the ‘Monday Night Wars.’ After The Outsiders invaded WCW, Hulk Hogan surprisingly joined forces with the two at Bash at the Beach in 1996. The former darling and face of WWF made one of the most unexpected heel turns of all time that night, resulting in the ring being completely covered in trash being thrown by fans. The newly dubbed “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan became one of the driving force of the nWo and the surge of WCW during the ‘Monday Night Wars.’ He kept his WCW World Title on multiple occasions by cheap means, normally with help from other members of the nWo, even recruiting referee Nick Patrick into the fold. He went from one of the most beloved superstars of all time to one of the most hated, and is enshrined into history as one of the nastiest and most hated heels during his time with nWo.
2. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
The Hot Rod “Rowdy” Roddy Piper was one of the biggest villains of his time. He was one of the first who really knew how to work the mic and get fans to hate everything about him. He once cracked a coconut right over the head of fan favorite Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and even kicked singer Cyndi Lauper on the set of his ‘Piper’s Pit’ talk show. He had his most notorious feud with the face of the company Hulk Hogan, which firmly set Piper as a heel for most of the rest of his career. His crude humor and his talk show allowed him to get fans to turn on him, and he was so good at playing his villain role throughout his career.
1. Vince McMahon
If you watched the WWF during the Attitude Era, you know how big of a villain Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon became. His most notable feud was with the most popular wrestler of the time Stone Cold Steve Austin, in which he tried every trick in the book to keep the WWF World Championship off his waist. He interfered in matches, he set both Kane and the Undertaker against Stone Cold, and even formed ‘The Corporation,’ which saw he and The Rock conspire to ‘steal’ the WWF title from Stone Cold. The stable held the WWF title, tag team titles, and the Intercontinental title all at one time. Only a few years later, McMahon entered a feud with ‘The Ministry of Darkness,’ who kidnapped his daughter Stephanie and nearly forced her to marry the Undertaker. After weeks of anticipation it was revealed that Mr. McMahon was in fact the mastermind behind the entire thing. He then engaged in multiple storylines where he faced off in Wrestlemania matches, against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and even losing his hair at Wrestlemania 23 to Donald Trump. He also feuded with DX, which saw him pit the two remaining members (Michaels and Triple H) against a 5 man team known as the Spirit Squad. He created the “Kiss My Ass Club,” in which he would force superstars, former wrestlers, and even commentators to kiss his bare butt and then would subsequently fire them. There is no doubt that Vincent Kennedy McMahon is the largest and most hated villain of all time in professional wrestling history.
