The Emotions of Pro Wrestling, the Sequel: The Emotions of a Heel

A couple of months ago, I did a slideshow called Pro Wrestling the Emotions of Pro Wrestling.

This slideshow covered many emotions and was praised across the board.

So after pondering a sequel for many months, I have decided to go ahead and will likely both please and surprise many people.

This, however, is going to be slightly different.

You see, that was about the emotions fans feel on the rollercoaster ride that is pro wrestling. Here today, I will cover what emotions heels are supposed to portray or trigger in the average fan.

Emotion is one's state of mind at a given time. Usually, a series of events lead us to that emotion. In this case, the most important role in professional wrestling, a bad guy, does this. 

Honestly, if a heel can't play with the audience's emotions, they are probably not good at their job.

Without any further delay, I present you the Emotions of a Heel.

 

Remorse(less): Showing No Regret After Committing a Cruel Act

Remorse is something that many of us feel, especially as we all make mistakes, no matter whom we are. 

You see, a heel cannot show remorse. It would show that they have a conscious and know they did something wrong. For heels, it's like a sin, you just don't acknowledge your mistakes, as you blame them on others.

In 2009, Randy Orton was at the pinnacle of success in the wrestling world, as he was feuding with the McMahon's and receiving the loudest jeers of anybody in the business.

During this feud, he had Triple H handcuffed to a ring rope, while hitting his elevated DDT on H's wife Stephanie. He resumed and kissed Stephanie while glaring into a helpless (and furious) Triple H's eye.

This was the definition of remorseless, and it was back in the days where Randy Orton was an interesting on-screen figure.   

Fear: Inflicting Fear or Being Fearful Themselves

In the predominately testosterone driven business of professional wrestling, fear is looked down upon. Fear is a thing that is sure to get your so-called manhood in question.

It's just how the old-school way of thinking works, right or wrong.

As a result, fear is often instilled in heels.

Take The Miz for example. He runs from any threat, whether it be John Cena, Randy Orton or Alex Riley. He doesn't want to be in a vulnerable position and feels as if he must have the upper-hand in the fight at all time.

Then, we have a completely different type of heel, a type that is somewhat nonexistent nowadays.

Heels such as Kane, and to an extent Sheamus, are supposed to strike fear into the crowd, and their opponents.

The only difference here is that the fearful one overcomes everything and eventually concurs the monster. 

Look at Edge beating Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship, where Edge used mind games to overcome the fear of Kane and get one last reign atop the SmackDown jungle.

Frustration: Getting the Face to Almost Lose It

The bad guy has the good guy in a bad situation. He has gotten the best of him, and the face finally snaps out of anger and disappointment. 

Last year, The Nexus had forced John Cena to join their stable of rookies. They had attacked Cena countless times, Wade Barrett had beaten him in a single's match and then was embarrassed by doing things like getting Barrett water.

Cena, as he always does, eventually snapped. He did as he promised, destructing the group from within and clawed his way to freedom.

Feel good story?

Yes, it's exactly what the WWE is typically looking for if they choose this route. 

Hostility: When They Know They've Struck a Nerve With the Fans

The definition above may not be the best way to equate hostility to wrestling. Nonetheless, a hostile crowd shows that the fans in attendance actually care about the product.

This is one thing Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was famous for in the late 1990s. The fans always cared, the majority of which were hardcore, Internet fans.

Just ask anybody who watched or attended an ECW event, it wasn't for the faint of heart to say the least.

Fast forward to 2011, and hostile crowds are very rare for the WWE. 

Ironically enough, we recently saw a hostile crowd in Chicago, Illinois at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view. It was the cause of CM Punk and John Cena's ongoing storyline, where Punk supposedly left the company with the WWE Championship.

This was an odd time, where crowd was in full support of Punk yet gave John Cena a chorus of boos.  

Jealousy: A Resentment Based on Truth

Jealousy is being resentful of a person, often because you lack something they have (or vice versa).

The best example of this would be the WWE's current storyline between Christian and Randy Orton.

Christian has grown jealous of Orton because he was essentially born to be a world champion, while it took him 17 years to achieve his childhood dream.

Christian has been playing off truth, which is why the story has worked thus far.

Loathing: The Ultimate Sense of Accomplishment for a Heel

No matter what tactics they use or what strings they pull, a heel's job is to get the crowd to hate him.

Earlier this year, CM Punk took that to a new level (as he always does) and provoked a young fan to scratch his eye in the process:

“As C.M. Punk was exiting (following his match against Mark Henry), he was shouting at numerous fans at ringside. He approached a family with two small children and began to do the same.

After some lengthy jawing back and forth, he screamed at one of the kids (age 10 or so) to slap him. The child did so. Punk laughed it off and shouted, “Oh yea! Slap me again.” At this point, he grabbed the kid by the shirt, thus sending the kid into tears and stretching out his shirt.

This is when it got real serious. Punk and the child’s parents had to be separated. As Punk walked off, I could hear him yelling, “He scratched my eye,” which was evident by a little bit of swelling.

Security then escorted the family away for questioning. They also questioned a few of us at ringside and requested contact numbers.

It will be interesting to see if Punk shows any effects from this. I thought this was instigated by Punk, but with that being said, fans should never place their hands on a Superstar.”

-Via Wrestleheat.com 

That's All Folks

When you take a step back, the average person doesn't understand pro wrestling. It's simply something you have had to watch or be a part of to fully understand the wrath of the "sport."

If they are good enough, heels can take your emotions and play with them like they are a violin. 

Of course, not so much you the Internet fan but the majority of the fans.

Thanks for reading.