Ranking the 10 Best Heels in WWE and AEW Right Now

A hero is only as good as the villains they must vanquish, and fans are living in a golden age of heels in WWE and All Elite Wrestling right now.

Some are traditional bad guys, yelling at the top of their lungs about perceived injustices and bragging about how great they are while cheating their ways to wins; others are more cold and calculating, equal parts dangerous and conniving.

Regardless of which form they take, the rogues gallery on display every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night is among the best in recent memory.

Who stands at the forefront of these villains, though? Let's take a look.

10. Edge

Edge excels whether he is a babyface or a heel, but there is something about him when he is a bad guy that makes him that much more interesting. Unafraid to be different, he is at his most creative when he embraces the role of heel.

He has done just that with an intriguing new persona that he is currently still trying to flesh out one month into it.

Shrouded in darkness and seconded by new associate Damian Priest, the Hall of Famer has made life a living hell for AJ Styles while preaching from his "Mountain of Omnipotence." While there is still a ways to go to fully explain what this new persona is and what it means for the Edge character, the artist formerly known as The Rated-R Superstar has wasted no time turning his back on the fans.

His words and actions have taken a dark turn, and the imagery connected to the persona is reminiscent of the faction he began his WWE career with: The Brood.

That the character still has some growing to do means Edge cannot rank too high on this list, but its compelling nature and his performance dictates that he at least makes the top 10.

Do not be surprised to see him much higher on the countdown in the future.

9. Charlotte Flair

Arrogant, conceited and vain, the SmackDown women's champion is arguably the greatest of her generation and she knows it.

Charlotte Flair carries herself like royalty in every arena as she prepares to defend her title against all-comers. When she is not competing, she wears designer clothing and verbally smacks down any opposition to her throne.

Like others on this list, though, what makes The Queen so effective in her role is her ability to back up everything she says.

It is one thing to talk trash., but it's is another thing entirely to back it up. Flair does that, making her even more irritating and unlikable.

She is very much like her father, Ric Flair, in that regard. Considering he is a legend in the industry and one of its great bad guys, there are far worse to draw inspiration from.

8. The Young Bucks

The Young Bucks dress ridiculously and cheat at every turn. They are unapologetically heels and have thrived in that role in AEW.

Matt and Nick Jackson were already among the top tag teams in the world when they betrayed Jon Moxley and joined Kenny Omega a year-and-a-half ago. By making the turn, they were now allowed to arrogantly prop themselves up, telling anyone who would listen that they were the best, all while drawing heat for relying on lackey Brandon Cutler to help them win matches.

The Bucks have embraced the opportunity to stick it to any babyface who dares to threaten their claims to being the best team in the industry.

Of course, for all of their efforts, the fans still are uber-appreciative of everything they accomplish between the ropes. Matt and Nick are two of the best wrestlers on the planet, and their recent Dynamite match with FTR is one of the best tag team contests in recent memory.

It is the fact that they are so good that makes them so hateable because despite every insult they hurl and every over-the-top accessory they found at the closest mall, they can still tear the house down with a Match of the Year candidate.

7. Becky Lynch

Insecurities forced the downfall of The Man and the introduction of Big Time Becks.

After spending more than a year away from the squared circle while on maternity leave, Becky Lynch watched as Bianca Belair assumed the role of top babyface and next big thing. She saw her become the standard-bearer for women's wrestling and upon her return, she looked to extinguish that particular fire.

She did, momentarily, but saw herself become the villain in the process.

The once-defiant rebel had become so insecure with her place in wrestling that she became the oppressive heel she once fought against. She was meaner, nastier and did not hesitate to cheat to secure a victory and hold onto the Raw Women's Championship.

She arrived to WrestleMania 38 in grand fashion, looking like someone more at home in a Lady Gaga music video than between the ropes. The star who rose to fame as a result of a groundswell of support from an audience that respected her now big-timed both them and a new generation of stars. 

Her loss to Belair at 'Mania dealt her a huge blow, and it will be interesting to see how she recovers and what that means for a character that developed into one of the most intriguing heels in WWE.

6. Chris Jericho

What's the best way to evolve your character and keep it fresh, despite already having a significant heel run in AEW? Why, embrace sports entertainment, silly.

That is exactly what Chris Jericho did when it came time to betray his Inner Circle teammates and reintroduce his heel persona to the fans. Knowing he could not go backward and be The Painmaker or Le Champion, he introduced a faction dedicated to appreciating him.

If that wasn't absurd enough, denouncing pro wrestling and touting the excellence of sports entertainment sure would get the fans to turn on him. And they did.

After all, sports entertainment is everything hardcore fans of professional wrestling hate. To them, it's a marketing tool utilized by the competition to brand itself as something more than the art form fans love.

Taking a skilled technician like Daniel Garcia and getting him to call himself a sports entertainer was sacrilege. But Jericho accomplished it.

Since making the turn and intensifying his rivalry with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz, Jericho has reestablished himself as a top-tier bad guy and one who will inevitably find his way back into the AEW title picture.

Fans will still sing along to "Judas," but their disdain for the loudmouth egotist is not in doubt.

5. Sami Zayn

The Great Liberator is a conspiracy-minded bad guy who chalks up every loss to some grand scheme to keep him down. It's Sami Zayn's dedication to the character and the conviction with which he portrays it that makes him one of the great heels in wrestling today.

The former intercontinental champion has incited loud and passionate jeers from fans over the last couple of years, thanks to his ability to twist the truth and blame them and everyone around him for his own shortcomings.

However, his recent rivalry with Johnny Knoxville showed off the range of the Zayn character.

First, there was the over-the-top ridiculousness of it, in which he sold the Jackass star giving out his phone number and making his life a living hell. Then came the anger displayed when he lost the IC title thanks to Knoxville. Best of all was Zayn understanding when it was time to get his comeuppance.

The match with Knoxville at WrestleMania had no business being as good as it was. It was a circus sideshow full of pranks and stunts. In the hands of any other bad guy, it would have ranked among the worst matches in recent memory. But Zayn knew when to sell, when to take the big bumps and what was necessary to pop the crowd and pay the feud off.

He is a selfless bad guy who isn't afraid to make fun of himself and that is a lost art in today's industry. He is one of a kind right now and a virtuoso heel.

4. Seth Rollins

Everything about The Visionary is obnoxious.

His stupid laugh is grating. His suits are over-the-top. Even his nickname, The Visionary, irks fans.

Seth Rollins has crafted a heel persona in which every element of it is designed to irritate the audience. From his whining about not having a WrestleMania match to his incessant laughing in the face of adversity, he is a great bad guy whose reinvention was necessary after a babyface run that came off the rails in 2019.

It took time. As The Monday Night Messiah, he went a little too far into the weeds as a villain, but he pulled himself out and found a happy medium with this latest incarnation of his heel character. 

That does not stop the audience from singing along to his theme music or appreciating his hard work between the ropes. After all, Rollins is among the  best wrestlers on the planet and proved as much at WrestleMania 38, when he wrestled one of his finest matches to date against Cody Rhodes.

But he is still a cold, calculating bad guy who lures you into a false sense of security by acting like a caricature, only to strike when it's least expected. Just ask Edge, who saw his family terrorized last fall and nearly had his career ended by Rollins.

While there have been flashes of a babyface turn in recent weeks, do not be surprised if those are the result of Rollins manipulating his opposition, once again luring them into a trap before striking and reminding the WWE Universe why he is one of the most dangerous Superstars on the roster.

3. The Miz

The Miz always will be one of the great heels in professional wrestling.

Arrogant and self-obsessed, he wastes no opportunity to big-time an audience. He touts his Hollywood career, his Reality TV life, his ridiculously attractive wife and his celebrity fans. He wins matches and titles, but he knows when it is time for his comeuppance.

He speaks with a level of conviction that others do not, leaving little doubt in the audience's mind that he believes in this character and everything he says and does. When the red light goes on, Mike Mizanin is The Miz and it's glorious for the fans.

He is the most obnoxious heel on the roster. The fact that fans do not totally respect his in-ring abilities and Miz passionately denounces the idea he is "soft" only makes it better. The two sides feed off each other, making for better television and a greater villain.

That Miz has rarely missed a show since his arrival in 2006 and is always there to help elevate the latest babyface, which is a testament to his ability to evolve and stay relevant.

A great bad guy who fans love watching get silenced, he is a future Hall of Famer and one of the true assets to WWE.

There will come a time when we revisit everything Miz has accomplished over the last 16 years and better appreciate him as one of the great heels in wrestling history.

2. MJF

The spoiled brat from Long Island, New York, has used the platform provided to him by AEW to become one of the most buzzed-about stars in the industry.

An old-school heel who lives the gimmick in front of any camera and is not afraid to get heat, MJF is one of the best bad guys of his generation.

Equal parts cunning and cowardly, he has no problem manipulating a situation and then hiding behind his Pinnacle teammates or a hired gun when he talks himself into trouble. What makes him a top-tier heel, though, is that he can back up every word he says in the ring.

A skilled technician, he has scored high-profile victories over the likes of CM Punk, Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes while proving himself as, arguably, the greatest of the young pillars in AEW by defeating Jungle Boy and Darby Allin on pay-per-view.

Vile, vindictive and cerebral, he gets under the skin of the audience and pisses off wrestlers just as much.

Fresh off the best work of his career against Punk, he is currently embroiled in a feud with former bodyguard and hired muscle Wardlow. It is his ability to incite jeers and his loud, often demeaning, personality that has helped him become of the hottest stars in the company.

When you are as skilled a performer as MJF is at just 26 years of age, the world is yours. A heel in the same vein as Roddy Piper, do not be surprised to see the company that made Hot Rod a national star, WWE, make a play for him when his contract comes up in 2024.

1. Roman Reigns

Cold. Calculating. Manipulative. Violent. Introspective. Cowardly. Punishing.

All of those words describe Roman Reigns, the top star in WWE and the rare heel around whom the entire product is booked. As The Tribal Chief, everything he does is in the name of the Samoan dynasty in professional wrestling. As The Needle Mover, he is very much aware of his impact on the product and his star value to the industry.

He is equal parts dangerous and cunning, a man who is more than just muscle. He is smart enough to know when he is in control of a situation and when he isn't. He understands when to ask for advice from "wise man" Paul Heyman and when to let his cousins, The Usos, get involved.

He can fight his own battles fairly or cheat his way to a successful defense of the Universal Championship. He also knows when to let The Bloodline get involved. 

He rules with an iron fist, but there is a vulnerability to him that makes Reigns such an intriguing watch.

His reason for acting in the way he does, in the name of protecting his family's legacy, is noble. How he goes about it, not so much.

That his dominance is getting the best of him, leading to a more egotistical edge of late, is an interesting new wrinkle that only adds further depth to one of the most layered bad guys in recent memory.

There are other heels who are louder, more flamboyant and traditional as bad guys. But there is only one Head of the Table around whom an entire universe revolves.

For that reason and so many others, Reigns tops our list.