The Bad Influence:: The Weekly Heel Report

Hello again and welcome to the revolutionary article that looks exclusively at the bad guys of wrestling. Now the debut article caused a little discussion, but I am looking for MASSIVE amounts of discussion. With Hardly Necessary Justice out of the way, TNA can continue to build before shooting themselves in the foot with another 'LIFE CHANGING EPIC EVENT DESIGNED TO CHANGE EVERYTHING FOREVER EVERYWHERE!!!' NOw, rambling aside, let's get back into the rankings and see which dastardly villains made the cut this week. 

RAW

The longest running episodic television show with red logos in history kicks off the rankings again. This time, however, with the ascent of The Miz, the looming collaboration with Edge and Jericho, how will the rankings appear this week?

#1: Sheamus

The Celtic Warrior has the top spot once again because he is still the alpha dog on the Red Brand. He showed all of his moveset against former 'threat' Goldust and smartened up when almost running head first into an RKO. People want to see him drop the belt so bad it's almost a thing of beauty as he finally has heel heat. He is tough and save for a few instances where he bails from the ring, can actually dominate the faces in a Triple H style way. (Meaning he's the heel who doesn't need to cheat to win, he can win clean.)  The more I watch this title reign, however, the more I think he will drop the belt at Summerslam, as the WWE have not given one competitor a clear edge over the other, but Orton is so popular right now that it's almost fitting for him to win at a 'big show' to finish Austin-izing his character. Fear not, however, for there is hope that the dark side will prevail, and then Sheamus The Unstoppable would have completely solidified himself as the top heel on Raw who bows to no face.........until Triple H gets back.

#2: Nexus

While the united front of former rookies paints the town yellow & black, they maintain their spot at the expense of the Superfriends. The formula of Barrett being punked out before the numbers game curried him favor almost reared its head, but this time he managed to go toe to toe with Edge until realizing he had the Ultimate Opportunist all to himself...and his crew. The team continues to play their roles extremely well, especially fueling this whole dissension angle. (On a other note, I pray the Khali recruitment is just a mind game, as no one on Nexus is as green as the Bangkok Bad Boy.) The teams heat levels rival that of Sheamus, yet since none of them have gold yet, they sit at number two still. Hopefully the WWE realizes Nexus has to win at Summerslam to keep their heat and will book the angle as such, if not, it was just another monster to be slain by the mighty Cena. 

#3: Chris Jericho

The best in the world battles for control of a team, points out opinions held by the internet community, then...hugs Edge. Now, he still has his spot because The Miz couldn't cut it (more later) and because he actually is more of a focus in opposing Cena than Edge is. The bromantic hug aside, his losing streak is becoming a slight problem, but wins and losses leading up to Summerslam in his current storyline won't necessarily matter so that will matter more after the PPV. He generates heat, but is getting cheered for his anti-Cena attitude and the WWE should be careful to not have another Orton situation, as Jericho is amazing in his revamped role. I believe the whole landscaper of WWE come Summerslam will change, and if Jericho's path leads him and The Rated-R Superstar to some form of brand domination in the way of Jeri-Show, then so be it. 

#4: Edge

The Rated-R Superstar, more so than Jericho, always has ulterior motives and an ace in the hole. His alliance with Jericho could be typical Edge where his true nature is something way more selfish. He doesn't rise in the rankings mainly because of the fact that he is a problem for the team but still not quite the problem. Personaly, I hope this alliance with Jericho is a ruse and he can chase Orton for the title in the way only Edge can. Until then, he seems in the same boat as Jericho, as he is battling a super heel faction in Nexus while going against Cena and telling the truth about Khali, the internet fans are loving him even more. He learned his lesson in the past however, and I think despite this will stay heel. 

#5:The Miz

The reviews are in as The Miz was given a tryout with the most polished face on Raw. The reviews range from potential, to overrated, but personally the fact that he even made it to this point is a testament to how far he can go. He has the briefcase and a largely forgotten title, yet his experience and ring presence completely shrank as he essentially played it safe during the match. His promo skills are set in stone as amazing, his character is changing to something more interesting, now the last thing standing between him and overtaking either Edge or Jericho is his ring work. He generates great heat and usually wins matches against mid-card and upper mid card wrestlers, including his former partner; he just needs that one match to propel him to the spotlight completely. Hopefully he can achieve that sooner rather than later before his push and fire fizzle out....MVP? You there, MVP? 

iMPACT

Now that the powers that be have finished embarrassing themselves with the worst ECW reunion in history, we can refocus on the fact that people want to see TNA wrestlers on a TNA show. 

#1: Abyss

The monster, despite a loss to Dreamer and RVD at the expense of the farce of a show known as Hardcore Justice, is poised to battle RVD at the much stronger card set to come during the Whole F'n Impact. Being the number one contender and top heel in the company, he seems to be doing his best to stay there for now. Although it's doubtful he will actually win I expect some sort of swerve to happen where he will be made to still look strong. The only real gripe I have with him is the 'they' storyline, which is like Raw's mystery GM where you wonder if the company even has a person to be revealed as the true mastermind. Other than that, however, the monster continues to stay at the top until a more explosive heel can take his place. 

#2: Fortune

The faction seems to be split for now with Beer Money dealing with The Guns as Styles and Kaz deal with the mid card faces. The overall focus of the group appears to be dominating the title scene, yet they haven't really been united outside of the aforementioned combinations. Flair seems to have finally gotten past Jay Lethal by passing him off to Doug Williams, however, and I think after the Whole F'n Show, the unit will be more of a dominant force. They have the best wrestlers in the company, the best talker in the company, and enough title rains collectively to be the equivalent of Evolution in that after this crew runs its course, they will all be main eventers. That, however, is if there isn't an EV2 reunion in 2015. 

#3: Sting

Truth be told, this one was a bit of a stretch as this whole storyline with Hogan/Nash/Bischoff/Sting/ and "don't forget me, I swear I'm a legend" Jarrett is a little confusing. But Sting came back and laid out everyone (as usual) and immediately became the most interesting thing about this Angle. That and the return of the red face paint. I hate revisiting old story lines and themes, but if it brings Sting back then by all means do what you must. His motives and reasons for leaving the first time weren't really mentioned again and I'm wondering if we'll ever know what the truth he wanted to tell Dixie was. However, as long as he's a heel he breaks into the top five swinging bats on all faces.

#4: Doug Williams

The X-Division Champion goes after The Nature Black Jay Lethal this week and finally reappears on television. Now, I doubt this will lead to him joining, as Flair said there will only be four, yet the rub he got from even being associated with Fortune makes him even more dominant of the division. While I am with other people in believing the lack of focus on the division is upsetting, I fully believe this man is attempting to hold down the entire division by himself. Hopefully, feuding with Lethal can elevate the division. Williams best bet is to keep the title, however, as I can't seem him being pushed as a main event player, regardless of his amazing in ring skill. 

#5: Matt Morgan

It's a rough thing to do, but Morgan is tackling a two man feud; then again he did this same thing last year as the tag-team champions. With Anderson and Pope alternating saves when the big man goes berserk, Morgan is doing double duty. Doesn't matter as he's moved up in the rankings largely due to the fact that I can not put Wolfe on this list anymore as he is a complete joke and not even an afterthought. Morgan just needs to get wins on his side and he would beat out Williams for the number three spot as he has amazing amounts of charisma and can be funny as hell when demeaning a face. I think TNA dropped the ball a little by not letting him join Fortune, but he can stand on his own and once he begins to truly dominate, he'll move up considerably. 

SMACKDOWN!

The blue brand with shaved headed disciples, fire breathing monsters, and smiling giants gets looked at through the eyes of Dark Charisma.

#1: Kane

Now, can I please explain that with Kane being the attacker, despite getting pops and cheers for decimating Rey, he still presents himself as a face. We all knew it was him all along and there's still chance for a swerve, but for the most part, it appears to be going in that direction. Until he teams with a Hardy, Cena, or saves someone from an SES assault, he will remain in the top spot. Once he battles the Deadman, however, I fear he will no longer be the pinnacle of Smackdown's bad guys. 

#2: Dolph Ziggler

The new IC champion was destroyed by Kofi and needed a 'cougar' to capture the title, yet he is possibly more hated now than ever. He shoots up the list due to holding a title and the possibilities that come from his new found gold and current status with Vicki. In the beginning I liked Ziggler, but him chasing this title took all of his heat away as he went from losing to Mysterio to losing to Morrison; now however he seems to be hitting his stride and all that he needs is more character work. Is he a cocky heel who can pull off clean wins, a cowardly heel who cheats all the time, or a level headed heel who flips out when he gets frustrated? Either way, once he gets an identity, he will be even more polished as a heel on a brand desperately seeking to make names for themselves after being gutted of star power. 

#3: Drew McIntyre

I really need a new picture, it's misleading. Anyway, one week later and although he hasn't moved, it's only due to the other top two having titles. Drew was in a main event against Mysterio after kicking off the show and is on a roll right now. Personally, I think he needs a feud with a strong loved face to push him over, just like his counterpart Sheamus, in order to make his name stick. He gets great heat, wrestles better each week, and has a look that makes other people want to see his face get beaten in; in short, he is a perfect heel. And truth be told, like Batista and Orton, he's one of Trips guys and we're gonna have to get used to him anyway. 

#4: Straight Edge Society

And climbing the rankings one rung at a time is the bald bad guys the SES. Their feud with a giant will either be their downfall or the resurrection for a faction with tons of potential and the ability to takeover the brand. Punk is flawless, Gallows showed in matches with Taker, Mercury has the tools to be solid on the under card, and the chick still has nice jugs. All they need is to show them winning more matches and titles and as individuals as opposed to the Nexus-style gang mentality. 

#5: Cody Rhodes

The Dashing One continues an on and off win streak while improving his ring game. I have a feeling WWE is waiting to turn him into a major threat after the move while making his character more complete. He has the mic skills as I mentioned and is only in need of getting more heat, otherwise he risks getting dropped off the list entirely. Let's hope he gets put into a major feud after Summerslam or at least wins some form of lower level gold to tide him over until it's fully his turn to shine on a main event level. 

Till Next Time Co-Villains

That's it for this week. Hopefully we get more changes come next week with Summerslam coming and embrace that we can take solace in the fact that Hardcore Justice is over.