WWE: Stylistically Speaking on the Need for Heel Victories

When I was a child I used to be fan of G.I. Joe.

As a childhood wrestling fan, I was doubly excited when I realized Sgt. Slaughter was on both shows, in addition to having probably the coolest name I’d ever heard. But as I got older (my pre-teen years) I began to hate G.I. Joe. It simply became boring. I couldn’t get excited over the Joes victories anymore.

I couldn’t get excited because the Joes never lost.

No matter how many mega death rays or hovering fortresses COBRA built they would still always lose to the Joes who ever in the middle of the battle never thought to put a top on the jeep.

But why would they need to? They were never in any danger.

They drove constantly into oncoming fire which always flew above them and were always able to get out of that exploding jeep with no fear or worry of splash damage.

They always won, so they could keep the jeep. It didn’t need upgrades; it was already good enough. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the same way; the turtle van could beat the Technodrome. Hell, I think they even had a hang glider, and that probably was good enough for the world’s only survivable kamikaze attack that would still cripple the Foot Clan.

This was because the Good Guys always won. The bad guys had to upgrade because their plans failed. But the good guys never had to get any better. 

The same holds true in wrestling.

John Cena never even has to change up the order of the “Five Moves of Death.” Say what you will, but at least The Rock missed the People’s Elbow a few times. 

Rey Mysterio will always have someone perfectly draped across the second rope for the 619.

Even WWE’s resident Cobra Commander, CM Punk (look at the tattoo, if you don’t believe me), is powerless against former Marine Randall Keith Orton. He can come up with scheme after plan after plot, but R.K.O. (shameless attempt at sounding like G.I. Joe) will always thwart him and send him back to the drawing board with an “I’ll get you yet” expression on his face.

WWE seems to complain when faces can’t get over. They seem to forget that Faces need Heels. The Dark Knight is one of the greatest movies of the last 10 years, and Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker made it legendary. For those unaware, the Joker is the bad guy.

Heels force Faces to get better. If G.I. Joe had lost a few times, they wouldn’t have been driving the jeep; they would have had the super suit from the movie about 20 years earlier.

Heel victories make face victories important. Splitting victories in a rivalry makes the rivalry mean something. A dominant heel that wins the match makes an underdog face in the rematch.

PG is no excuse either. If a kid leaves the show upset that his favorite lost he will tune into the next show and probably buy the pay-per-view because he knows that his favorite will never give up.

It’s sad that a heel victory is now considered an upset by those of us who watch.

Optimus Prime of the Transformers lost. It was good for the show. It’s also honest to the fans.  But every time Optimus came back, he came back better; just watch the end of Revenge of the Fallen.

WWE needs heel victories, and that will go a long way in helping to establish its identity as an entertainment company.

WWE has to get past this idea of instant gratification; it’s draining the entertainment right out of the show.