Month: September 2021

Andre The Giant was a global attraction for the wrestling world and rightfully nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World. He travelled the world, allowing the fans to bask in amazement at his incredible size and presence. He was beloved by the people, he was allegedly undefeated and then he did the unthinkable. Andre The Giant aligned himself with the villainous Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, who had convinced Andre that he should be the WWE Champion and that his so-called friend Hulk Hogan was trying to dodge giving him a title shot. The run might have only been for a couple of years, but it was impactful. The reason Andre made this list was because his time as a bad guy led to one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history between himself and Hulk Hogan. They set records for Wrestlemania and on cable television for a special event on NBC called “The Main Event.”

I’ve been on record saying that heel Shawn Michaels in 1997-1998 was my favorite Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid was off to the races as a heel when he turned on his long time tag team partner Marty Janettey by throwing him through a barber shop window. From 1992 to 1995, Michaels was an arrogant cocky, yet successful, bad guy. He had a change of heart mid 1995 and stayed a good guy till the Summer of 1997. He even won the WWE Championship for the first time during that time, but he wasn’t the same after he surrendered the championship after losing his smile.

Then he went on one of his most rebellious—yet unforgettable—phases from the Summer of 97 until Wrestlemania 14. He screwed Bret Hart, won the WWE Championship and formed D-Generation X. Shawn had a chip on his shoulder, which meant he had more attitude. We never really saw this attitude from Michaels in his final run from 02-10 besides briefly in the Summer of 2005, when he was feuding with Hulk Hogan.

From the moment that Lita hit the WWE scene with Essa Rios, the fans were enamored with her. Lita had a unique look and moved around like a luchador, which we hadn’t seen from a women’s wrestler on mainstream wrestling up to that point. Lita eventually ended up with the popular Hardy Boyz tag team once she started dating Matt Hardy in real-life. They dubbed themselves “Team Xtreme” and the fans loved them.

In 2005, Lita had a real-life affair with fellow WWE superstar Edge thus ending her relationship with Matt Hardy. This instantly made her a heel, and when they decided they would use the real-life drama for on-screen storytelling, it made Lita one of the most despised villains along with Edge. I don’t think they were ever back on her side until she retired, only returning for special occasions.

The Undertaker had a 30 year career with the WWE. Throughout those years, he was both a good guy and a bad guy many different times. However, The Undertaker was a lot more dangerous and scary when he was a bad guy. The Undertaker entered the company as a bad guy and was so dominant that he won the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan in one year.

The second time he walked back into the dark side, he slowly became more demonic and powerful by creating the Ministry of Darkness. During this run, he sacrificed Stone Cold, stalked the McMahon family and even tried kidnapping a young Stephanie McMahon to forcibly marry her—among other things. The last time he was a bad guy was in the early 00s and this was during his biker days. He was one mean biker to say the least, even to the extent of dragging Hulk Hogan around the arena while tied to the back of his bike. He became more aggressive and wanted people to earn his respect, which some finally did.  

Chris Jericho is definitely one of my favorites, whether he is a good guy or a bad guy. He has grown and transformed his character so much throughout the years, similar to The Undertaker. Therefore every time he was a bad guy, he always got smarter and more cunning.

Jericho came into the WWE as a bad guy, but he was more over the top, cowardly and silly. The second time around he became the first ever Undisputed Champion and was a bit more polished. The third time around he was on his way out, but came off like the veteran. The fourth time around he began wearing suits, using larger words, threw Shawn Michaels through the TV screen and hit Shawn’s wife by accident. Most recently he came up with the List of Jericho and became best friends with Kevin Owens. Jericho truly is one of the greatest villains, and a different one every time. 

Ric Flair was always a better heel than he was a babyface in my mind. He was flamboyant, cocky, arrogant and—most of all—he was undeniably good that he could back it all up. Ric Flair wore expensive suits, travelled in limousines, flew on jet planes and beautiful women surrounded him wherever he went. He first entered the WWE in 1991 claiming to be the real World Champion even though he brought the title from the rival company, where he was the top star for years. Flair then won the vacant WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble, further backing up his ego. Things took a wild turn when he started taunting “Macho Man” Randy Savage about being with his wife Miss Elizabeth before Savage was with her. He even doctored fake pictures like a true scumbag.

Later in his career, in the 2000s, he was part of one of WWE’s most decorated stables: Evolution. When he wasn’t in the ring himself, he was mentoring Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton. He really taught them his ways of being the dirtiest player in the game. 

When Sable first hit the scene in the corner of Hunter Hearst Helmsley and then in the corner of her then husband Marc Mero, the fans quickly fell in love with her. Sable’s popularity eventually surpassed her husband’s as the years went on. People wanted to see Sable, which eventually led to her posing for Playboy. This just made her even more popular.

After an angle where she feuded with her husband, the popularity got to Sable’s head. Sable became her own biggest fan and felt like she no longer needed the fans, but they needed her. This was when Sable coined the entire phrase about the men wanting to see her and women wanting to be her. When Sable returned in the 2000s, she was manipulative with the newer girls on the roster and even became Mr. McMahon’s side piece, causing issues for the McMahon family. A dynamic arose that if Sable was around, trouble wasn’t far behind. 

Since Bayley was on NXT, she was this lovable super-fan that was just so excited to be working for the WWE and meeting her heroes. By the time she got the main roster, she was the lovable hugger underdog that children loved and who exceeded everyone’s expectations. Bayley was like an overgrown child; she was colorful, wore a side braid, had Bayley buddy tube men for her entrance and fought for the underdogs.

Then one day, she assisted Sasha Banks in an attack and showed up on the following Smackdown, destroying the Bayley buddies before revealing a new haircut. Bayley had officially turned in her fans and became a more delusional heel, which led to her most successful run. Bayley became the longest reigning Smackdown Women’s Championship and also held the tag titles with Sasha at the same time for a period of time. Bayley then turned on her best friend Sasha, further showing how much her ego had grown. Bayley proved that even the most innocent and colorful people have a dark side.

Where do you really start with Kane? He came in as the presumed dead brother of The Undertaker along with Paul Bearer. In the first few months of being around, he tried to set his brother on fire, and in the future he would bury him alive more than once. He also electrocuted Shane McMahon’s testicles, tried throwing him in a dumpster fire and even tombstoned his elderly mother. Kane also tried setting Jim Ross on fire after an interview. The point being, you really didn’t want to be on Kane’s bad side as he barely felt any empathy and had no control over his actions. Although he had many meaningful friendships and relationships, most of them ended on bad terms. The wrath and fire within the Devil’s Favorite Demon’s soul made him someone you really didn’t want to cross paths with. He grew up with a lot of family trauma, so what do you expect?

Sasha Banks has an aura about her that radiates with the knowledge that she’s the best in her mind. Banks considers herself to be the Legit Boss, The Blueprint, The Standard and best women’s wrestler ever. She is cocky, arrogant and flashy by nature, but she can back it all up in the ring. When she’s a babyface, it sometimes doesn’t make sense because you know deep down inside that Sasha always wants to be number one and won’t settle for less. When she’s trying to play well, you know sooner than later that she’s going to get frustrated and the claws are going to come out. That scratchy, self-obsessed and motivated Banks is as villainous as it gets, because she will do anything to get what she wants. It doesn’t matter if that means backstabbing friends, cheating to win, making children cry or reminding everyone just exactly who she is; she’ll do it.

I love that Sasha and quite frankly, when she’s bad… she’s just so much better. In a weird way, even though fans end up wanting to cheer for her because she’s so good and charismatic, she’s a selfish heel at heart. It’s Sasha Banks’ world and we’re all just living in it.

CM Punk doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke and doesn’t use drugs. To most of society, he already comes off as a bad guy that you can’t relate to. However, for the first part of Punk’s run in the WWE, he was considered a good guy. A straight edge guy who loved wrestling and was good at it.

In 2009, when Punk finally turned heel against Jeff Hardy, we really saw the side of him that WWE fans hadn’t seen yet. It was bad guy Punk who looked down at people who didn’t share the same straight edge values as him. He then led his own cult of people that followed his beliefs by creating the Straight Edge Society, where he became more villainous and annoying. He then led the new Nexus before finally threatening to leave the company for good, dropping the popular pipebomb promo. The fans would side with Punk after the promo, which led to him becoming a good guy again. He would again turn on the fans by attacking The Rock in midst of 434 day reign as WWE Champion, unhappy about The Rock being granted a title match at Royal Rumble. He would then align himself with his friend Paul Heyman and continue to let the people know exactly what he thinks, whether you liked it or not. Punk was a great villain.

For years, Sgt. Slaughter was the GI Joe of professional wrestling. He started his career as a heel with the Grand Wizard in his corner and feuded with the WWE Champion Bob Backlund. However, his career took off as a babyface when he became an American hero feuding with the Iron Sheik. He became one of the most popular stars in the company before being let go due to a dispute with Vince McMahon.

When he returned  in 1990, he came back as a heel and as an Iraqi sympathizer. This was during a real-life Gulf War where a US-led military helped Kuwait from an Iran invasion. He aligned himself with General Adan and eventually Colonel Mustafa, who was Slaughter’s former rival the Iron Sheik. Slaughter would talk down America by calling them soft and weak compared to Iran, to the extent where he was receiving real-life death threats. He would go on to beat Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Hulk Hogan would take offense to Slaughters’ action after he desecrated the United States flag, and would defeat him at Wrestlemania. This run alone though makes Slaughter one of WWE’s greatest villains.

Bret Hart flipped from being a bad guy to good guy during his tag team run with Jim Neidhart as one half of the Hart Foundation. They started off as a villainous tag team along with Jimmy Hart in their corner, but eventually would become fan favorites. When the team split, Bret Hart would go on to become a fan favorite due to his in ring skills and connection with the fans worldwide. He would be one of the biggest heroes for the WWE in a post Hulkamania era.

However, early in 1997, due to an on-going feud with Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin continuously being a thorn in his side, The Hitman snapped after being screwed out of opportunities. He began to get more frustrated with the American fans who cheered for anti-heroes like HBK and Stone Cold. The official turn would take place at Wrestlemania 13 in a classic match with Austin. Following the PPV, he would reunite his family to create a new Hart Foundation stable that consisted of Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman and himself. It led to a dynamic where the Hart Foundation would be over with the fans everywhere around the world but America. In America they were the villains. It was truly a unique dynamic that we haven’t witnessed ever since. That is why Bret Hart made this list. 

Randy Orton is such a good bad guy that the fans start to get behind him, which eventually forces him to become a good guy again. He’s selfish, narcissistic, irrational at times, ruthless, unpredictable yet methodical and doesn’t trust a lot of people. He started off as one of the members of the heel stable Evolution. While in this group, he portrayed this cocky, self-centered and arrogant persona who would eventually target legends, thus dubbing himself the Legend Killer. When he was kicked out of Evolution after winning the World Championship, he would flip between being a good or bad guy. However, I always preferred him as a bad guy.

Orton’s character constantly evolved. When he was a bad guy in 2008-2010, it was more of a young vet who lacked trust because of how he was betrayed in the past by his mentors, but he also began leading his own group in Legacy. In 2013-2014, he was more of the seasoned veteran that was chosen and protected by the Authority. Most recently, he became more violent and vicious, attacking legends and old friends; he even set The Fiend on fire. The one thing that is for sure about Randy Orton is that you’re never sure. The Viper can strike at any time and it’s really based off how he is feeling that day, which makes him one of the greatest villains in WWE.

Seth Rollins made his debut in the heel trio of The Shield. They claimed to fight for justice when most of the time they were helping the bad guys—particularly CM Punk at first—win their matches. They would also attack legends and many others as time went on. The Shield became one of the most dominant factions of the modern era. They would become babyfaces and successfully  feud the Authority and Evolution. It was then that Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brothers to buy into the Authority that he would go on one of my favorite villainous runs. He had the Authority backing him in most scenarios and even had his own lousy security in J&J security. Seth was the most slimy and devious during this 2014-2015 heel run. He secured the Money in the Bank briefcase and pulled off the heist of the century when he cashed in at Wrestlemania to become the WWE Champion.

Most recently, he has adopted different characteristics as a villain, such as acting like a holy leader as the Monday Night Messiah or as a visionary in his current state of mind where he is overly flashy, but fully out of his mind. It’s villain Rollins over nice guy Rollins any day for me.

Edge had runs as a bad guy early in his career, whether it was while he was a member of The Brood or one half of the Edge and Christian tag team. Honestly, his time as a heel with Christian was both fun and entertaining so I wouldn’t necessarily say Edge was a major villain during those years. Edge’s origin story of becoming a villain began in the mid 2000s, when he became more obsessed with achieving his dream to be a World Champion. The closer he got, the more dastardly he would become. When it became clear that Lita cheated on Matt Hardy with Edge in real-life, it made Edge come off as even more of a scumbag and he embraced it. It was the birth of the Rated R Superstar. Edge would win the first ever Money in the Bank match and cash in to finally achieve his dream by becoming the WWE Champion. However, the old obsession of winning a world championship became an obsession to keep it or regain it. Edge would do whatever it took to do so, even if that meant surrounding himself with people that would help him, getting extra violent or even making out with Vickie Guerrero. 

Charlotte never chose to be a villain, but the fans dictated her fate. Charlotte Flair can literally breathe and she’ll have people hating her. Honestly, every time Charlotte was portrayed as a babyface, it felt weird. The second generation superstar is such a natural heel, and as the daughter of the dirtiest player in the game Ric Flair, I wouldn’t expect anything else. The fans always try to downplay her success by saying she only receives the opportunities she gets because of her family background rather than accepting that she is just that good. The Queen continues to get better year after year too.

Currently, she might be the most comfortable in her role as a polarizing figure than she ever has been. Charlotte knows her role, is extremely confident in her ability and has the track record to back up her ego. Quite frankly, Charlotte is the bar in the women’s division that you need overcome to be taken seriously. There was a time she had her dad by her side and she would find ways to sneak away with victories, but at this point in her career, she doesn’t need any help. Whether you like it or dislike it, learn to love it because Charlotte isn’t going anywhere.

“What I’d like to have right now is for all you fat, out of shape, reading sweathogs to keep the noise down while I take my robe off and show all the ladies what a real man is supposed to look like.” Ravishing Rick Rude was a narcissistic egomaniac with an impressive body that made him even more confident. The ladies low-key loved him and this made the men hate him even more. Figure in that he was also a part of The Heenan Family aligned with Bobby Heenan—who hyped him up on the regular—that it made him even more dislikable. One of Rude’s trademarks was that he would wear special custom airbrushed tights for his major matches. Therefore, when he was feuding with Jake “The Snake ” Roberts and had Jake’s then-wife Cheryl airbrushed on his crotch… well, it doesn’t get more sleazy than that. Rude would go on to feud Ultimate Warrior, Roddy Piper and a couple of other people before leaving the company, but was a villain the entire time. He even aligned himself with the villainous DX when he returned briefly in 1997 as their insurance policy. Rude wasn’t a good guy.

They say money can change people and it’s very rare you come across a humble millionaire. In the 1980s, the WWE’s resident millionaire was everything but humble. Ted Dibiase would bribe or pay whatever amount necessary to get whatever he wanted, because he truly believed everybody had a price. Along with his bodyguard Virgil, Dibiase would prove this theory by offering fans money to partake in tasks or contests where he would humiliate them. Dibiase would also shove a $100 bill in the mouths of his opponents following matches, which Virgil would usually retrieve for himself. Initially he tried to purchase the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan, but only successfully purchased it after Andre defeated Hogan for the belt under controversial circumstances. Dibiase would use his power in all his future feuds too and even created his own Million Dollar Championship. Later in his career, he would lead his own group of villains under the “Million Dollar Corporation” name. In the end though, Ted Dibiase may be one of wrestling’s greatest villains because he was rich and he could afford to be a villain.

Owen Hart was the youngest kid in the illustrious Hart Family. Owen entered the WWE as this colourful, talented, energetic and ahead of his time wrestler. While Owen Hart was making his name in the company, his older brother Bret Hart was winning World Championships and main eventing shows. It wasn’t until Survivor Series 1993 that we really saw tension between the two brothers after an inadvertent bump into each other caused Owen’s elimination from the match. This set Owen Hart off and we saw his true colors as a man who was sick of being in his brother’s shadow. It was off to the races with the jealous younger brother angle for Owen and his obsession to prove that he was better than his older brother beginning to tear their family apart. They feuded for the next year with Owen not only picking up victories against Bret, but also costing him the WWE Championship. He would later team with Yokozuna and eventually be part of the heel Camp Cornette faction. When that group disbanded, the family reunited to form the polarizing Hart Foundation faction. Owen would continue to be the bad guy most of the rest of his career until his unfortunate passing, but he was damn good at it. Regardless of how bad Owen was, it was hard to not like him.

The “Macho Man” Randy Savage was an over confident larger than life character and an extremely talented second generation wrestler. When he introduced the beautiful yet reserved Elizabeth as his manager, it backed up his cocky attitude and made fans dislike him even more—especially when he would treat her like crap, use her as a shield and she would let him get away with it. As talented as he was, he would still try to find the easy way to pick up victories, such as when he used an illegal steel object to knock out Santana to secure the Intercontinental Championship. One of the most villainous things he did early in his career was trying to end Ricky Steamboat’s career by injuring his larynx with a ring bell and using the outside guard-rail to his advantage. This would accumulate to one of the greatest matches ever at Wrestlemania 3, which is still held in high regard.

Savage’s popularity would grow and he would eventually become a good guy. This would only last until he got fed up with Hogan trying to share his spotlight and his woman. Savage would dump Elizabeth and associate himself with Sensational Sherri. After winning a King of the Ring tournament, he would become the Macho King and continue to do whatever it took to get what he desired. This would be Savage’s final run as a villain in the WWE, but he always prospered at it because he’s flown with the eagles and slithered with the snakes…

It’s not a coincidence that when you give someone a little bit of power, it can go to their head. Most authority figures in the world of wrestling usually let that power go to their head. Not everyone was a Jack Tunney or a Gorilla Monsoon; every once in a while you’d have to deal with a self conceited and arrogant boss like Eric Bischoff. Bischoff was the former president of World Championship Wrestling, which under his leadership began to beat the WWE in the ratings in the mid 90s, almost putting the company out of business. Nobody in their right mind thought we would ever see Easy E in the WWE under any circumstances, and especially not in a role with power. Therefore, when Mr. McMahon introduced Eric Bischoff as the new General Manager of Monday Night Raw, the fans were astonished. Bischoff was now in charge of the show he used to compete against on Monday Nights. He had a knack for siding with the bad guys and making the lives of the good guys a living hell. It was truly chaos until Stone Cold Steve Austin became his co-general manager to balance out the biases. The thing is, when you saw Eric Bischoff and his devious smile, you knew things were about to get interesting.

Triple H was one of those villains that I grew to love as a bad guy more and more as I got older. Hunter Hearst Helmsley entered the company as a stuck up aristocrat before becoming more of a degenerate alongside Shawn Michaels. Triple H was entitled, ruthless, willing to get violent and obsessed with proving to everyone why he called himself The Game. He played the game, if that meant surrounding himself with people that would help him get where he wanted and protect him as the World Champion in factions such as D-Generation X, the Corporation and Evolution. Hunter even went as far to marry the boss’s daughter to advance his career and keep the upper hand of all opposition. When he was the leader of Evolution, he would find ways to beat everyone, especially fan favorites that were coming from WCW. Triple H would reunite with Michaels for a bunch of years, become more of a good guy and spend more of his time focusing on his role as the COO in the years that followed, but frequently reminded people why he was called the Cerebral Assassin. When the Authority was against Daniel Bryan being the face of the WWE, the old Triple H came back out and it was fun while it lasted. There aren’t many villains like Triple H.

The first words that come to my mind when I think about Paul Heyman is “evil genius.” That is exactly what Heyman is. He is a master manipulator and knows exactly who to advocate for. Heyman is amazing on the microphone and knows how to get people to drink his kool-aid. It was something he perfected when he was the mastermind behind ECW.

When he first appeared in the WWE, he played the perfect heel against Jim Ross’s commentary. When he got fired after the Alliance storyline, Heyman returned alongside Brock Lesnar, dubbing him the “Next Big Thing” and becoming his advocate. He would stick around after splitting from Lesnar to become the Smackdown GM or be part of the resurrection of ECW. Heyman would return in 2012 to once again advocate for Brock. Heyman would be in The Beast’s corner while he dominated the WWE by winning championships, ending undefeated streaks and taking superstars on trips to suplex city. He excelled as Lesnar’s mouthpiece and negotiator. He would also lend his services to others such as CM Punk, Cesaro, Ryback and—most recently—the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. It’s crazy that if you align yourself with Heyman, you’re automatically a bad guy. That tells you his impact as a villain.

Bradshaw went through many character incarnations since he first arrived on the scene in the WWE. During those years, he was a villain a handful of times. He was briefly villainous while he was Justin Hawk Bradshaw, branding his opponents and even when the Acolytes first got together as members of the Ministry of Darkness before becoming the beloved APA. It wasn’t until he recreated himself into the JBL persona—which was closer to who he was in real-life and played off his real life success on wall street—did he really become one of the most annoying villains of all time. He began wearing a suit, a cowboy hat and would make his entrance in a limo with bull horns in the front. The character kicked off with JBL trying to hunt for illegal immigrants at the border of Mexico and Texas to earn a number one contendership match for the WWE Championship against Eddie Guerrero.

Layfield would go on to become the WWE Champion and had a lengthy 9 month reign, usually winning his matches in controversial fashion. He even started his own stable called the Cabinet that helped him keep the title for months. He would remain a villain for the rest of his career, aside from when he could show a more positive side on commentary. However, JBL is one of the greatest villains in WWE history.

Stephanie McMahon is Mr. McMahon’s little girl and correctly named the “Billion Dollar Princess.” Stephanie has had her time playing a good authority figure, but most of her career she has been an entitled, powerful, spoiled and charismatic villain.

Stephanie showed up on the scene as this timid and shy young woman who was allegedly kidnapped by Triple H and then forced to marry him while under the influence. Later we found out she was in on it all along as she turned on her own father, aligning herself withTriple H to take over her dad’s company. From that moment on, we were off to the races. Stephanie would have an off and on relationship with all of her family members throughout the years and even turn on her own husband for a time period. As Stephanie matured and gained more power behind the scenes, she had no problem asking people who the hell they thought they were and reminding them they were standing in her family’s ring. I have seen many superstars fall victim to looking helpless under Stephanie’s tirades. Those who would fight back would either deal with professional repercussions, have to deal with her husband Triple H or in some cases Stephanie herself. If you’re on the roster, it’s a goal to not make this princess mad.

There is a famous promo that took place at WCW’s Halloween Havoc 1996 where “Rowdy” Roddy Piper said something along the lines of “do you think they would have cheered you so much if they didn’t hate me so much” to Hollywood Hogan. That line always hit home. It made me really realize just how important Hot Rod was to the wrestling boom in the mid 80s and that he was the ultimate villain. He had the gift of gab and the ability to get under people’s skin. By hosting his Piper Pit talk show segments where he degraded his guests, Roddy was able to get into altercations with superstars—like the infamous moment where he smashed Snuka’s head with a coconut. He would keep up this rebellious attitude when celebrities like Cyndi Lauper got involved with wrestling and Hulk Hogan would come to Lauper’s aid, thus kicking off the “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection” era. This feud would eventually set up the very first Wrestlemania main event where Piper and Orondorff—along with “Cowboy” Bob Orton—faced off against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, who had Jimmy Snuka along with them. It doesn’t matter how over Hulk Hogan was or how many celebrities you had on the card, you cannot deny that if wrestling fans didn’t want to see Piper finally get what was coming to him, it wouldn’t have been as successful as it was. 

Mike Mizanin came from the world of reality TV as a former cast member of MTV’s The Real World. He tried to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a WWE superstar by going through the Tough Enough competition. The Miz impressed someone enough to be offered a contract with the company, even though he didn’t win the competition. He would show up on the main shows initially as a host and backstage interviewer. Finally realizing the fans found him annoying and pompous, he began playing a villainous character. It took a long time for the fans to come around to The Miz. And I mean a really long time. No matter how entertaining he was, how many titles he won or how great he played his role, wrestling fans truly didn’t feel like he belonged there. It was the ultimate disgrace to wrestling fans when he won the WWE Championship in 2010. They did try to briefly turn Miz into a good guy in 2012. They even had Ric Flair as his mentor, but it was short-lived and honestly forgettable.

The Miz began to garner more appreciation after 2013 as fans began to appreciate his awesome mic skills and growth as an in-ring competitor. He would remain a villain for the rest of his career while surrounding himself with his beautiful wife Maryse, his old friend John Morrison or other short term comrades. The fans do get behind him in some situations, such as his feud with Shane McMahon, but other than that, he’s just so easy to dislike and want to punch in the face.

If you were aligned with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan in the 1980s or became a member of the Heenan Family, you turned your back on the fans and became a villain. It was just that simple. Bobby Heenan was witty, devious, hilarious and truly one of a kind. The Brain knew now only how to make his clients seem like stars, but how to disregard them or sell their contracts off to other managers when they no longer were valuable to him. He was the slimy salesman, outrageously biased and financially corrupt. Most of the villains that heroes like Hulk Hogan had to overcome were members of Heenan’s family. The Andre The Giant turn only worked because he aligned himself with Heenan. Heenan’s chemistry with Gorilla Monsoon on commentary and Prime Time Wrestling further shined a light on The Brain’s charm.

Fans always wanted to see Heenan get his eventually, and sometimes they got that opportunity. There are so many classic moments when Heenan’s one-liners made you chuckle against your will. He created terms like humanoids and ham-n-eggers that wrestling fans still use today. He truly was a once in a lifetime villain, but if you listened to him, you went to the top. And if you didn’t listen to him, you were never heard from again.

It’s really easy to hate your boss, isn’t it? If your boss ends up being a narcissistic billionaire egomaniac with vindictive tendencies towards anyone who crosses them… they really make a great villain. For years, fans who were just watching wrestling on television and not looking for the inside scoop saw Vince McMahon as an on screen announcer and commentator while others played the figurehead president role on television. It wasn’t until the mid-90s that people started making slight references towards Vince McMahon being the boss. It wasn’t until the Montreal Screwjob and the interview he gave on Raw weeks following the event that the WWE decided to capitalize on Vince McMahon being the villainous powerful boss on screen. He also had the perfect rival in the anti-authority and rebellious “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Mr. McMahon would find any way possible to screw Stone Cold out of being the WWE Champion while still making money off of his popularity.

McMahon would go on to feud Triple H, Undertaker, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Randy Orton, CM Punk and even Daniel Bryan throughout the years. He would even use his power to cheat on his wife Linda with the female talent on screen and sometimes even right in front of his wife. Mr. McMahon also wrestled both children on separate occasions. When the Boss shows up these days, you never know what to expect.