Was JBL best heel ever?

[kmelloh]

Him doing the Hitler salute in Germany:

Him “kicking out illegal Mexicans at the border:

These are just two that I remember. If you have any please feel free to post them. What do you think. Is he one of the greatest heels of all time.?

 

[Falsedawn]

JBL would have never gotten stabbed in a crowd like Larry Zybszko. Until you're getting THAT kind of heat, you're not in the top 10. I think Slaughter got a ton of death threats when he was an Iraqi sympathizer too.

 

[sangreporsangre]

I don't know about that but you know what, I think he's one of the best promos in the history of the business. I don't know how much input he had on what he was saying - to hear some of these guys on podcasts they make it seem like every single thing is crafted by a team of writers with no input from talent - but his delivery was incredible. I remember his heel turn when he became JBL, he didn't turn on a tag partner in a match, he didn't join a heel faction, he just cut a promo on Smackdown and I bought in right away. And man some of the shit he would say and how he would say it....I saw a promo on Youtube although it doesn't seem to be there anymore, where it was an event in England and he just ran the crowd down "you people worship a queen! What kind of man bows down to a woman??" He was awesome.

 

[PRIDEWASBETTER]

He may be one of, but he's not the greatest. I enjoyed his run, personally.

 

[Amerikuracana]

No.. Just better than average.

 

[GSPSAKU]

No.. Just better than average.

A few that were better without thinking too hard

Million Dollar Man was as ideal a heel as you could get

Hollywood Hulk Hogan, especially after 10+ years on the top as the ultimate babyface.

The Original Sheik, talk about a heel and a guy who could incite riots

Ox Baker, a heat seeking magnet

Freddie Blassie, he did it as a wrestler and a manager

Bobby Heenan, one of the greatest heel personalities of all time. All he had to do was manage someone and that person was automatically hated.

Vince McMahon....greatest heel of all time

 

[Amerikuracana]

A few that were better without thinking too hard

Million Dollar Man was as ideal a heel as you could get

Hollywood Hulk Hogan, especially after 10+ years on the top as the ultimate babyface.

The Original Sheik, talk about a heel and a guy who could incite riots

Ox Baker, a heat seeking magnet

Freddie Blassie, he did it as a wrestler and a manager

Bobby Heenan, one of the greatest heel personalities of all time. All he had to do was manage someone and that person was automatically hated.

Vince McMahon....greatest heel of all time

Those are good.

 

[TennBJJ]

A few that were better without thinking too hard


Ox Baker, a heat seeking magnet

You God Damned right. I came in here JUST to post this:



Ernie Ladd sells like he's dying, Ox keeps hitting him in the heart, and the rest is history. Chairs thrown, fans invading the ring, heels have to RUN to the back to keep from being fucking legit killed. This is the old-time heat that Heenan, Cornette and others talk about that doesn't even seem real till you see it first hand.

Background as well on this: it was widely circulated that Ox's heart punch had killed two wrestlers in the ring. This was Kayfabed of course, as one died of a heart attack and the other a ruptured appendix, but the promoters and Ox were smart enough to work it into Baker's shtick. With that knowledge, the fans believed that Ladd, a BELOVED baby face at the time(though i liked him better as a heel) was dying as well. If I'm remembering correctly the other wrestler involved was Johnny Powers, Ernie's ex-tag partner who had turned on the Cat, and this was supposed to be a blow off match between the two that ox interrupted late in the bout.

 

[GSPSAKU]

You God Damned right. I came in here JUST to post this:



Ernie Ladd sells like he's dying, Ox keeps hitting him in the heart, and the rest is history. Chairs thrown, fans invading the ring, heels have to RUN to the back to keep from being fucking legit killed. This is the old-time heat that Heenan, Cornette and others talk about that doesn't even seem real till you see it first hand.

Background as well on this: it was widely circulated that Ox's heart punch had killed two wrestlers in the ring. This was Kayfabed of course, as one died of a heart attack and the other a ruptured appendix, but the promoters and Ox were smart enough to work it into Baker's shtick. With that knowledge, the fans believed that Ladd, a BELOVED baby face at the time(though i liked him better as a heel) was dying as well. If I'm remembering correctly the other wrestler involved was Johnny Powers, Ernie's ex-tag partner who had turned on the Cat, and this was supposed to be a blow off match between the two that ox interrupted late in the bout.

Some of us "old heads" know a thing or two heels and the history of wrestling. The thing about Ox Baker that made him ahead of his time was that he was one of the first, if not the very first, wrestler to have t-shirts made up ala Tito Ortiz that either insulted the fans or his opponents. They guy looked the part and played the part well

 

[RollSonnenRoll]

"It's a whole herd of Mexicans" pops me every time <Lmaoo>

 

[catchwrestle]

I really enjoyed the JBL gimmick. As some have pointed out there were those who could get better heat but some of that was situational. The Horsemen caused a riot when they "broke' Dusty's leg but he was a huge face so it helped. Sgt. Slaughter had to wrestle in a bullet proof vest but the anti American traitor during the Gulf war helped a lot with that, He just had the balls to pull it off. I liked when JBL was the longest reigning smackdown champ and would screw the Undertaker all the time

 

[Capt Lunatic]

Good promos, believable hoss and ok in-ring.

He was a true heel in that you never wanted to cheer him. Nothing likable about him for a casual fan, nothing exceptional for hardcores to get behind. A lot of guys try that and fall into the "change the channel" category. JBL could keep me tuned in.

 

[sleepwalk]

Good promos, believable hoss and ok in-ring.

He was a true heel in that you never wanted to cheer him. Nothing likable about him for a casual fan, nothing exceptional for hardcores to get behind. A lot of guys try that and fall into the "change the channel" category. JBL could keep me tuned in.

Bingo.

In the old days, I'd say that he would fit the mold of the prototypical IC champ: inherently unlikable heel who lorded the title over the crowd and the faces. He did it with the big belt, though. Good on him.

 

[kmelloh]

Bingo.

In the old days, I'd say that he would fit the mold of the prototypical IC champ: inherently unlikable heel who lorded the title over the crowd and the faces. He did it with the big belt, though. Good on him.

So basically The Miz?

 

[sleepwalk]

So basically The Miz?

Yes.
And Jeff Jarrett.
And heel Shawn Michaels.
And Honky Tonk Man.
And Razor Ramon (trying to remember if he had it as a heel.)

 

[kmelloh]

Yes.
And Jeff Jarrett.
And heel Shawn Michaels.
And Honky Tonk Man.
And Razor Ramon (trying to remember if he had it as a heel.)

And something about all of them, they kept heat no matter what. Today you see heels like Elias, Alexa Bliss who get insane pops although they play strong heels. I don’t know if that’s just the era or if they were that much better.

 

[gspieler]

Probably the best pure heel in the business, at his peak. All time? No.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Definitely good, and fun to watch.

My personal favourite is Jake the Snake 1991/92.

 

[Nameless Ghoul]

So basically The Miz?

I love The Miz. Even while fast forwarding through chunks of RAW/SD, if he's on the screen I stop to listen.

 

[chubbman]

I don't know about that but you know what, I think he's one of the best promos in the history of the business. I don't know how much input he had on what he was saying - to hear some of these guys on podcasts they make it seem like every single thing is crafted by a team of writers with no input from talent - but his delivery was incredible. I remember his heel turn when he became JBL, he didn't turn on a tag partner in a match, he didn't join a heel faction, he just cut a promo on Smackdown and I bought in right away. And man some of the shit he would say and how he would say it....I saw a promo on Youtube although it doesn't seem to be there anymore, where it was an event in England and he just ran the crowd down "you people worship a queen! What kind of man bows down to a woman??" He was awesome.

Lol Bradshaw is based as fuck. When mike kanelis made his debut entrance he said “haha he took her name”.

Dude gives no fucks about being woke.