The Heel Report: 01.19.12: Top 10 Heels of the Week

Posted by James Wright on 01.19.2012

From Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett to Robert Roode and more, 411's James Wright takes a look at the top ten heels from the week in wrestling!

Weekly Top Ten

1st Place: Daniel Bryan



Despite being dominated in the Raw main event and chased off by what looks to be a face-turning Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan is still the heel of the week. I'm expecting a full blown double turn on Smackdown in their title match, leading to a triple threat match at the Rumble between Henry, Bryan and Big Show, with Bryan hopefully retaining. Bryan is already coming across as a behind the scenes master mind, preying on AJ's love for him and making her do his bidding. I think the plan was a little bit weak; ‘let the Big Show run into you' but he more than made up for this by berating Show after the match, culminating with Bryan going PG+ and calling him a bastard, causing the Big Show to cry like a baby, perhaps a little over the top but it made Bryan look like more of a threat in my opinion as he can manipulate people's emotions outside of the ring as well as their limbs inside. I haven't seen this type of shrewd heel in a good long while. You could put Punk in the same class but he was always getting out-done by his opponents for the most part and relied heavily on run ins and interference from his posse, at least in the WWE anyway. Seeing Daniel Bryan as the thinking man's heel might be the best move the WWE could make.

2nd Place: Dolph Ziggler



Another man who could be referred to as a thinking man's wrestler, although in a slightly different way is Dolph Ziggler. The Platinum Playboy looked pretty damn good this week heading into his title match with Punk at the Rumble. Ziggler kind of lost the main event but the decision was reversed and didn't even eat the pin, or sock as it was in this case. More importantly Ziggler started off the night right with a heel promo that was not only well done, but also made complete sense and really Ziggler had a good point, why should Foley just be able to show up and take a spot away from a guy on the active roster? That would be like him coming into a company and winning the world title in place of guys that have been there busting their arses and waiting for an opportunity for ages…oh wait that's much worse! Ziggler earned his place on the chart, and while I doubt he will win on Sunday I can definitely see him staying in the title picture on one show or another for the foreseeable future.

3rd Place: Wade Barrett



The Distinguished English Gent got royally screwed this week after getting dumped out of the, albeit pointless, over the top rope challenge on Raw first. But then again he also verbally berated R-Truth and Sheamus and managed to put away Yoshi Tatsu convincingly earlier in the week. Barrett's momentum has been mixed since he made Orton have a great fall, but I can see him making a good impression in the Rumble this year and certainly he will be getting at least some sort of match at Wrestlemania, which isn't always as certain as it may seem, and hell a couple of months ago I wouldn't have put Barrett anywhere near the Grandest Stage of them All. He has gone from Drew McIntyre status to on a par with Sheamus, and that is good enough for me.

4th Place: Robert Roode



Next up is the TNA champ, who once again was forced to defend his title on the first Impact after a PPV. I'm not sure why TNA are in such a rush to develop these rivalries, surely they could have saved both Angle vs. Storm and Roode vs. Hardy for the next PPV, but then again at least Jeff Hardy might be out of the title picture for at least a little while. I've never really got Hardy's appeal, at least in his most recent runs in TNA and the WWE, before the whole drugs thing, maybe it is because they gave him the nickname of ‘The Charismatic Enigma' which is just annoying and stupid. Back on point I would say that Roode is up on the chart but the reason he couldn't come higher is because he had to be saved in his title match by Bully Ray, rather than come up with some clever way to win the match without getting disqualified himself or counted out…maybe he could have charmed one of the Knockouts and made them stand there while Hardy ran into them, not sure it would have the same effect due to Hardy's size but is seems to stop title matches alright.

5th Place: Primo & Epico



The new tag team champions successfully defended their titles on Monday night Raw, which you would only hope they would since otherwise the house show win would have been nothing by a pointless gesture to show that ‘anything can happen in the WWE', which admittedly isn't the worst way to try to boost house show attendance. Primo and Epico look like a solid team and probably benefitted greatly from ill-will towards Evan Bourne in the back. Personally anything that gets Rosa onto our TV screens more is okay by me.

6th Place: Cody Rhodes



It's nice to hear Rhodes already setting his sights on the big prize since being the greatest IC champ of all time can only get you so far, not that I think he is actually anywhere near close enough to being called that though. It's strange; it seems to be easier these days to win a world title than to become a credible mid-card champion. I would say that Rhodes is doing well, but that he still has some way to go before anyone would consider him as one of the greats who held the IC title. It could happen, hell Rhodes could even do what he said he was going to do and ‘pull an Ultimate Warrior', a nice, if possibly backhanded, reference there. Whether he might do this at some point or not it is doubtful it will be at the Royal Rumble. This year's Rumble is full of people who could win it next year but almost certainly won't now, then again you could have said the same about Alberto Del Rio last year.

7th Place: Chris Jericho



The man in lights moved closer to revealing his true nature this week by walking out on his main event tag match on Raw. I liked the set up for the match as you had two potential heels and Punk on the same team. I was perhaps expecting Jericho to turn on Punk in a more forceful way in the match, but the slow burn continues as the fans persist in chanting for Y2J despite his clear efforts to garner heat from them. To me walking out on a match is the height of heel-dom since you are not only snubbing the fans but you are also denying them of seeing you perform, which is ultimately why we pay to see the guys in the ring. After that move I'm not sure what Jericho will have to do in the Rumble to truly turn heel, maybe eliminate a number of faces, or just pull a Gail Kim and eliminate himself, that is if he isn't slated to win the whole thing of course.

8th Place: David Otunga



Now here's a turn up for the books. That bow tie-wearing, coffee-sipping, know-it-all lawyer from Harvard; David Otunga has managed to worm his way onto the chart. While he ate a sock on Raw he was still in the main event, and he did also beat a game Santino Marella on Smackdown, which achieved basically nothing but it did earn him some points here. Otunga has certainly got a use in that he can job to the best of them and with his size not look like a complete joke for the whole of the time, but he usually does before and after the match, whether that is a good thing or not is up to you.

9th Place: Bully Ray



All you need to know about this man this week is that he saved Roode in his match with Hardy, wants a title shot of his own, and most importantly was trending worldwide on Twitter last Sunday. Now I'm not sure if his promo was a shot against the WWE, although it most likely was, or if he was just legitimately excited to be trending on Twitter, but either way the man formally known as Bubba is on a fool's errant if he thinks that Bobby Roode is going to give him a title shot any time soon, even if he does arguably deserve one over some drugged up Sting wannabe.

10th Place: John Laurinaitis



Johnny Ace gets the booby prize for being a dick this week to Mick Foley, first of all denying his Rumble dreams and then knocking him on his arse at the end of the night. The slow snapping of John Lauriniaitis is coming near completion; I just hope that the WWE don't pull something deluded like making a match between Punk and Johnny for a PPV, or lord forbid Wrestlemania. Here's a disturbing thought; what if Punk loses the title to Cena at Elimination Chamber so that Cena vs. Rock is indeed for the WWE title, and Punk has to take on Laurinaitis instead for screwing him over for some reason. That would be terrible!


Rolling Chart (Week 24):

1. Mark Henry (135)

2. Cody Rhodes (122)

3. Alberto Del Rio (96)

4. The Miz (87)

5. Wade Barrett (80)

6. Robert Roode (77)

7. Dolph Ziggler (76)

8. Christian (59)

9. Bully Ray (53)

10. Austin Aries (49)


The Wright View

The Face-Off: Zack Ryder

WWE officially went back to their usual selves this week in terms of pulling the rug out from under the guy from Long Island as soon as they were able. First by destroying Ryder and then having Jack Swagger take away his US title without any real prompting. Now Ryder did need to take three finishers while being hurt before going down, but I think that reflects badly on Swagger rather than making Ryder look particularly strong since he basically didn't get a second of offense in the match. I wonder if Ryder will be out now for the Rumble that would be a little bit harsh. It is possible that the WWE might let Ryder get his title back at some point soon, but I'm not too sure they will. Of course I could be wrong and it might be that the WWE are trying to prolong Ryder's popularity by keeping him as an underdog but that might be a bit too much wishful thinking.

Face the Facts: R-Truth and John Cena

I'm grouping these guys together this week because I think they were basically the same in that half the things they did were good and interesting and half were cheesy and bad. Cena was in some regards his usual self, rushing into Johnny's office all mad and demanding justice be done, but then when he actually had a match with Swagger he pushed things a bit too far and looked to be turning towards the dark side. Then before you know it he is ‘coming to his senses' and returning to his former vanilla self. Overall these actions were good because they hint at Cena's conflict with his current situation and his possible heel turn in the near future. Then again it could be like Cena joining the Nexus all over again where they hint at a moral dilemma and a heel turn but in the end he just hulks up, becomes Super Cena again and then crushes all his enemies.
R-Truth is a bit hit and miss as a face, I'm not sure how well he is connecting with the fans and he will have to walk a fine line to be successful, having said that while a lot of the stuff he is doing is kind of ridiculous and make him look like a joke, as well as making me groan, enough of what he says makes me laugh enough for it to be worth it. For instance when he showed Pinocchio's nose growing, a terrible, cringe-worthy idea, when he added the line "I'm not even sure if that's PG!" it made the whole thing hilarious. I think the problem might be the writers and Truth himself is actually naturally funny. We will just have to see if he is allowed to be himself more and if that really is why he can sometimes be funny while dealing with what could be a terrible gimmick.

On the Rise: Samoa Joe & Magnus

While they didn't do too much this week they did at least prove that the Wild Card Tournament actually meant something and that they have banded together from that tournament to now become a proper tag team, at least for now. They did manage to blindside the tag champs after their match and make it clear that they will be getting another title shot pretty soon. The team of Magnus and Joe are actually, in my opinion, much more deadly than Matt Morgan and Crimson. In terms of speed, technique and experience they have the edge and in terms of power I think that pound for pound they are just as dominating as the current champs, and they sure as hell have more charisma. While I do understand that being part of a tag team is a great way for Crimson to maintain his unbeaten streak, and having a monster duo as tag champs is always cool, I believe that Samoa Joe needs a vehicle to stay relevant more and Magnus deserves more of a push than he is getting. We'll just have to see who TNA favour when the two teams meet up again.

Flat-Footed: Jack Swagger

This is probably the first time that a guy winning the US title can look so weak while doing it. First of all he faces off against a competitor who is little over Santino level, who is also not even medically cleared to compete. Then he has to hit three finishers on him to actually keep him down for free. If that wasn't bad enough, later in the night Swagger is then handed to an irate John Cena and is pummeled to within an inch of his life before being spared due to Cena's hesitation. Once again this is just another case of Cena taking priority over everyone else on the roster and all those associated with him seem to suffer while he does little more than flounder in his half-liked, half-hated status. Maybe if the WWE are actually pulling a Cena heel turn it will all be worth it, but it is unlikely that they actually will pull the trigger, ever.


That's all for this week, I'm excited for the Royal Rumble despite the lack of matches announced for the card right now, to be fair what makes the event is the Rumble itself. Still I can't help but be suspicious of the WWE for not over-pushing a PPV where Punk and Bryan are champion. It seems like they have stacked the deck in some ways, downplaying one of their biggest PPVs of the year. It would be nice if there were more interplaying storylines going into the Rumble, although that's not to say that a bunch won't appear in the match itself; i.e. Goldust entering and eliminating Rhodes, Orton making a surprise return and taking out Barrett, Sheamus eliminating everyone…that's about it, so still not that many then. Ah well we will just have to wait and see how things turn out next week. For now this is James Wright signing off.