10 Things About Babyface & Heel Dynamics in Wrestling That Don't Make Sense
At its core, pro wrestling stands as an embodiment of the eternal saga of good vs. evil. But if it were always that simple - noble good guy battles dastardly bad guy - things would get awfully boring very quickly.
And so, the sport has evolved. No longer are the lines so clearly defined, as just about every wrestler now intermittently sees time on both ends of the good/bad spectrum and plenty of characters operate in something of a 'shades of gray' middle ground, not quite a good guy but not entirely bad.
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While these labels and character traits hold up in the fictional world of entertainment (sports or otherwise), it's simply not the way the real world works. Therefore, if we try to take the pro wrestling world at face value, it soon becomes apparent that some aspects of good vs. evil don't entirely add up. Here are 10 things about the dynamics between babyfaces and heels that don't make sense:
10 Faces Signal Heel Personas with Darker Gear
In pro wrestling, it can often seem like a turn to the dark side comes with a requisite new wardrobe. Because the sport is rarely ever subtle, it’s common to see wrestlers sporting dark, ‘heelish’ attire and, typically, sunglasses. It would be one thing if these style transformations were tied to new gimmicks.
But while that was the case when Edge, Damian Priest and Finn Balor all joined the Judgment Day at various times, new heels often go with black garb simply because those in power believe that’s what bad guys wear.
9 Wrestlers Are Patient When They Turn
Outside of kayfabe, heel turns taking place late in major matches make sense. You obviously want to wait until the most pivotal moment to enhance the shock and drama of the turn. Taking things at face value, however, is a different story.
In the case of just about every in-match turn, the turning wrestler passes up numerous opportunities to betray their target, only to conveniently get the perfect opening late in the match that directly leads to a pin fall. The turning wrestler sure is fortunate that the match hadn’t ended sooner!
8 Heels Aren't Always Wrong
Heels use villainous, underhanded tactics to best the heroes in order to further their evil objectives. That is, when they aren’t making what are often some pretty sensible points. Fans aren’t supposed to agree with the bad guy, but that’s not always the case when their stances are valid. Look at Bryan Danielson, for example.
In WWE as Daniel Bryan, he had a heel run as “the planet’s champion” in which he lectured fans on environmental awareness. Now a heel again in AEW, he serves as the mouthpiece for the Blackpool Combat Club stable who want to preserve pro wrestling by passing the art onto younger talent.
7 Turned Wrestlers Suddenly Love/Hate the Fans
When it comes to most heel or face turns, there’s usually a specific motivation that forms the basis of the turn. While we have seen wrestling turns driven by a wrestler’s reaction to the crowd, we’re more accustomed to seeing wrestlers turn on their colleagues. If that’s the case, then why does their relationship with the fans also change?
Konosuke Takeshita chose to betray the Elite and align with Don Callis, but does that really mean he has to go from slapping hands with AEW fans to menacing them?
6 Turning On One Person Means Turning On Everyone
Just as a heel or face turn tends to carry over into a wrestler’s relationship with fans, the same is true when it comes to their relationship with others on the roster – on camera, of course. When Sami Zayn ultimately split from the Bloodline, his reunion with an initially reluctant Kevin Owens made sense, as it was the entire focus of the storyline.
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Less logical was the fact that a babyface Zayn was suddenly friendly with the likes of Riddle and other good guys on the roster whom he had previously feuded with.
5 Bad Guys Must Be Cowardly, Good Guys Must Be Brave
While the cowardly heel makes for a sensible character trait given how easy it is to boo a wrestler who hides from a fight, the trope has become so over-used, it seems like a blanket characteristic for all bad guys.
It seems ludicrous to see, for example, the fearsome Gunther running away from Braun Strowman, nor does it make sense that Seth Rollins went from ducking opponents to throwing out open challenges upon turning face. At least AEW has somewhat bucked the trend by featuring heels who are tough but still detestable, like the Blackpool Combat Club and Samoa Joe.
4 Babyfaces Are Easily Distracted
Babyfaces might be portrayed as noble and heroic, but they aren't always shown to be very smart. After all, some of the rule-bending shenanigans of heels are predicated on the gullibility of their counterparts - and those shenanigans usually work.
We've seen countless times when a babyface will abandon their own advantageous situation in the ring to address an interloper on the outside, only to inevitably be attacked by their recovered opponent. Constant outside interference makes the referee look bad, but it can also make faces look like dopes as well.
3 Wrestlers With Contradictory Pasts
As wrestling fans, we come to accept that contradictory character traits, much like the brave/cowardly dichotomy mentioned above, are simply a product of changing storylines and booking directions. Still, some shifts in personality can become too big to realistically overcome.
That Randy Orton guy, who was one half of the popular RK-Bro team with Matt Riddle prior to a career-threatening back injury? He also lit The Undertaker on fire and kicked John Cena's dad in the head.
2 Heel Actions Are Rarely Overturned
Fans have to remain complicit in accepting certain illogical circumstances to make wrestling narratives work. The fact that almost all feuds and storylines are advanced within the confines of a promotion's weekly program, for example, is strange in a kayfabe sense but necessary as an entertainment product.
Another such logic-lacking but unavoidable aspect of wrestling is the absence of replay, even as cameras catch everything taking place in the ring. If authority figures in wrestling really want to oversee fair competition, you'd think they'd review match footage more often to check for cheating.
1 Brand Supremacy Supersedes Existing Feuds
Call it the "Survivor Series Problem". For years, WWE's final 'Big Four' PLE of the year has pit Raw superstars against SmackDown superstars in a bid for brand supremacy. For whatever fresh match-ups might be produced, the sudden shift in focus disrupts storylines and strains credulity as foes band together in order to achieve empty, meaningless bragging rights.
Are we supposed to believe that brand loyalty exists when it's never discussed at other times of the year? Mercifully, this format was scrapped last year in favor of an organic five-on-five clash between the Bloodline and Team Brawling Brutes.
