WWE’s Greatest Heels: Reality Era Edition

We can debate endlessly about the direction of WWE, but there is one thing we can all agree on. Some of the best heels to step foot into a WWE ring were born of this era. In a very short time, we had the privilege of watching a litany of wrestlers who personified what it meant to be a heel.

Below is a list of these great men and women.

WWE Reality Era Greatest Heels

The New Day

Many will remember the glory days of The New Day. They were a massively over act that would strut to the ring with all the goofiness that they could muster. They were an incredibly successful tandem holding the tag championships on numerous occasions, setting records in the process.

The fans and the office alike loved The New Day and would clap along to their shenanigans endlessly. What we may forget is how effective they were, as heels, when they became a team. Thrown together, Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston had a swagger that annoyed many.

They had the delusions of being loved, and that made the audience hate them more. They were the type of cringy act that everyone hated, but they backed everything up by winning championships. An accomplished heel is always more effective than a lacklustre one.

Triple H

An evil authority figure is always going to have a great chance to make it on this list. Which is why it is impossible to keep the leader of the Authority off this list. Triple H was far gone as a full-time competitor, but he still had his strings to pull.

The Game had his favourites and would stop at nothing to make sure they were at the top of the card. He used his immense power to forever tip the scales in the favour of his guys, which coincidentally were never the fans’ guys. He was at odds with every babyface in the company, which instantly turned the fans against him.

What made him so great as a heel was that he didn’t care. He knew exactly what he was doing and did so regardless of how it was perceived.

It was infuriating to know that he was going to get his way. He was the exact type of authority figure that professional wrestling needed.

Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins’ ascension to heel stardom drove the fans insane. It started with an unspeakable betrayal and led him to being the top heel of the Reality Era. When Seth Rollins turned on the Shield, the wrestling world joined in their hatred of him.

He then turned that feeling up to 11 when he sided with The Authority and became the golden boy. Every opportunity was handed to The Architect, and his success was not of his own doing. He became a Money in the Bank holder and WWE Champion during his heel run, all of which was due to luck.

He had the talent but would not stoop below using whichever advantage he could to further his cause. It was infuriating and made him an easy heel to hate.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is always going to be an easy wrestler to boo. Physically, he strikes fear into even the strongest of audience members. He was an imposing wrestler to put against any babyface of the era, but he would also destroy any that stood in his way.

During the Reality Era, Brock Lesnar decimated everyone, but more importantly, he ran through men like The Undertaker and John Cena. The Beast conquered the fabled WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker and squashed John Cena for the WWE Championship.

This domination of beloved babyfaces made everyone side against him. He was the end boss for the world of wrestling. One that everyone hated and feared.

Rusev

The Reality Era was a short one, but it was not short on new faces joining the company. One of the most notable was the monster heel Rusev.

He entered WWE and immediately began to carve a path of destruction. Usually, his opponents would be any popular babyface available, and he would squash them.

Also, Rusev was a throwback to the foreign invader gimmick of past WWE eras. Hailing from Bulgaria, he was associated with Russia, which is still an effective way to elicit a reaction from the crowd.

Anyone from outside the United States is always going to get a negative reaction, and the fact that Rusev would crush everyone helped tremendously. He was a perfect heel that went over a year without getting his shoulders pinned.

Kevin Owens

Kevin Steen was an incredible independent talent. He stormed into every territory he could as one of the best heels around. He was great on the stick and would spit wicked truth to anyone brave enough to stand across from him.

This was an immense talent that carried him to WWE, where Kevin Owens would become a star. His heel talents were on full display in WWE, but he was more than just a great talker. He could back up his words in the ring.

There is no greater wrestler at telling a story than Kevin Owens, and he would prove that on a nightly basis. What also made Owens a tremendous heel was that he had no problem turning on anyone. He was not a man you could trust, and he would get vicious in his betrayal.

He was as ruthless as any heel that has stepped into WWE.