Post by saintegenevieve on Dec 6, 2022 16:41:49 GMT -5
Flair was a much better face. I thought he was an above average heel on his very best day. He's dastardly but only insofar as he's amusing to watch. I never took him as dangerous. A lot of casuals think the same way
Bret Hart was a way better heel than face. As a face, he lacked a lot of fire.
Hulk Hogan balanced the two face aspects probably better than anyone I've ever seen. He could send people home happy going against someone like Honky Tonk Man and still sell that he was vulnerable. He could have done both as a heel. I think his age in WCW, being an old guy well past his prime, has his heel work below his face work. In his prime, Hogan would have been an awesome heel
Mr. Perfect was overrated in all departments. I think why people push him hard is that he was likable. He was probably a better face than heel in theory, since his face work happened when he was past his prime (drugs mainly). As a heel, his offense was weak and his finisher stupid for what the audience expected. Though he was dastardly at points, I never thought his stuff was over the top enough to be enraging. Probably the most overrated worker of the last 40 years
Savage was a better face. Because of Savage's size, I think he looked less dangerous than he should have since he'd bump a lot. I think his style was never unhinged enough for what he was doing as a character. His face work conveyed a lot of vulnerability. Without Elizabeth from 1985-1992, he would have struggled to be a star. Elizabeth was a great foil to draw out his inner psychopath up until 1987. He couldn't really do the same with a harlot character like Queen Sherri.
Demolition was a much better face team.
Undertaker had a lot of fire as a face and had great timing when doing it
I do agree with you that Hogan seemed to do both heel and face the best. When he was the immortal Hulk Hogan, he was the most over guy in the business, and when he was Hollywood Hogan, he was the most despised guy in the business.
I would also say that Savage did a great job as both a heel and a face.
Definitely. I wouldn't expect many to agree. My view is admittedly in the minority. I think Perfect's rep stems from being the cool guy everyone would want to be friends with, like what you'd find in a high school scene. That blinds people about his deficiencies. He was the classic over-actor for a wrestler. He got a pass for that. But should I be seeing him land hard on his shoulder when the Red Rooster is kicking his leg and Hennig is doing flip bumps? Since wrestling works from cooperation and it's inherently mercenary, insiders think Hennig doing that is "getting someone over." From my vantage point, I'm thinking "Why is he getting beat up by this loser?" That matters because heels need credibility against main event acts. I think Flair had the same problems but Flair was overall a much better worker since he tied his slapstick, Three Stooges routine to his character work. Hennig never really did
As a heel, his offense never looked vicious. I think his best move was his snap mare. And no one's going to get beat by that since it's a transitional move into a rest hold
I think he benefits a lot from hype and the martyrdom complex inherent to wrestling. Fact is he got hurt in his prime (because he took stupid, unnecessary bumps for naught) and he was hyped as a big deal by the WWF Machine for all the brief or aborted comebacks he did
I think he would have been a much better face in his prime. After 1991, he wasn't the same that he used to be.
