15 Best Heels In WWE History, Ranked By Intelligence - TheSportster

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Menu Follow Followed Like Threads 4 More Action Sign in now John Cena Retires Close By Joey Haverford Updated Apr 14, 2025, 9:45 PM EDT Joey Haverford is a content writer for The Sportster that specializes in lists. Over a decade of experience writing digital content has led to a passion for focusing on pro wrestling with The Sportster for over eight years now. Other areas of writing history have included basketball, music, movies, television, and other various entertainment forms of pop culture. A strong attention to detail and a respect for wrestling history makes anything from the New Generation Era to modern wrestling a fun source of writing. His background of attending live shows goes back to the early 1990s where WWE Madison Square Garden shows made him fall in love with the industry. Hundreds of millions of unique views for content across all sites such as Screen Rant, Big Play sports, Ranker, and many others started his writing career. He does not anticipate ever reaching a point in life where pro wrestling isn’t one of his biggest passions. Writing professionally about such a joy is a huge source of pride. Sign in to your TheSportster account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread 4 Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

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• Heels continue to evolve as each era passes through and the industry continues to change. Fans expect the performers to have a grasp on reality and do intelligent actions like movie or television characters. Villains need to portray a level of intelligence unless they are meant to look foolish or lack credibility.

WWE has always been a wrestling company that has focused on good vs. evil. Throughout wrestling history, there have even been extremely evil characters, from dead men to demons to voodoo priests. However, the best heels in WWE history weren't over-the-top characters with gimmicks, but just regular men who do evil things.

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When there are good heroes, there will always be bad men to make the good guys look even better. The strongest heels in WWE history were people who did such despicable things that it was impossible to cheer them for being cool. The worst of the worst were the best heels because they really make fans hate them.

UPDATE: 2025/04/14 21:30 EST BY JOEY HAVERFORD

Heels continue to evolve as each era passes through and the industry continues to change. Fans expect the performers to have a grasp on reality and do intelligent actions like movie or television characters. Villains need to portray a level of intelligence unless they are meant to look foolish or lack credibility.

WWE has a history of outstanding heels using their brain to become even more hated in the confines of a storyline. Any great heel having such an impact deserves credit for leaving their mark in the company’s history. Each of the following wrestlers became tremendous heels known for showing their intelligence at a high level.

Heel run information comes courtesy of The SmackDown Hotel.

18 Bret Hart

Anti-American Heel Became Brilliant

Bret Hart's Heel Runs

August 29, 1984 - March 26, 1988

March 23, 1997 - November 8, 1997

April 1, 1998 - September 12, 1998

December 20, 1999 - October 20, 2000

The 1997 heel turn of Bret Hart made him an even better performer due to how tapped into his character he was. Hart had tremendous rivalries against Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels that often featured him out-smarting others.

The final WWE Championship victory for Bret came against Undertaker due to manipulating Michaels into hitting Undertaker with a steel chair. Hart felt even more intelligent as a heel by being one step ahead of the rest.

17 Owen Hart

Tricked His Own Mother As A Heel

Owen Hart's Heel Runs

January 22, 1994 - December 6, 1997

April 27, 1998 - May 23, 1999

The jealous younger brother story of Owen Hart becoming a heel led to him reaching new heights. WWE told a great story of the brother rivalry leading to some superb matches between Bret and Owen for bragging rights after things got extremely personal.

Owen was so smart in an evil manner that he used his own tears to make his mother throw in the towel and cost Bret his title against Bob Backlund. Most of Owen’s run featured him playing a smart heel that stole Slammy Awards and won multiple titles.

16 Bobby Heenan

Literally Had Nickname Of “The Brain”

Bobby Heenan's Heel Runs

January 1, 1965 - April 1, 2001

WWE hiring Bobby Heenan made him an extremely valuable asset as both a manager and a commentator. The managing skills of Heenan saw him as the missing piece to help names like Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, and Andre the Giant become champions in WWE.

Everyone loved “The Brain” moniker since it sold Heenan’s wit and sharp talking skills while running down faces. Even the commentary stint of Heenan featured him having smart moments questioning the ethics of Hulk Hogan during his questionable face moments.

15 Chris Jericho

Played A Variety Of Heel Roles Over The Years

via IMAGN Image Services

Chris Jericho's Heel Runs
January 24, 1998 - December 11, 1999
November 18, 2001 - February 28, 2004
June 13, 2005 - August 25, 2005
June 9, 2008 - July 15, 2012
March 17, 2016 - March 4, 2017
November 6, 2017 - March 9, 2021
March 9, 2022 - August 15, 2023
April 24, 2024 - present

Chris Jericho was a diverse heel, at times being a sniveling, condescending, suit-wearing world champion, or else being a cocky, witty clown, both of which showed his intelligence inside and outside the ring.

He was always able to get under the skin of opponents, dictate the correct time to strike, and use underhanded tactics to win a huge amount of gold during his WWE run, becoming a multi-time world champion, and the most successful Intercontinental Champion of all time.

14 The Rock

Knew How To Be A Star While Being A Bad Guy

via IMAGN Image Services

The Rock's Heel Runs
August 11, 1997 - October 11, 1998
November 15, 1998 - April 24, 1999
January 30, 2003 - December 7, 2003
February 8, 2024 - present

Whilst The Rock is the biggest face in any and every arena he steps into in the present day, he wouldn’t have got there without his heel runs, which turned him into a star. The Rock’s ability on the mic showcased his smarts, knowing how to make himself marketable even as a heel, forcing his catchphrases into the ears of fans who didn’t want to listen.

He is one of the more quick-witted superstars to ever step foot in the ring, hitting back with one-liners, showing his ability to always be one step ahead of the audience. He aligned himself with the right people at the right times to become one of the greatest and most recognizable world champions of all time. His heel run in 2024 has only proven once again how smart he can be as a bad guy.

The Rock’s recent heel run in WWE has led to more moments portraying him as a smart villain. Fans were confused about Rock trying to make Cody Rhodes sell his soul to align with him, but the payoff revealed John Cena was the one he convinced to turn heel.

Rock pulling the strings helped turn a beloved face heel and show his master plan to further torment Rhodes. The eventual in-ring return of Rock may see him at his most hated by having his first big singles match against Cody as the “Final Boss.”

13 JBL

"The Wrestling God" Was One Of The Most Intelligent Heels

JBL's Heel Runs
December 19, 1995 - August 9, 1999
March 18, 2004 - July 31, 2014
October 17, 2022 - February 6, 2023

Following his APA days, JBL developed into a New York businessman, riding to the ring in a limo, showing off his wealth. His lengthy and historic WWE Championship on Smackdown was evidence of how he managed to outmaneuver and outwit a large number of challengers, including the likes of Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and The Undertaker. He retained his cocky persona, and rightfully so, with an impressive title run.

12 Mr. Perfect

Perfect By Name, Perfect By Nature

Mr. Perfect's Heel Runs
May 2, 1987 - July 28, 1988
October 1, 1988 - November 15, 1991
March 20, 1994 - June 29, 1997
July 13, 1997 - February 10, 2002

The intelligence of Mr. Perfect spread into his abilities inside the four ropes, using technical brilliance to get the upper hand on opponents, and proving his right to use the name ‘Mr. Perfect’. His arrogance was felt hard on the way to becoming Intercontinental Champion.

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11 Paul Heyman

Sided With The Biggest Heels As A Manager

Paul Heyman's Heel Runs
March 5, 2001 - May 28, 2006
May 7, 2012 - January 2, 2022
January 30, 2022 - present

Whilst not being an in-ring competitor, Heyman has to be one of the first names to come to mind when thinking about brains in WWE. He was the mastermind behind Brock Lesnar’s rise to dominance, and backed one of the greatest title runs in history, at the side of Roman Reigns. Though sometimes it doesn't always work out perfectly, Heyman usually helps elevate the top stars he is aligned with.

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He always weasels his way out of trouble, siding with the victors, not afraid to turn on friends to benefit his best interests. His way with words and ability to manipulate and invade the minds of rivals is masterful, and no one should forget the spoiler he gave regarding The Undertaker’s streak, because he was most certainly right about that one.

10 Roman Reigns

The Bloodline Ruled Over WWE

Roman Reigns' Heel Runs
October 31, 2012 - March 16, 2014
August 28, 2020 - August 3, 2024

Roman Reigns was a babyface that fans hated. WWE put Reigns into main event matches at WrestleMania and had him beat some of the best up-and-coming stars in the company. Fans booed him, and WWE kept pushing him as a babyface.

Finally, during the pandemic, WWE turned Roman heel and put him with Paul Heyman. Roman then tortured his own cousin, forcing him to come to Roman's side, and has run all over every babyface on SmackDown. Fans finally hated Roman Reigns for the right reasons. As the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, he became the complete heel package and went on the best run of his career.

One of the best signs of Roman Reigns’ outstanding heel work was the emotional reaction by fans when Cody Rhodes ended his dominant title run. Reigns having a sadistic side saw his master plans harming Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and many allies of his.

Cody ending Roman’s reign led to the Tribal Chief returning as a face. Even though Reigns is technically a babyface now, he keeps his brilliant heel reputation going by still showing that cruel side that holds no sympathy or mercy.

9 Edge

He Took Shortcuts To Reach The Top

Edge's Heel Runs
June 22, 1998 - July 11, 1999
April 3, 2000 - June 23, 2001
September 1, 2004 - January 30, 2010
April 30, 2010 - October 3, 2010
February 28, 2022 - June 5, 2022

Edge was one of the best heels in WWE for a decade in the 2000s. He started as a tag team superstar with Christian and the two were underhanded, albeit comedic, heels while feuding with the Hardy Boyz. However, he was an even bigger heel when he became a solo star. From his reputation as the ultimate opportunist, winning the world title from John Cena after an Elimination Chamber match to his days with Lita and Vickie Guerrero, he won 11 world titles, always cheating, and fans loved to hate him.

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