The top ten WWE heels in the past 10 years

(taken from bleacherreport.com)

The Attitude Era saw so many great heels rise to the top of the pro wrestling world. After the WWE/WCW tension died down, pro wrestling lost some of its momentum. Actually, it lost quite a bit and still is not even close to pulling the ratings it did during the Attitude Era.

The edgy pro wrestling of the Attitude Era was gone, and the heels were not as over as they once were. Probably due to the fact that they were doing things on TV that, compared to what they did in the Attitude Era, was being a saint.

That, however, is not to say that there were no successful heels since the Attitude Era, there were quite a few, and in this article, we'll look at the 10 greatest.

10. Batista

Batista didn't spend a ton of his main event career as a heel, however the last months of his WWE tenure were by far his best. WWE is probably kicking themselves for not having Batista turn heel sooner. He made an alright face, but there is absolutely no doubt that he was a better heel. And, at that, one of the best heels since the Attitude Era.

9. Michael Cole

Michael Cole should be higher on this list, and probably would do the number one spot justice, but since he is not a wrestler (not including his sure-to-stink WrestleMania match), I put in slot number 9. Even before he official adapted his current heel character, the fans would always boo Cole at live events. He's just unbelievably easy to hate.

8. Vickie Guerrerro

Vickie also should be higher up on this countdown, but we'll save the high spots for actual wrestlers. When Vickie first appeared on WWE TV, a lot of people just didn't get it. Why was she even there? Then she started her love affair with Edge and it began. From that point forward, she has been the most hated person in all of pro wrestling, period.

7. Eddie Guerrerro

In 2005, Eddie became the most hated heel in WWE. It may be hard to remember, as in November of that very year he passed from heart failure, but that was the year Eddie was absolutely owning WWE TV. There was not a single pro wrestler more hated than Eddie. Just before his death, he has turned face, and fans wondered why WWE would have done that after such an amazing heel run. Unlike Chris Jericho or Edge, Eddie could play a face or a heel, both perfectly.

6. HHH

We all know him now as a super-face, not receiving any boos from the crowd when he come out, but not too long ago, Triple H was a hated heel. Triple H also can play both a face and heel, however most people wouldn't argue the fact that he makes a much better heel than face.

Hopefully he'll have one last heel run before he retires.

5. Muhammad Hassan

WWE took on some heat for debuting the Hassan character, but it did exactly what they hoped it would. Drew extreme amounts of the heat from the crowd. Extreme amounts. Like Vickie Guerrero on her best day, times 100. We may not ever see someone who draws as much heat as Hassan did, ever. The reason he's not higher up on the list is simply because he has a short-lived WWE career.

4. CM Punk

CM Punk was born to be a heel, and we may never see a face CM Punk on WWE TV again. WWE didn't even have to overhaul his already existing "straightedge" gimmick, they just put a new twist on it. He would, and still does, come out and simply tell the fans he is better than them because he is "clean", and it worked.

3. Randy Orton

Randy Orton was an amazing heel. The heat he would draw from the crowd was just insane. Over time, fans started to cheer him, and WWE embraced this and turned him face, but in the not-so-far-away future, WWE may pull a swerve and restore Orton back to his original heel character. While Orton makes a great face, the way he talks on the mic, and his demeanor just scream, "I'm a heel."

2. Edge

During his tag team days with Christian, no one really singled out Edge as the next big thing. That was because he has a goofy gimmick that had a perfect place in the mid-card tag team division. Then he went singles and turned heel and skyrocketed. Since the first Money in the Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 21, Edge has the the premier heel in WWE. That was until last year when WWE turned him face. Bad move, WWE, bad move. Releasing their error, they gave Edge back his heel character to feud with Randy Orton in the Summer of 2010. Then, after a small run as a heel, they turned him face. Still a bad move, WWE, still a bad move. Sure, he is a fun face, but Edge should always be a heel.

1. Chris Jericho


Was there ever any real doubt as to who the biggest heel would be? It's Chris Jericho by a mile. He makes a great face, also, but being a heel is where he excels and separates himself from the rest of the main eventers. He would come out in the suit and just get under the fans' skin like no one else.

Let's hope Jericho returns to WWE soon, as the main event scene could really use another heel right now..

Surely JBL deserves a place in the top 10, or maybe angle?

It could be just me but I don't recall Eddie Guerrero being the most hated wrestler around in 2005. The general feeling I got with Eddie's turn back then is that the fans didn't want him to be a heel and were waiting for an excuse to cheer him. The whole angle with Dominik was just flat out BAD as well.

10 - Kennedy
9 - Hassan
8 - CM Punk
7 - Angle
6 - Orton
5 - The Miz
4 - Chris Jericho
3 - JBL
2 - Edge
1 - HHH

I would say that Triple H has to be number one due to the heat surrounding the McMahon/Helmsley storyline around 2000... it was a great one. Also Edge for the real life heat over Lita and Matt Hardy.

Personally I'd have put HHH at number 1. I remember a time (I think It was early millennium) when he was truly loathed. A specific Smackdown segment will always stick in my mind where he smashed William Regal with a sledgehammer and continued the assault as Regal lay screaming strapped to a stretcher with the EMT's laid out. Good viewing.

Yeah i'm not the biggest Triple H fan but I personally can't think of a bigger heel in the last 10 years

HHH should be higher in my opinion but if it's just the past 10 years, can we really count his time in McMahon-Helmsley faction and subsequent Two Man power trip with Stone Cold as this finished when he got injured in May 2001.

I pretty much agree with the overall ranking, but like Mort, I do think HHH should be a wee bit higher...