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| Article: |
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| Heel The World |
Luke Dormehl |
Why successful heel runs are far too rare in wrestling today
“I think I’m tired of coming ‘this close’” said a frustrated Batista, standing in the ring, his arm around best buddy Rey Mysterio, after being pinned by The Undertaker in the four-way World title match at Bragging Rights. “I think I’m tired of my best friend stabbing me in the back. Rey, I’m going to rip your head off.” And with that, Batista – who’s been one of WWE’s top faces for the best part of the last five years – damn near decapitated Mysterio with a high clothesline, threw him to the outside and administered a brutal beatdown on the 5’4” cruiserweight. As the boos rained down on him, it was official: Dave Batista had turned heel.
Even despite lengthy periods where he was out of action due to injury, there was no doubt that Batista's character had grown stale. Many fans audibly groaned when he was transferred to Smackdown in September of this year, injecting himself unnecessarily into what has undoubtedly become WWE’s strongest brand. Batista’s heel turn, however, has completely reinvigorated his character, offering fans a slew of fresh, previously unseen match-ups. Where the future of a Batista-led Smackdown once looked bleak, with inevitable matches against Chris Jericho and CM Punk (and who honestly saw either of them being booked to go over The Animal?) leading to an obvious months-long ‘face versus face’ clash with The Undertaker, things now look altogether more interesting.
Having decisively gone over Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series though, there are many potential paths he could take going forward. A series with John Morrison could raise the current Intercontinental champion to main event level; a match with Fit Finlay (whom Batista hugely admires in real life) could produce a stiff masterclass which would bring out the best in both men; bouts with R-Truth may have the makings of a nice midcard feud to test Truth’s credibility as a superstar further up the card. Batista could even give Kane his first worthwhile programme in a long time. But even if Dave’s heel turn does, in fact, wind up leading to the same match with The Undertaker (which we don’t doubt it will), the fact that Batista is now playing the fresh role of monster heel means the dynamic will be different. Naturally, it’s too early to say whether Batista’s heel turn will go down in the record books as a complete success but here at FSM Towers, this is certainly the most excited we’ve been about The Animal since his feud with Triple H way back in 2005.
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 49 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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