The Best Heels (Currently) in WWE and AEW

With all the San Diego-Comic Con aftermath (and everyone still snikt’ing seats for Deadpool & Wolverine), I thought I’d keep it sleazy-peasy this time and work up a quick and dirty list of the best heels in AEW and WWE.

There’ll be plenty of time to explore the SummerSlam card next week and then the All In lineup after that, so let’s dive into the devious end of the pool and pull up the talented performers who’ve been killing it as baddies on TV this year so far.

Last week was AEW’s Blood & Guts Dynamite, filled with thumbtacks, barbed wire, staples, freakin’ scissors, the threat of immolation, and death-defying (reaper-rebeling?) table spots. There was a heck of a lot of brutality and it was a ton of fun, though after that match -- and both the Rhodes/Styles - Copeland/Christian “I Quit” matches -- I’d love to see a plain and simple “quit” from someone. Not someone giving up because of the threat of worse pain. It works, sure, but it feels like there’ve been too many of them in a row. Just have Jack Perry quit after that unprotected chair shot to the face. I mean, his brain probably did.

Anyhow, villains are awesome. Villains are life. And here are the six best sinister Snidely Whiplashes from the “Big Two.” Yeah, we’re picking three from each here…

AEW

Adam Page

tfw your neck hurts and you're pointing and you have a mustache

The once “Anxious Millennial Cowboy” is now a bastion of unbridled Page rage. It's a big deal that even his cohorts in The Elite can barely control him, as seen in this week’s Blood & Guts, but you don't have to look further than his change in entrance theme. What was arguably AEW’s best, soaring ramp track has now become a boring dirge befitting a brute. Page began his heel turn during the tail end of his spring fling with Swerve Strickland, and how that he’s back he’s “no quips, just fists.” Just a mean man doing mean man things.

Christian Cage

"You're Abe Froman? The Sausage King of Chicago?"

Swerve vs. Page felt like a natural fit for Double or Nothing, the big show after Swerve’s big world title win. But they’ve smartly held it off for later, with Page taking a powder and recently coming back with a psychotic sheen.

So who did they use to quickly fill the spot? Veteran villain Christian Cage, who is just constantly one of the top nogoodniks in the entire industry. Cage and his oft-uncomfortable Patriarchy shtick comes with instant heat and he can deliver a magnificent match with anyone in the industry. He’s not a cult leader, like we’ve seen with the Wyatts or Dark Order, but his insistence that he’s everyone's “Father” is juuust wrong enough to make you taste onions when you haven’t eaten onions. And now that he and his “family” have gold once more, he’ll continue be awesomely insufferable.

MJF

"In Long Island it's just called an Iced Tea!"

I mean, come on.

Granted, if this were just a few weeks ago, before his decimation of Daniel Garcia, "The Devil" wouldn’t have popped on here. Fortunately, it takes very little time for MJF to heat-seek his way to the top of the heel charts as he’s one of the absolute best worst people that’s ever gotten on the mic and called thousands of people “dumb/fat/poor.” Like Logan Paul, his in-ring talent only adds salt to the wound because no one likes it when arrogant jerks also have the skills to back up their dickhead braggadocio. But yeah, whenever MJF is a heel he’s AEW’s top heel.

There's certainly a debate to be had though if turning the International Championship into the American Championship was a babyface move or not.

Honorable Mention: Chris Jericho, Mercedes Moné (with Kamille), The Young Bucks, Kris Statlander

WWE

Chad Gable

Low fog can mean two things: Monsters or Arby's.

There was a point after Chad Gable survived being murdered by the Wyatt Sicks that it seemed like he turned over a new leaf. Just happy to be alive, he tried to reconcile with his old comrades, only to be shunned. Thankfully, his gratitude vibe didn’t last long and he’s quickly rebounded into one of the smarmiest, slimiest s***stains WWE’s got in their ranks. He’s so loathsome that he’s turned the carnival of freaks that left a pile of innocent bodies backstage into default heroes. Yes, Uncle Howdy now gets a babyface pop because Gable is such a miserable punk. And with the Creed Brothers now by his side, he’s got more dastardly pupils to mold.

Liv Morgan

Though technically in the (wrestling) right for wanting revenge on Rhea Ripley for injuring her when Rhea was a heel, Liv Morgan returned to a jezebel’s welcome when she came back to find her righteous reckoning against a more-popular-than-ever Ripley. Accepting her default heelness, finding her inner pettiness, and adopting a scorched Earth policy as it pertains to Rhea, Liv’s absolutely owned the last three months of TV by vowing to take everything from her sidelined foe -- from the Women’s World Championship to “Daddy Dom” to the entire Judgement Day. In fact, the two best WWE feuds going right now have lasted months and have come about due to a major player being benched with a boo boo. The other being CM Punk vs…

…Drew McIntyre

Now, an argument could be made that Drew McIntyre is a tweener here. CM Punk has ruined his life so many times, and in quick succession, that there’s definitely some sympathy for McIntyre’s plight. And also, when you feud with Punk there will be detractors who root for the other guy. But all that said, Drew’s feud with Punk and his clever, scathing performance on the mic, particularly in promos with Punk, have showcased just what a truly incredible talent he is and how dark and dastardly he can naturally become. Punk vs. McIntyre, with no title on the line, is basically now the main event of SummerSlam and it’s largely due to Drew’s viciousness and venom.

Honorable Mention: Solo Sikoa, Logan Paul, Gunther, Tiffany Stratton