heel

professional wrestling

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Last updated

July 22, 2026

Quick Summary

In professional wrestling, a "heel" is a performer who plays the role of the antagonist or unsympathetic adversary in a staged match. These performers are essentially the "bad guys" in the narrative of a wrestling event, contrasting with the "babyfaces" or "good guys". The heel's role is to elicit negative reactions from the audience, creating drama and conflict within the match's storyline. This characterization is a fundamental aspect of professional wrestling's theatrical presentation.1

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2 Britannica Sources

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Dwayne Johnson
Wrestling
…The Rock, an unapologetic “heel” (“bad guy”). The turn led to increased popularity. The Rock engaged in a series of high-profile feuds with the biggest stars in the WWF and captured the first of several world championship titles in 1998.
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…The Rock, an unapologetic “heel” (“bad guy”). The turn led to increased popularity. The Rock engaged in a series of high-profile feuds with the biggest stars in the WWF and captured the first of several world championship titles in 1998.
Read More

Who were the Von Erich wrestling family?
Fritz Von Erich (1929–97)
…Erich fought as a “heel”: a villain who swears at crowds, cheats opponents, and serves as a match’s antagonist. Like other notable heels, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne (“The Rock”) Johnson, Von Erich became more popular than some of his “babyface” opponents. A “babyface,” or “face,” is…
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…Erich fought as a “heel”: a villain who swears at crowds, cheats opponents, and serves as a match’s antagonist. Like other notable heels, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne (“The Rock”) Johnson, Von Erich became more popular than some of his “babyface” opponents. A “babyface,” or “face,” is…
Read More