X-Pac Heat/Kayfabe Heat Is There Really A Differen

[chunkylover53]

Watching the Mayweather/Big Show fiasco really made me think that. The IWC defines X-pac heat as booing the performer not because the crowd is suppose to, but because of them being there. Wikipedia defines it as such

"The phrase "X-Pac heat" comes from the reaction that Sean Waltman's "X-Pac" character received in WWF/WWE during his later tenure with that company. Booing and loudly chanting "X-Pac sucks!" when X-Pac wrestled became something of a running joke for audiences who had no interest in seeing him in action. It was also common to see many in attendance get up and walk out of the arena area when matches featuring X-Pac began, presumably because it was deemed a good opportunity to visit the concession stand or restrooms, as there was little to no interest in the match."

Now, I know it ignores face/heel allignments and when faces get it gives the writers an oppurtunity to turn him heel. It worked wonders on The Rock. However when a heel gets it, how can you tell the fans hate him for the show's sake or because its personal(they don't know him personaly)?.

Real indicators of disinterest is going to the bathroom or the consessions during their matches, not reacting to them. John Cena may not be liked by some fans, but either way, he's getting a reaction, wheather its good or bad.

Some IWC fans give said performers X-pac heat. Triple H has been getting it in 2002/2003 and even bits of today. Why did he get it? Because he held on to the championship for long periods of time, banged the bosses daughter, and kept winning matches. Quite frankly those seem like excellent qualities in a heel.

The Miz also gets this supposed "X-pac heat". Why? Because he's annoying, which is part of his character.

I think the problem is, since we are more exposed to the business than your casual fan, we tend to appreaciate heels for playing the role well, as opposed to condeming them for their heelish acts. When there is a heel we don't like, we use that as "X-pac heat", when alot of the time, they are doing the job like JBL. Thinking a heel is cool or badass defeats the purpose, that's why The Rock and Stone Cold turned face, because fans were going against the grain.

This is where Floyd "Money" Mayweather comes in. He maybe potrayed as a face(or heel, I don't know anymore), but the way he acts is in no way something to cheer for. He acts like a big shot and throws his money around. He even brings a posse to make himself look cool. Big Show even pointed that out on RAW. So wheather he gets this "X-pac heat" is debatable.

I just hope I cleared things up.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

I don't think there's any way to 100% say for certain that someone causes an imaginary reaction created by people on the internet. Is "X-Pac Heat" real?

With that said, I don't think that's what Mayweather gets. X-Pac was a boring, obnoxious little turd. Mayweather is.....oh, wait....crap....

[samachine]

Miz doesn't get X-Pac heat. Miz gets heat because that's his character

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

samachine said:

Miz doesn't get X-Pac heat. Miz gets heat because that's his character

I dunno. It's hard for me to explain, but there are plenty of heels I like because they have good characters. Not nessecarily likeable, comedic heels like Edge and Christian (though I like them too) but like Ted DiBiase, for instance. You don't hate them because they suck, you "hate" them because of their character.

Miz I just hate, he's genuinely unlikeable in any way to me, just like X-Pac was. I don't want to see them do anything, not even lose, I just want them to go away.

[samachine]

godz said:

samachine said:

Miz doesn't get X-Pac heat. Miz gets heat because that's his character

I dunno. It's hard for me to explain, but there are plenty of heels I like because they have good characters. Not nessecarily likeable, comedic heels like Edge and Christian (though I like them too) but like Ted DiBiase, for instance. You don't hate them because they suck, you "hate" them because of their character.

Miz I just hate, he's genuinely unlikeable in any way to me, just like X-Pac was. I don't want to see them do anything, not even lose, I just want them to go away.

Isn't he doing his job then? Seriously, I feel like the heels that come out that people LIKE aren't doing their jobs as heels.

[shadowforce420]

samachine said:

godz said:

I dunno. It's hard for me to explain, but there are plenty of heels I like because they have good characters. Not nessecarily likeable, comedic heels like Edge and Christian (though I like them too) but like Ted DiBiase, for instance. You don't hate them because they suck, you "hate" them because of their character.

Miz I just hate, he's genuinely unlikeable in any way to me, just like X-Pac was. I don't want to see them do anything, not even lose, I just want them to go away.

Isn't he doing his job then? Seriously, I feel like the heels that come out that people LIKE aren't doing their jobs as heels.

Just hit the nail on the head. If the crowd is cheering the heel then he's not doing his job right.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

Nah you're missing my point. Like I said, its hard to explain. Back to my Ted DiBiase example, I hated him, but in the same way I'd hate a villain in a movie....I want to see him lose, but I know he's just playing a character.

Miz is a douchebag and I don't care what happens to him.

Again thats just my opinion, but to me, a good heel is someone I want to watch. Not nessecarily cheer.

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

I do think that X-Pac heat exists. There are cases where a character has overstayed his welcome or whatever, and fans just groan and roll their eyes whenever his music hits.

Having said that, I think a lot of people throw around the term X-Pac heat WAY too much these days. Some smart fans do not like to admit that they hate a guy because he is in fact a good heel, so they will say it's X-Pac Heat. Keeping with the Miz example, a smart fan might prefer to say he has X-Pac Heat because then it's like "I hate Miz because *I* choose to hate him, and not because he made me hate him". It's a subconscious power thing.

[Johnny Danger (Godz)]

lenny said:

I do think that X-Pac heat exists. There are cases where a character has overstayed his welcome or whatever, and fans just groan and roll their eyes whenever his music hits.

Having said that, I think a lot of people throw around the term X-Pac heat WAY too much these days. Some smart fans do not like to admit that they hate a guy because he is in fact a good heel, so they will say it's X-Pac Heat. Keeping with the Miz example, a smart fan might prefer to say he has X-Pac Heat because then it's like "I hate Miz because *I* choose to hate him, and not because he made me hate him". It's a subconscious power thing.

I'm sure some people do that...the sad people who think their opinion on wrestling makes them better or somehow smarter than other fans who like things they dont, and believe me I have plenty of friends like that.....but guys like Miz, Orton, etc, I hated from day one, even if they were pushed as faces....whereas I enjoy people like Regal, Dreamer, Stevie, and want to see them main eventing.

So clearly the WWE is not being marketed to me. ;D

[shadowforce420]

godz said:

lenny said:

I do think that X-Pac heat exists. There are cases where a character has overstayed his welcome or whatever, and fans just groan and roll their eyes whenever his music hits.

Having said that, I think a lot of people throw around the term X-Pac heat WAY too much these days. Some smart fans do not like to admit that they hate a guy because he is in fact a good heel, so they will say it's X-Pac Heat. Keeping with the Miz example, a smart fan might prefer to say he has X-Pac Heat because then it's like "I hate Miz because *I* choose to hate him, and not because he made me hate him". It's a subconscious power thing.

I'm sure some people do that...the sad people who think their opinion on wrestling makes them better or somehow smarter than other fans who like things they dont, and believe me I have plenty of friends like that.....but guys like Miz, Orton, etc, I hated from day one, even if they were pushed as faces....whereas I enjoy people like Regal, Dreamer, Stevie, and want to see them main eventing.

So clearly the WWE is not being marketed to me. ;D

I get what you're saying, my cousin and I talked about something similar to this last week. Using the Miz example, you give him X-Pac heat but I don't think that alot of people do, I think he just gets alot of heel heat, when the crowd cares enough to react anyway. Only my opinion though.

[Bo Rida]

I think that as so many heels are cheered the WWE are moving towards heels you hate in real life.

[chunkylover53]

sidesalad said:

I think that as so many heels are cheered the WWE are moving towards heels you hate in real life.

Hate in real life/hate because of the show, is there any difference? Classie Freddie Blassie and Sgt. Slaughter got death threats stemming from their characters. I guess some people took their characters way too seriously.

[Deleted]

X-pac heat is the new heat.

Anytime a heel is badass or says cool catchphrases he'll start getting cheered.

The only way to keep a guy heel, is to make him somewhat bland and boring.

[TheMediocreWarrior]

I don't think there is X-Pac Heat the way people think of it. Real X-Pac Heat, where people don't want to see the guy, is Conway Heat, or lack of heat. If people are sick of a guy they just won't react. X-Pac and Miz are both annoying little craps, so they get booed. That means they are doing their job.

Mayweather gets boos because he's acting like a heel, regardless of whether or not he's supposed to be the face. He's acting like an arrogant jerk, which makes him a heel.

[chunkylover53]

hulkamania85 said:

I don't think there is X-Pac Heat the way people think of it. Real X-Pac Heat, where people don't want to see the guy, is Conway Heat, or lack of heat. If people are sick of a guy they just won't react. X-Pac and Miz are both annoying little craps, so they get booed. That means they are doing their job.

That's the way I see it. And for viewers at home they can change the channel.

[wrestlecrapcrap]

I don't think X-Pac Heat exists at all. I have friends that until I tried to school them on why they were being so stupid, kept saying to me, 'but JBL/Kennedy are just so ANNOYING', 'all he does is say his name', or 'all he does is say how good he is'. That's kind of the point though, just because they aren't cool heels it doesn't mean they aren't good heels.

Put it this way, by taking it to the extreme. If the guy you were giving 'X-Pac Heat' to was the champion, and someone (doesn't have to be your favourite face) won the belt off of him in the main event title match on a PPV, would you mark? I bet you would, because FINALLY that guy you just hate has been dethroned.

If someone likes to boo Ted Dibiase for example, but do it because they find him entertaining, then chances are that when the face beats him, you won't actually cheer for that face as much as you should, because, maybe even subconsciously, you will be dissapointed that this entertaining guy isn't going to be as much in the spotlight anymore. That isn't the idea though, the heels' job is to make the face get more love from the audience, so if he is getting more love, either through being cool or just being damn entertaining, then he won't be doing his job.

It's why guys like JBL are such good heels. He has absolutely no redeeming 'cool' features about him whatsoever. The only people that would like him would be fellow mega rich people or smarks who appreciate the art of a good heel. There is nothing about JBL that could make any casual, non rich fan want to cheer for him, and that's what makes him great.

[Jay Peas 42]

No, there's good heat and bad heat. Good heat is the kind that makes people pay money to see a heel get beat up, and bad heat makes people want to change the channel. X-Pac heat is the kind of bad heat where a guy becomes unwatchable, gets booed regardless of how he is booked. The problem is that X-Pac heat touchs annoying more than hatred. I don't hate Kenndy for making me sit through a 13 minute promo with a stupid hand-trolla, I find him annoying for it. Same with most of MVP's sideshow.

Mayweather's problem isn't X-Pac heat. It's crappy booking.

[Robbymac]

I don't think there is such thing as X-Pac heat. If the crowd cares enough to chant "Wrestler Sucks" or they care enough to boo then thats a good thing. Its dead silence that is true X-Pac Heat.

[wrestlecrapcrap]

jaypeas42 said:

No, there's good heat and bad heat. Good heat is the kind that makes people pay money to see a heel get beat up, and bad heat makes people want to change the channel. X-Pac heat is the kind of bad heat where a guy becomes unwatchable, gets booed regardless of how he is booked. The problem is that X-Pac heat touchs annoying more than hatred. I don't hate Kenndy for making me sit through a 13 minute promo with a stupid hand-trolla, I find him annoying for it. Same with most of MVP's sideshow.

Mayweather's problem isn't X-Pac heat. It's crappy booking.

I just don't buy that everyone who booed X-Pac booed him because they thoght 'BOOO! I CARE SO LITTLE ABOUT THIS GUY THAT I'M GOING TO GO OUT OF MY WAY TO TELL HIM ABOUT IT!' They obviously had some feeling towards him to even do that.

Real guys that make you change the channel are ones that are incapable of drawing a reaction. Nothing can make a match worse for me than when the crowd is dead. Kevin Thorn for example, is a guy that I neither loved, hated, or had any car for. I wouldn't even boo him. I wouldn't give him the supposed X-Pac heat, I'd just go for a leak, or change the channel. There was absolutely nothing to hate about him, and nothing to like. He wasn't even so boring that I hated him for that, as his gimmick would have been kind of interesting. It's just he was there, and I didn't care. People actually booed X-Pac though, so I think it's fair game to say some may have booed him because he was an annoying little crap, which is precisely what he should have been.

[Joekishi]

X-pac was a good heel, he was too good, that he kind of revelled in the hate.

I know people will say "go away heat", but during the height of "x-pac heat", the X-factor days he was putting on good match after good match with guys like Kidman, Helms, and Tajiri.

Really though, He just played a good heel who you wanted to punch in the face for being such a cocky jerk.

It's better to go out and have 99.9% of the crowd hate on you, than have the crowd give you the loudest bout of apathy.