Is Roman wwe’s most important heel of all time?

[ChitownKnight]

I can’t think of anyone in wwe history that is more important? Maybe Piper might compare but that was damn near 40 years ago. I think Roman has surpassed Triple H, Edge, Orton, and Brock considering he’s got a title reign going for over 2 years and maineventing what will probably be 3 manias

[Fade]

When it’s all said and done he’ll have a hell of a stake in that. First successful heel as “The Guy”.

[DiBiase is Good]

Andre maybe? His match with Hogan at WM3 is still possibly the biggest match ever and their rematch on The Main Event in 1988 drew an an insane TV rating.

[Nosnorb]

Nov 11, 2022 0:36:58 GMT -5 ChitownKnight said:

I can’t think of anyone in wwe history that is more important? Maybe Piper might compare but that was damn near 40 years ago. I think Roman has surpassed Triple H, Edge, Orton, and Brock

When The Rock was at his hottest as a face, Triple H was his longest and biggest drawing feud, and he also had a massive rivalry with Stone Cold. The Rock was the perfect foil for Stone Cold.

Sure, Reigns is important, but more important than Trips, Stone Cold or Edge, who had one of the greatest rivalries of all time with John Cena? I think not.

[Bo Rida]

It's though to tell given the theory that who is on top no longer matters*, the brand is the star and the TV and Saudi deal reduces the importance of one draw.
Suppose we'll see what happens once he's done but for now I think it's either Vince or hhh due to the time period they were important onscreen (naturally Vince is most important off-screen).

Also I'm assuming this is WWE only and not their purchases so no Flair and Hogan/NWO.


*Within reason, they can't Jinder it again.

[thehottag]

Mr McMahon is WWE's most important heel, as he gave a foil to Stone Cold.

[Banjo Is Broken]

It's a crime against humanity that we'll probably never get to see Roman Reigns vs. Ted Arcidi.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Nov 11, 2022 2:14:36 GMT -5 thehottag said:

Mr McMahon is WWE's most important heel, as he gave a foil to Stone Cold.

My immediate thought

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

Gorgeous George, Andre, Hollywood Hogan, and Vince are all above Roman.

[Mozenrath]

For an active wrestler at a given time? Maybe.

Mr. McMahon would win out if non-active wrestlers are counted, and Triple H at various points also probably warrants mention, as does Andre, but for longevity and how much of the product is focused on him, he's part of the conversation, certainly.

Brock at a few points, or maybe Kurt Angle, would also warrant mention, but Kurt was probably not on top long enough at any given time, and Brock's biggest period, he spent hardly active.

[Feyrhausen]

Nov 11, 2022 4:14:57 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

Gorgeous George, Andre, Hollywood Hogan, and Vince are all above Roman.

Gorgeous George was the defining gimmick wrestler.

Andre, Hogan, and Vince were top heels during wrestlings biggest boom periods. Maybe add Piper to this.

Roman is a heel pushed like a face during a time when wrestling is the most niche it had ever been. He may have the best kayfabe heel accolades but in real life he is way down the list.

[Mid-Carder]

Andre and Vince were the biggest opponents to the two biggest stars and thus helped with their ascents so it has to be those two. Roman would be near the top of the list though.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

it'll probably always be Vince. he was the perfect foil to Steve Austin that brought WWF/E the market dominance it has to this day.

[Deleted]

Nope that honor goes to Vince McMahon.

Roman does not have (although one could argue Brock) that one all encompassing rival that defines his legacy let alone an entire era...like Vince and Austin , Rock and Austin , Hogan and Andre.

Roman might be getting the push of a generation but he is IMO still nowhere in the realm of those above.

[polarbearpete]

Most important heel wrestler? I think he has a strong case for that. Triple H even when pushed as the guy never felt like the guy, he felt lesser than his contemporaries in Rock/Austin. Edge was a great foil for a few months with Cena but again, Edge was never really “the guy” as a heel.

Andre was crucial for the Mania 3 build but his time as a heel on top was extremely fleeting and the real story was Hogan overcoming the odds, whereas Roman is the focal point.

[SneakMan]

Nov 11, 2022 10:46:08 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

Most important heel wrestler? I think he has a strong case for that. Triple H even when pushed as the guy never felt like the guy, he felt lesser than his contemporaries in Rock/Austin. Edge was a great foil for a few months with Cena but again, Edge was never really “the guy” as a heel.

Andre was crucial for the Mania 3 build but his time as a heel on top was extremely fleeting and the real story was Hogan overcoming the odds, whereas Roman is the focal point.

I’d argue that from about 2002-2005 Triple H absolutely felt like the “main character” of WWE in the way that Austin and Rock did. That was part of the reason that run sucked so much (with some notable exceptions).

As for Roman, I don’t see it. The closest thing he’s had to an iconic rivalry was the Brock feud, and that was tainted by the fact that A. He was playing face against heel Brock for about half of it, and B. Out of the 6-7 singles matches they’ve had, only two of them have been any good. And while the rest of his run has seen Roman generally have good matches when they’re seen in a vacuum, none of the wrestlers he’s feuded with have benefited from working with him, with the possible exception of Jey Uso.

[polarbearpete]

Nov 11, 2022 11:06:01 GMT -5 SneakMan said:

Nov 11, 2022 10:46:08 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

Most important heel wrestler? I think he has a strong case for that. Triple H even when pushed as the guy never felt like the guy, he felt lesser than his contemporaries in Rock/Austin. Edge was a great foil for a few months with Cena but again, Edge was never really “the guy” as a heel.

Andre was crucial for the Mania 3 build but his time as a heel on top was extremely fleeting and the real story was Hogan overcoming the odds, whereas Roman is the focal point.

I’d argue that from about 2002-2005 Triple H absolutely felt like the “main character” of WWE in the way that Austin and Rock did. That was part of the reason that run sucked so much (with some notable exceptions).

As for Roman, I don’t see it. The closest thing he’s had to an iconic rivalry was the Brock feud, and that was tainted by the fact that A. He was playing face against heel Brock for about half of it, and B. Out of the 6-7 singles matches they’ve had, only two of them have been any good. And while the rest of his run has seen Roman generally have good matches when they’re seen in a vacuum, none of the wrestlers he’s feuded with have benefited from working with him, with the possible exception of Jey Uso.

I suppose Triple H was the main character for 2002-2005 though Rock and Austin were still there for parts of it. And Brock over on Smackdown seemed more important at times as well, whereas no one on Raw overshadows Reigns during this run. That run certainly wasn’t as critically acclaimed as this run is, with this run even getting Reigns/the Bloodline over as potential faces with the audience.

As for Reigns, I don’t think the gravitas or importance of his heel run really has much to do with having an iconic feud or seeing how many wrestlers benefitted.

I’d argue that he has had some great feuds/matches throughout the run as well, with the Brock/Heyman story, the Jey story early on, the Sami story now which is tremendous, great feud and matches with Bryan and Edge separately and apart, great match/moment with Drew, great match/story with Rollins at the Rumble, Cena and Mysterio matches, etc.

[Jindrak Mark]

Vince due to Montreal and the Austin feud which completely changed the whole industry and made them pull ahead of WCW and never look back.

If you don't count Vince because he's not an actual wrestler then HHH. He was the top heel during multiple eras including the hottest year in company history and has a bunch of all-time classic feuds as a heel v Rock/Foley/Austin/HBK/Batista. Roman hasn't had those iconic heel gets comeuppance moments yet like Backlash 2000/Vengeance 2005/WM 20/21/30. Also, art imitated life when the storyline with HHH and Stephanie getting together and taking over the company in late 1999 literally happened in real life. It's hard to get more important than that.

Roman has been great and very successful in the past 2 years but I think of him as more of a great top guy than a great top heel if that makes sense. He gets cheered half of the time and other than his gaslighting of Jey hasn't committed many dastardly heelish acts. Plus he doesn't even appear most weeks and the shows go on fine without him. Not just Smackdowns but whole PPVs. HIAC, MITB and ER were all sold out, well received shows and Roman wasn't advertised for any of them.

[SneakMan]

Nov 11, 2022 11:22:37 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

I suppose Triple H was the main character for 2002-2005 though Rock and Austin were still there for parts of it. And Brock over on Smackdown seemed more important at times as well, whereas no one on Raw overshadows Reigns during this run. That run certainly wasn’t as critically acclaimed as this run is, with this run even getting Reigns/the Bloodline over as potential faces with the audience.

As for Reigns, I don’t think the gravitas or importance of his heel run really has much to do with having an iconic feud or seeing how many wrestlers benefitted.

I’d argue that he has had some great feuds/matches throughout the run as well, with the Brock/Heyman story, the Jey story early on, the Sami story now which is tremendous, great feud and matches with Bryan and Edge separately and apart, great match/moment with Drew, great match/story with Rollins at the Rumble, Cena and Mysterio matches, etc.

Yeah Rock and Austin were still there but they were very much winding things down by that point - Rock had (if I recall correctly) only 3 or 4 more matches after putting over Brock, and Austin was flat out done by Mania 19.

Ultimately the Roman debate is gonna vary depending on what factors you're looking at. Roman's had mostly good-great matches, carries himself like a star and, for lack of a better term, simply feels like the biggest deal on the show - this is all pretty much objective truth. But I think it's also fairly objective to say that Roman's heel run has largely not succeeded in elevating anyone other than himself and his stable - pretty much everyone he's feuded with has needed some degree of rehab afterwards, be it an alignment change, a character revamp, or in a couple of cases they straight-up left the company. It's the same problem Triple H had but magnified tenfold.

Some can look at the good stuff that still remains good in a vacuum and focus strictly on that while others, like myself, are looking at the entire picture; I don't think either approach is right or wrong but I, personally, don't see Roman as the heel GOAT for that reason.

[Nosnorb]

Another name that should be mentioned in this discussion - Bobby Heenan. Managed two of the WM opponents for Hogan, managed many of the most important heels of the 80s and early 90s, was the heel color commentator and derided that coward Marty for jumping through the window to escape.