A heel can make or break a feud or even a company. Their job is to infuriate the fans anyway they can, and that helps the face get over even more.
We’ve been lucky to see some of the best in history in Ric Flair, Freddie Blassie, Bobby Heenan, and Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Of course, one of the best, or even the best, is arguably Mr. McMahon.
During the WWE Attitude Era that ran from 1997 to 2001, the WWE had a dearth of main event heel characters after many went to WCW.
So, Vince stepped in an created an exaggeration of himself as owner of the WWE in Mr. McMahon and went head to head with Steve Austin.
Pushing the boundaries
It was arguably the best era in professional wrestling bar none because they pushed all kinds of boundaries without apologies and it was cutting edge and fresh at the time.
Vince talked about what the Attitude Era was like as well as becoming a heel character when he appeared on last week’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show.
What’s really cool beyond the nostalgia part is hearing his thoughts on playing a heel character.
“It was, again, just so much fun. It was like, you being able to do this as opposed to the standards of a network of, ‘no, you can’t do this and you can’t say that at all,’ you know? So, we were able to. And at that time, think about it, in the 90s, it was the wild west. So we added a little extra sauce on that and just had a blast.
“I had to become one if I’m going to be on screen. Especially with Steve, you know, that’s a blast. Funny thing is, I’m really Steve Austin. You know, that came pretty much in terms of the concept of it and knowing your boss, this, that, and the other. I get that because that’s the way it was. I totally understood that underdog philosophy and your boss is an a—–e and things of that nature. I grew up that way, knowing that.”
“When you’re committing to a character, as I said before, you have to really get in. So you have to want people to really dislike you. I mean, you want people to honestly, really dislike you. I guess maybe it’s pretty easy for me to do sometimes. But when you are really into that character, you think of things that motivate people and when you — even lying from a standpoint, it’s like, people think I was lying when I said, ‘you don’t lie? Really, you? You don’t lie sometimes?’ You know, it’s like, come on; any number of lies you tell every day, little ones, sometimes they’re big ones and what have you, but nonetheless, it’s like things and topics like that, that people can relate and be able to mash the emotional buttons and to get a reaction like that. Man, that is a thrill.”
When it was all said and done, Mr. McMahon had as much to do with the WWE winning the Monday Night Wars as Steve Austin and the Rock as few could match his performance as a heel.
Despite the WWE’s current state, there’s no denying Vince’s genius over the years to amass the empire he has.
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