The traditional babyface vs. heel storyline setup isn’t as common in pro wrestling nowadays, and Jonathan Gresham for one blames WWE.
Gresham was recently questioned by WrestlePurists why he prefers to fight a slower, technical style rather than the aerial moves he has previously employed on the indies. Gresham responded by explaining why many current wrestlers and promoters had forgotten the original function of a heel.
“I’m kind of antique in the sense that I feel a heel and face should exist,” Gresham stated emphatically. “I feel that as a heel, your goal is to ensure that the face is defeated; you should never compete with the face for pops.” That’s how I envision a heel against face match, so why would I do moonsaults and shooting star presses if I’m facing a man who isn’t as athletic as me? It’s almost as though I’m outshining him right now. When you tell me I’m a heel, I have this mental block that says I can’t do these [high-flying] things, but then I watch wrestling shows and see heels doing very fantastic stuff. Yes, they’re no longer heels since they’re getting pops and ‘oohs and aahs.’
“In my perspective, the heel’s responsibility is to take away what the audience wants to see, you know what I mean?” So, when the face begins to move and roll, the heel does something crafty to halt it. I believe my decision to employ technical wrestling to down the pace is because I am a heel. People prefer to see things accelerate rather than slow down. So if I constantly shift gears and slow down, they’ll support the face, bringing him over even more. That’s my theory, but I’m curious whether the promoters are genuinely listening to the audience. Or are they recognising that this individual knows how to be a jerk?”
Gresham continued, “Because now, wrestling has changed so much – I think that was something WWE stated where it’s like people aren’t always good and aren’t always bad.” That messed up everything. Things changed after that. That [kind of narrative] can be done with a couple of people, but there must be both good and terrible characters. In every successful Disney film, there is always a villain and a nice guy. Now, most wrestling is face-to-face, and everything is pop, pop, pop.”
