Heel
Villain
Example
I enjoyed The Rock best when he was a heel
A total heel move
Related Slang
| WWE | World Wrestling Entertainment |
| NWO | New World Order |
| Put over | Make someone look good |
| Cut a promo | Stage a promotional interview |
| Stay in your lane | Stick to what you're good at |
| GOAT | Greatest of all time |
| Face | Hero |
| Tweener | A wrestler who is neither hero nor villain |
| Kayfabe | Pretending something fake is real |
| Work | A scripted event |
| Shoot | An unscripted event |
| Mark | A fan who believes pro wrestling is real |
How well do you know your texting slang?
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain. Heel wrestlers are portrayed as immoral, dishonest, and sometimes even psychotic characters, who are typically opposed by a face.
Because professional wrestling is as much a soap opera as a sport, wrestlers are required to portray larger-than-life characters. Typically, wrestlers act as either a face (a wrestler an audience is supposed to love) or a heel (a wrestler an audience is supposed to love to hate). Whether they're a face or a heel, each wrestler is attempting to get over with audiences, securing their spot in pro wrestling's overarching narrative.
Many wrestlers alternate between being a face or a heel at various points throughout their careers. For example, The Big Show, who has been wrestling for 25 years, turns face or heel roughly 1.5 times per year.