How does a Face get love?

[Graveler]

It's easier to generate heat as a heel than to get a pop as a face. As a whole, the heels today seem to be more interesting to the fans. Some of the faces don't even sound like they get any reaction. So I ask, how do you get the crowds more emotionally invested in the faces?

[Troelar]

Hmm...

I guess the problem is twofold. First off, you gotta have heels that the crowds hate. That makes it a lot easier - take Vicky. Anyone interrupting her his bound for some love :) Of course a good face can have a good effect on a heel. Anyone interrupting or attacking Mysterio finds that out.
Secondly, and this is hard, you need to strike a chord with the fans. Somehow identify things that speak to them. As a heel it's easier, cause you can just insult the shit out of them, but a face seems to have a harder time. You can't just be all goody (we have Cena for that I guess), but you can't technically be evil (even if it's sometimes pulled off nicely). Guess a good face is someone who can portray themselves as a regular kind of guy, yet still has a mostly good personality.

I think maybe it has become more heel fixated in general, since no face can match or come close to Cena, you just produce lots of heels to get heat off of Cena and then transfer that to whoever you want to be a face...

[KIRA]

I hate to use Kofi as an example again but hes really good at it so I have to (great question btw) Hes an all around face he comes off as an everyman who is ok on the mic. What sets him apart IMO is that unlike Cena (whos all around good-guy persona persists throughout) he has an evil streak to his character that is to say when he loses his temper he becomes incredibly violent and that makes him even more identifiable as its humane to have a breaking point.

[TheChamp]

I can think of a few ways.

1.Feud with a good heel. A good heel can piss the crowd off to the point that they wanna get in there themselves and take care of business. Seeing someone else do it (and do it effectively) will get the crowd behind them.


2.Get Injured. Look a HHH when he tore his quad in ’01. He was one of the most hated men in wrestling when he left. The crowd seemed to get behind his work ethic when he was preparing for his return. His return in MSG got a huge pop.
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3.Outshine your opponent. Morrison, Kofi, Styles, Jeff Hardy, and others of the like can do things in the ring few others can. They’re innovative, and the crowds like that.
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4.WRESTLE! No 4-min chinlocks or a punch-kick fest. Get in the ring and perform. Daniel Bryan got his job back because of the love he got because he WRESTLED!
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[Sixx]

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[RiX1024]

Being an absolute kiss-ass outside the ring.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You really need people to invest in you. Being a heel is easier, because you just need to make people want to kick your ass. The tricky thing about being a babyface is making people want to see you kick ass. There are so many ways to go about this.

Randy Orton has pretty much bottled a good character for himself. He's remorseless, he's vicious, he's cruel, and he's not flashy -- hell, he's kind of boring -- but you know what you are getting with him. He's honest with the fans, in the sense that he makes no apologies for who he is, and if you piss him off, he'll shorten your career with a punt to the head.

Kofi Kingston is great at mounting face support, because he's so passionate. He refuses to be walked over, but he's good a natural love and appreciation for life. He's your "plucky" babyface with a backbone.

John Morrison has really started to get people behind him because he's just...inhuman. You know you're going to get something special from John Morrison each time he enters an arena (for a big match, anyway).

Rey Mysterio is sympathetic. A lot of what he is has come from conditioning, I believe, because situations have led him to being money. But there is no doubt the guy is over, despite not really being a whiz on the mic. In the ring, Rey can get beat up, but can still win the big one. He's "Hope" embodied, in a way.

Now, it all depends on the situation, but I think being an effective face starts with knowing your character, knowing why people should trust you (they are paying to see you, so they must want something out of you), and working out ways you can deliver that with your performance.

If I were Chris Masters, for example, I would look at what I have to offer people. I think he'd best fall under the "bad-ass" face category. He's a big dude, who has a submission finisher that has been built as lethal. Masters should consider carrying himself like a killer. Not a Randy Orton clone, but a guy who can give a sly smile when he knows he has someone at the mercy of his power. People will begin to see him as a sure pick. You build momentum through this, and eventually you have a fanbase.

[Grablot]

I think another thing that helps is having a funny attitude and having a fast mouth so u can fire off back in promos fast and be funny and sounds real. Like Morrisson tries to be funny but cuz he is so slow it usually falls flat.