Mallory's Thoughts on Heels: Randy Orton, King William of Regal, Batista
By Mallory Mahling
I was delighted to see the Arrogant Age of Orton come to an end at Sunday's pay-per-view. Despite what he thinks of himself, I find Randy Orton to be a Johnny One Note--angry, always angry. To me, angry isn't entertaining. Vulnerability is. If a heel wants to succeed, he (or she) needs to connect with the fans and show a softer side, too. The heels I've liked best have all let a little of themselves show through their heelish veneers. For example, Triple H was an angry young man in his early WWE days as the uppercrust Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Nonetheless, he proved that he was not a one-dimensional character and over the years he has become extremely well-rounded. He can be funny or dramatic or vulnerable; a heel or a face. While I wasn't a fan at first, I am now. Look at the welcome Triple H received at Monday night's Raw. It went on and on--until Randy Orton came out and rained on his parade and demanded a rematch. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who uttered an "Ugh" at that. The Age of Orton was finally over and here he was wanting to move on to the Age of Orton, v2. The Undertaker has played the same role for all of his years with WWE, but it never gets boring. Some years he's a heel. Some years not so much. Other years he's menacing and evil. It all works because he has connected with the fans and they love him no matter the degree of heel he's portraying. King William of Regal is another heel who has successfully connected with the fans. Back in his WCW days, he and (recently released) David Taylor were quite the heelish team. (I never could figure out what good ol' Huntsville boy Bobby Eaton was doing teamed up with the snooty Brits, but it all seemed to work.) Once Regal was allowed to show some emotion--other than a sneer--I became a big fan. Another heel who started out as a Johnny One Note was Batista, but once he let a bit of himself shine through, I began to pay more attention. It's hard not to like Batista these days. But Orton never shows any dimension or any emotion other than varying degrees of mean and angry. Has a smile ever crossed his face? Geez, even the grumpiest among us takes joy in something. Lighten up, Randy. * * * Thanks for reading and see ya next week! Alphabetical Listing of Guests You Can Hear on ClubWWI.com : Aaron
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