What if the top guy in the company was a heel?

[Hanley!]

We're all used to thinking about the top guy in WWE being a face. Because that's the way they've always done it. Sammartino, Hogan, Hart, Michaels, Austin, Rock, Cena ... all of these guys were face during their runs as the top name in the WWE. That's the formula that they've always run with.

But it's not the way things have always been done in other companies. Most notably, Ric Flair was a very effective top heel in the NWA back during his prime. He was the most recognisable name in the company, and the shows were based around him more than anybody else. Yet he was a bad guy.

Do you think there would be any merit to WWE changing their usual approach and pushing an awesome heel to be their primary figure over the next few years? Or would that kind of dynamic not work anymore?

[SlightlyJames]

I imagine it would be like Evolution era Raw with Triple H as the guy. You could also make an argument for that being the case for the last year with Brock, though he appears to have turned now. I'm for the idea, if there's a guy they want to put up there and he works best as a heel it'd be an interesting way of doing things.

[Westcoastvibes]

I have always considered the top guy in wwe whoever makes them the most money, merchandise, tickets, PPV's.

In my eyes, i cant see wwe pushing a heel harder than the guy who sells shit for them.

[Str8Shooter]

Yeah my first thought was that Brock did this for the better part of the past couple years. But he wasn't around a lot to really be the go-to guy. He was as close as you'll get to a heel "face" of the company. I think with merchandising being a lot bigger now than it was in the 80's and 90's, they want and maybe even need a face in that spot to bring in the bucks.

[Hanley!]

When you think about it though, the top guy being a heel seems to work out great in other fighting promotions. Floyd Mayweather is the boxer that sells the most by a long way. Brock Lesnar and now Conor McGregor became two of the biggest stars in the UFC by acting like cunts. What's to say this kind of strategy couldn't work in today's wrestling?

[War Daddy]

I thought this was Seth Rollins?