Pro wrestling is dominated by two kinds of characters: babyfaces (or "faces") and heels. The faces are supposed to endear themselves to the audience with their heroism and conventional charisma, while the heels are the villains. It's their duty to leer, brag, and cheat, giving the fans monsters they can love to hate. In both cases, it's not conventional acting, but it is hard work that requires remarkable athleticism and natural magnetism.
Given pro wrestling's history as a kind of violent soap opera, it's not really surprising that the heels sometimes seem like cartoons. They fulfill very similar roles to those inhabited by cartoon nemeses who also exist only to thwart animated heroes and their goals. It's a simple relationship, but simple doesn't mean one-dimensional. These cartoon baddies could bring a lot of complexity to their roles if they lost the pen-and-ink and entered the ring.
10 Disney's Gaston Is Vain, Cowardly, & Cruel In Turns
Beauty and the Beast's Gaston is the rare heel who doesn't think of himself as a good person but knows he looks like a hero. He has all the ingredients for amazing wrestling storylines. He's musclebound and intimidating, and a genuine threat. He's also a schemer, who'll rally the townsfolk to his side in an instant and condemn an innocent man to a mental hospital for his own vanity.
Best of all, though, Gaston is a contemptible coward. The second things go against him, he'll be on his knees, begging for his life. And if the faces spare him, he'll produce a 'foreign object' and plunge it into their backs.
9 Skeletor's Weird Mysticism Has A Lot of Precedents
He-Man's one of the most obvious babyfaces in cartoons. He's pure of heart and unlike his alter-ego, Prince Adam, he literally only exists to save the day. He needs a powerful, sinister heel to provide him with his best storylines. With his dark powers and sinister visage, Skeletor's an all-purpose adversary.
Strangely, wrestling heels often have supernatural powers, from Papa Shango's problematic voodoo curses to The Undertaker's status as a walking dead man. A musclebound, skull-headed purple wizard would fit right in.
8 Mister Burns Shows That Heels Don't Always Rely On Physical Strength
In wrestling, heels aren't always physically strong. Instead, they can rely on minions and infuriating cunning to challenge the heroes. Springfield's own Montgomery Burns is a perfect example of this dynamic. Feeble, wealthy, and cruel, Burns has dominated The Simpsons' hometown for decades.
Burns's combination of ruthlessness and wealth would make him a perfect evil manager, along the lines of Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan, controlling a powerful stable of shadowy villains. He'd happily engage in tactics like scalding his foes in the ring or releasing attack dogs outside of it. He could also be a geriatric version of Ted DiBiase, using his wealth to buy unearned victories.
7 Black Pete is Mickey Mouse's Most Versatile Adversary
This Disney villain is literally the oldest extant Disney character, dating back to a pre-Micky animated short, "Alice Solves the Puzzle," and he's menaced Mickey Mouse since "Steamboat Willie." Enormous and malicious, Pete dwarfs the cartoon and comic characters in his world, requiring teamwork to defeat, and he has the perfect intimidating/repulsive build for a heel.
Pete also has multiple aliases, including Pistol Pete and the piratical Pegleg Pete, and he's appeared in everything from The Three Musketeers to the toddler-friendly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. This kind of versatility is important for a heel, and Pete could play many roles, much like Kane or the amazing Mick Foley.
6 Team Rocket Are The Perfect Jobbers For Any Tag-Team Match
Pokémon's Team Rocket, as represented by James and Jessie, are two of anime's most risible villains. The fact that they rarely, if ever, feel like a real threat makes them perfect jobbers—wrestlers whose main function is to make other wrestling pros look good. In Team Rocket's case, this also gives them an underdog vibe that makes them weirdly sympathetic.
With Meowth functioning as their manager, they'd never win any titles, but they'd garner a sizeable fan base with their overconfidence and catchphrases. No matter how many times they blasted off, the audience would chant: "Prepare for trouble! Make it double!" when they entered the stadium.
5 Bluto Was Born Out Of Popeye's Need For A Worthy Adversary
Popeye's more evolved than a typical babyface. When he first appeared in E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre nearly a decade before Superman's conception, he was a homely, gambling-addicted vagabond. In the days before the animated shorts and their fixation on spinach, he was also superhumanly strong and tough enough to shrug off a bullet. Just like the Man of Steel, the writing problem that Popeye presented was the need for a challenge.
There were other challengers, like the Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, but Captain Bluto's sheer mass and strength presented the antiheroic sailor with a merciless adversary who might actually win. It's the kind of toss-up audiences want when nemeses clash in the squared circle.
4 Marvel's Kingpin Combines Money & Intimidation With Pure Muscle
Wilson Fisk has appeared in comics, live-action, and multiple animations, but one of his most iconic incarnations was in the Oscar-winning film, Into The Spider-Verse. There, the Kingpin was merciless and terrifying, but also sympathetic. His violent life had destroyed his family, and he put the universe in danger to restore it. He controlled a powerful stable of villains, but he was the final boss, the unstoppable force that the underdog hero had to overcome.
Kingpin's combination of financial, political, and physical power makes him the perfect heel to conquer an entire franchise, leaving the heroes with an evil regime to conquer. And while it's a clash of worlds, in the end, it's just face vs heel in a final battle for the title.
3 Scar Plays The Long Game
The Lion King's Scar is an interesting character in that he isn't the strongest, but he is strong enough. He's also a murderous betrayer who's willing to use any advantage. His opportunism means that he can infiltrate heroic wrestling groups, use them to position himself for victory, and then shove them over the edge.
He's also persuasive and knows how to make alliances, though his selfishness and hubris also set him up for an eventual fall. His storylines could be like Shakespeare translated into wrestling.
2 TMNT's Shredder Leads A Cult Of Ninja & Has An Unforgettable Look
Heels who lead powerful factions are nothing new, and as the leader of the Foot Clan, this ninja master would pose an unforgettable threat to any wrestling franchise's status quo. His outfit recalls the looks of classic wrestlers like The Road Warriors, and while wearing a full-body cheese grater is presumably not allowed in the ring, it still makes for a great look when he makes an entrance.
Shredder's also a cunning ninja warrior, which means lots of ambushes outside the ring, and elaborate poison-and-trap-filled storylines. As cheesy as it is, it's a wonder 'wrestling ninja' hasn't been a popular theme for heroes and heels.
1 Mumm-Ra's Transformation Could Be The Greatest Gimmick Of All Time
Another undead wizard similar to Skeletor, Thundercats' Mumm-Ra brings something new to the table in the form of his transformation. Ominously chanting to himself, the apparently decrepit mummy would shuffle forward, and with the words "transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living!" he'd throw off his robes and bandages to reveal his terrifying strength.
It would require a terrific performance to sell it, but Mumm-Ra transforming into a giant monstrosity could be a more extreme version of Bray Wyatt's metamorphosis into The Fiend, and produce similar genre-shaking results.