Top 15 Good Guys In WWE History

By Nicholas A. Marsico

Top 15 Good Guys In WWE History

John Cena and Hulk Hogan — Many wrestlers, when asked, talk about how much they enjoy playing the bad guy, because it's just more fun. Most wrestlers have been on both sides of the fence (and on numerous occasions -- I'm looking at you, Big Show) and have had successful careers playing both the heel and the babyface. Some, of course, are better than others. Here are the top 15 good guys in the history of WWE.

15. Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio Posing

15. Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio Posing — The Biggest Little Man in WWE history, the perennial underdog, Rey Mysterio spent his entire tenure as a WWE superstar firmly on the side of the good guys. His mask and overall colorful attire were a hit with the kids, his in-ring acrobatics made everybody a fan, and his ability to have a good match with anybody, no matter what size, puts him over the top and onto this list. We can ignore the poorly booked run as World Champion.

14. Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle

14. Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle — Your Olympic Hero Kurt Angle entered the WWF as a great heel character and switched back and forth on a few occasions. He would make any list for best bad guys as well. As a good guy, however, he has been inspiring, funny and overall great. Angle was one of the top faces for the WWF during the Invasion and had a feud with Steve Austin, including a title win shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Later on the crowd cheered for his no-nonsense approach.

Top 10 Moves of Kurt Angle

13. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

Jimmy Snuka

13. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

Jimmy Snuka — The Superfly was a huge star in the WWF in the 1980s. He came in as a heel but thanks to his high flying abilities that were a rarity in North American wrestling at the time, the crowd quickly started cheering him. He was a man of few words, but his in-ring actions spoke best for him, including his signature Superfly Splash, which he performed off the top of steel cages a number of times, inspiring men like Mick Foley to become pro wrestlers.

Top 10 Moves of Jimmy Snuka

12. Jeff Hardy

jeff hardy

12. Jeff Hardy

jeff hardy — Whether it was as a part of the Hardy Boyz tag team with brother Matt or all on his lonesome, Jeff was a huge fan favorite who went from the bottom rung and rose to the top, eventually becoming World Champion. In WWE he was portrayed mostly as an underdog, whose high flying and risk taking helped him win matches and the adulation of the fans. His looks didn't hurt with the ladies, either. His ladder match with The Undertaker is textbook underdog.

Top 10 Moves of Jeff Hardy

11. Miss Elizabeth

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth

11. Miss Elizabeth

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth — The original First Lady of professional wrestling, Miss Elizabeth was a paragon of virtue who always stood by the side of her man Randy Savage. She always saw the good in people and tried to keep the peace in the face of conflict. Her sweet demeanor and squeaky-clean image made her an enormous fan favorite in the WWF in the 1980s. Everybody loved Miss Elizabeth.

Miss Elizabeth on Saturday Night's Main Event

10. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan

10. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan Facing John Cena — The leader of the Yes Movement has built up a strong fanbase since entering WWE in 2006. He was an immediate fan favorite upon his arrival in NXT, and his ability to play the everyman and underdog put him over the top after his run as a heel with a slight Napoleon complex ended. He's so beloved by the WWE Universe that the crowd actually forced WWE to give him the WWE Title at WrestleMania 30 even though they didn't want to.

Top 10 Moves of Daniel Bryan

9. The Undertaker

Undertaker

9. The Undertaker

Undertaker — The Undertaker has been with the company for nearly two and a half decades. He has played both face and heel, but as one of WWE's most enduring characters his legacy of a good guy lives strongest, especially in recent years. His time is winding down (for real this time) but he is a huge attraction every WrestleMania season and crowds for years have been on the side of the Deadman.

Top 10 Moves of The Undertaker

8. "Macho Man" Randy Savage

Randy Savage

8. "Macho Man" Randy Savage

Randy Savage — Certainly one of the best bad guys of all time, Randy Savage is also an amazing good guy. When he won the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV it was the culmination of a redemption story (one of his many) that made him a top face at the level of Hogan himself. His love story with Miss Elizabeth is the best in the history of wrestling, culminating in the least cringeworthy wrestling wedding ever.

Top 10 Moves of Randy Savage

7. The Rock

The Rock Posing in WWE

7. The Rock

The Rock Posing in WWE — The Rock might have had a very rough start as the smiling blue-chipper Rocky Maivia, as fans cheered for him and first and then quickly grew tired of his shtick. He turned heel and acted cool and cocky, at which point fans continued hating him (but for the right reasons), then started loving to hate him, and then they just started loving him. He has been able to hold the crowd in the palm of his hands (outside of a few choice times) for years.

Top 10 Moves of The Rock

6. John Cena

John Cena WWE

6. John Cena

john cena wwe — He caught on a little bit as a babyface due to his incredibly strong debut in a losing effort against Kurt Angle, but much like The Rock before him he didn't catch on until after he turned heel. He became hated, then the crowd loved to hate him, then they loved him. He got corny and many people turned on him, but he is still tops in merchandise sales and kids love him.

Top 10 Moves of John Cena

5. Bret Hart

Bret Hart

5. Bret "Hitman" Hart

Bret Hart — Canadian legend Bret Hart was part of a heel-turned-face tag team along with Jim Neidhart. When they broke up, Hart went on to form a very successful singles run, including a long term run as the company's top babyface just before Hulk Hogan left. He was a smaller guy who was beloved by the fans in an era in which huge men still ran the place. When he turned heel in America in 1997, he was still a superhero face in his native Canada.

Top 10 Moves of Bret "Hitman" Hart

4. Mankind

Mick Foley Wins the WWF Title

4. Mankind

Mick Foley Wins the WWF Title — The Three Faces of Foley (plus Mick himself) are a group that stand as some of the greatest characters in wrestling history. In this case, though, the best good guy of them all was Mankind. He started off as a sadistic, masochistic sociopath and after being manipulated too many times by too many people started gaining sympathy from the crowd. Sympathy became empathy and then love. Mankind was a true rags-to-riches (and still rags) story.

Top 10 Moves of Mankind

3. Bob Backlund

bob backlund

3. Bob Backlund

backlund — In a time where the boy next door, milk and cookies, always doing the right thing and being an upstanding member of society was still cool, Bob Backlund became a humongous good guy for the WWF. He held the WWF Title for eight years at one point, taking on any and all foes as an expert amateur-turned-pro wrestler and delighting the crowd while smiling and kissing babies. He was the guy.

Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka - June 28, 1982

2. Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan

2. Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan — Hulk Hogan was THE man in the WWF for the better part of 10 years from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. He told kids to train, say their prayers and eat their vitamins -- his three demands. Hogan was really just a tan, bleach-blonde, muscled-up marketable version of Bob Backlund for the MTV generation. He was good at playing the part.

Top 10 Moves of Hulk Hogan

1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin

1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin — Steve Austin entered the WWF as a heel with Ted DiBiase at his side. After dropping the Million Dollar Man he continued his path as a bad guy until wrestling Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. The crowd has become tired of goody two-shoes Hart and loved the brazen attitude of Stone Cold. He became a babyface as the anti hero, as he never changed his behavior, and he only became bigger as he became the voice of the everyman when he took on the boss.

Top 10 Moves of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Nicholas A. Marsico is a featured pro wrestling writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter!

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