The Heel Jobber

Traditionally, wrestling  jobbers have been portrayed as Baby-Faces — good guys who look cute, dress in bright colors, and do their level best to follow the rules, which made the big bad Heels seem even more ferocious and cruel as they tore the naive jobbers limb from limb.  The purpose of the Baby-Face Jobbers was to build up the apparent power, ferocity, and fearsomeness of the Heels (which made us even more concerned and/or aroused over the potential punishment the big mean Bastard would unload on our poor, unsuspecting Hero Face at the next Pay-Per-View…)

Bob Bradley however is the archetype of a “Heel Jobber” — a villain whose purpose was to make the heroic Baby-Face wrestlers seem braver and stronger in contrast.  He wore black gear instead of the usual pink or silver or baby blue we see on most jobbers.  He was masculine and aggressive in appearance, the announcers often commenting on his impressive physique.   His purpose was to threaten and harm the Baby-Face who would eventually fight back and bravely secure the victory, thus increasing our admiration and respect for the courageous Face.

Here is a classic match between Tito Santana, the ultimate Baby-Face in his snow white trunks and boots, against big, bad, brawny Bob Bradley.  It is available on YouTube if you want to relive a traditional 1980’s Jobber Heel vs. Baby-Face battle.

Bradley establishes his status as a fink and a villain by running away from muscular Tito, hiding in the ropes and sliding out of the ring like a bitch.  Come on, Bradley, we paid to watch you wrassle!!

This match follows the classic formula:

1. Shine — The Good Guy dominates and makes the villain look like a buffoon.

2. Heat — The villain gains the upper hand thanks to dirty tactics.

3. Comeback — Our hero finds the intestinal fortitude to fight back.

4. Finish — A winner is decided.

For this wrestling fan, several nice features make this match stand out compared to thousands of other formulaic make-the-hero-look-spectacular matches:

1. Those tighty-whitie trunks on Santana. I am a sucker for wrestlers in all-white gear, and Tito’s little undies keep riding up on him and wedging themselves in his nether regions, which must be causing him some embarrassment and frustration!
2. Bradley’s body — My oh my, is this big stud ever fun to watch. MMMPH, What a butch daddy — he looks like a viking with that long flowing hair and dark beard.  Sadly, they just don’t make jobbers like him any more.
3. Extra long, extra rough Heat segment — After about 6 minutes of Shining and looking unbeatable, Tito settles in for 7-minutes of gorgeous suffering and helplessness.  He is one Baby-Face who grasped the importance (and eroticism) of patiently acting out his unrelenting pain and appearing mortally wounded.   I have always appreciated this Baby-Face’s talent at selling the pain.

Many jobbers will act like impotent push-overs soon after the bell rings, taking on the characteristics of a well-trained sheep and never once attempting any offense.  But the Heel Jobber is always effective and powerful during the middle — or “Heat” — part of the match.  This will make the Hero’s big come-back and eventual victory at the end of the battle appear even more incredible and inspiring.

Bradley is plausible as the dominant Alpha Stud as he works over Tito’s neck.  Just look at his thick, muscular build and his manly facial hair!

He even cheats when necessary, for example yanking Tito’s long hair, to maintain the advantage and squash any hopes of Tito’s return to power.  After 7 minutes of Tito in agony, his fans are wondering if their hero can get on his feet again and win this one.

Of course all good things must come to an end, and Tito knows if he ragdolls for too long, fans will begin to turn against him for being too wimpy.  The Mexican sensation demonstrates some impressive tactics of his own and soon beats Bradley into submission, his rightful place in the pecking order.

Bradley quickly submits to Tito’s aggressive stance and lays down passively to allow the pretty-boy in white gear to do whatever he wants.  This is the kinky, playful side of the Heel Jobber — his willingness to surrender his power.  The Heel Jobber is like the male submissive, a masochist who is eager to invert the masculine power structure and submit to a more aggressive over-lord.

Many men, even powerful leaders, find it intoxicating to play around with  power dynamics.  They fantasize about being humiliated by a more confident aggressor, totally gifting their power and decision making to a Boss.  You might be surprised how many big, beefy, macho dudes who resemble Bob Bradley are just craving someone to take control of their universe and put them in their place.  I believe the classic “Heel Jobber” persona was a nod to that particular fetish — the excitement over power dynamics and role reversal.