Handsome Heel

In 1981, British pro wrestling fans were head over heels in love with Chris Adams, the cute lad in the red trunks. He was your typical Baby-Face — attractive, young, likeable, and vulnerable — everything the Brits love in a wrestling hero. They even wrote magazine articles describing him as the “Most Eligible Bachelor” in wrestling — which I’m sure had all the young fans (male and female) swooning and hoping they’d be the one to capture his heart.

In this match, Adams is facing a young Dave “Fit” Finlay — just 21 years old at the time.  Finlay is young but also aggressive and talented.  He shows off a bunch of punishing holds.

Most Heels in the British federations were older, uglier, fatter men — a sharp contrast to the sleek young pretty-boy Baby-Faces.  The brutish, beastly Heels would then utilize their in-ring experience to inflict maximum punishment on the over-whelmed young Underdog.

Fit Finlay, however, broke the Heel mold.  He was young, muscular, and brutally handsome — not ugly and fat.  He had the British fans swooning not because of his cute features, but because he was capable, aggressive, and powerful.  He reeked of eager masculinity.  Normally, fans could resist being attracted to the old, ugly Heels, but there was no resisting Fit Finlay.  His body and attitude — his competence at hurting other men —  forced the fans to take notice and become enamored.

The “Handsome Heel” always presents a conundrum for wrestling fans — which wrestler do I route for?? Everyone knows you’re supposed to hate bad guys like Fit Finlay and focus on the suffering hero — Chris Adams in this case.  But the  Handsome Heel is irresistable, constantly capturing one’s attention and focus.  Do we want Fit Finlay to pay for his arrogance, or to keep on beating up poor, cute Chris Adams?

A Handsome Heel inspires us to wish for the prolonged suffering of the Baby-Face. The Handsome Heel therefore creates a sadistic attitude, a cold savagery, in the viewers’ thoughts, which makes us feel tough, and brutal, and a bit guilty ourselves.  We want to be like Fit Finlay — to emulate the guy we’re attracted to — so he inspires us to be tough and to want to punish other men.

This unresolved tension in the minds of the young fans — this combination of love and hate for the cruel but gorgeous Heel — seemed to create horny excitement for the viewers.  The comments posted for the YouTube video of this match are quite positive:

“Brings back such happy memories of my youth,as I recall how Finlay made such an impact on me as a young wrestling fan.”

The heroic Chris Adams may have won the match actually, but in my mind, it would’ve been hotter if Finlay won, so that’s the story you’re getting here.

Young Fit Finlay eventually grew up and became Dave Finlay — the proverbial older, beefier Bad Guy.  In fact he’s still wrestling today! While preparing this article, I learned Finlay was just recently fired from WWE for interrupting the Star Spangled Banner in order to bring in The Miz prematurely, which was meant to generate heat for The Miz.  Interrupting the national anthem upset the military folks in attendance and Finlay’s head had to roll.  Wait a minute — I thought pro wrestling Heels are supposed to be evil and perform despicable acts??  I thought they’re supposed to upset, frustrate, and offend us!?!  That’s what we pay them to do — to hurt us and inspire us to hate them.