WWE Hall Of Famer Triple H Explains Why Babyfaces Are More 'Selfish'

In recent years, the lines of traditional babyface vs. heel dynamics in pro wrestling have been blurred, but the medium still relies on the classic archetype of hero vs. villain more often than not. Appearing on the podcast "FLAGRANT," WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque shared his belief that, despite what fans see onscreen, the best heels are the ones who have no problem allowing the spotlight to shine on their opponent.

"I have a theory that — and I don't mean this in a negative way at all — to be the babyface, you have to ... be a little bit more selfish," Levesque said.

Because of that, the industry's top babyfaces often get a reputation for putting themselves before their opponents, but Levesque believes it is a necessary aspect of the position. There are counter-examples, such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who Levesque described as an unselfish babyface. That worked for Austin because his character broke the mold of a typical hero and crossed over into becoming an anti-hero, and he had an even more despicable foe to work against — Vince McMahon.

"As a bad guy, your job is to make the other guy look good," Levesque continued. "Keep yourself alive doing it, keep yourself hot doing it, keep yourself all that stuff, but the truth is the biggest reaction you get as a bad guy is when you give a good guy the comeback."

Levesque then stated that, in pro wrestling, a hero is only as good as the villain they're up against. The "magic" of a wrestling match comes from that feeling of seeing a sympathetic figure struggle and eventually overcome against the villain everyone has been conditioned to hate.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "FLAGRANT" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.