Baby Face (Wrestling Term)
The term for a 'good guy' or protagonist character in professional wrestling. The concept has evolved from the perfect superhero archetype of the past.
First Mentioned
11/8/2025, 5:52:43 AM
Last Updated
11/8/2025, 5:54:25 AM
Research Retrieved
11/8/2025, 5:54:25 AM
Summary
A "babyface," often shortened to "face," is a heroic, "good guy" character in professional wrestling, designed to be cheered by fans. Traditionally, babyfaces adhere to rules, avoid cheating, and display positive behavior towards referees and the audience. While classic babyfaces like Hulk Hogan embodied this archetype, the WWE's Attitude Era saw a creative shift towards antihero personas and modern heels, as noted by WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Despite this evolution, the concept of a babyface remains central to professional wrestling's emphasis on storytelling and charisma, which WWE prioritizes over pure athletic competition, drawing parallels to Marvel's narrative approach.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Role
Heroic character, good guy, fan favorite
Opposite
Heel (Wrestling Term), Antihero Persona
Synonyms
Face, blue-eye (England), t écnico (Mexico)
Modern Examples
John Cena, Bret Hart, Rey Mysterio
Impact of Internet
Necessitated blending persona and reality for performers
Traditional Behavior
Wrestles within rules, avoids cheating, positive towards referee and audience
Archetype Example (Classic)
Hulk Hogan
Timeline
- The Attitude Era saw a creative shift with the rise of the Antihero Persona and modern Heel, departing from the classic Baby Face archetype. (Source: document_id:bf00b7cf-9d1c-41da-96d1-a178b238dcf3)
Late 1990s
- The Rock underwent a 'heel turn,' switching from a crowd hero to a villain, though he later returned to being a face. (Source: web_search_results)
Late 1990s
Web Search Results
- Face (professional wrestling) - Wikipedia
In professional wrestling, a face (babyface) is a heroic, "good guy", "good-doer", or "fan favorite" wrestler, booked (scripted) by the promotion with the aim of being cheered by fans. They are portrayed as heroes relative to the heel "Heel (professional wrestling)") wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Traditionally, face characters wrestle within the rules and avoid cheating while behaving positively towards the referee "Referee (professional wrestling)") and the audience. Such [...] العربية "فيس (مصارعة) – Arabic") Dansk "Babyface (wrestling) – Danish") Español Français "Face (catch) – French") 한국어 "선역 (프로레슬링) – Korean") Bahasa Indonesia Italiano "Face (wrestling) – Italian") Nederlands "Face (professioneel worstelen) – Dutch") 日本語 "ベビーフェイス (プロレス) – Japanese") Português "Face (luta profissional) – Portuguese") Русский "Фейс (рестлинг) – Russian") Simple English "Face (professional wrestling) – Simple English") Türkçe "Face (profesyonel güreş) – Turkish") [...] Some face wrestlers often give high fives or give out merchandise to fans while entering the ring before their match, such as T-shirts, sunglasses, hats and masks. Bret Hart was one of the first superstars to make this popular, as he would drape his signature sunglasses on a child in the audience. Rey Mysterio, who has been a face in WWE since his debut, would go to any fan (frequently a child) wearing a replica of his mask and touch their head with his head for good luck before wrestling.
- Understanding Wrestling Terminology: A Casual Fan's Guide
Angle: Another term for storyline. This is essentially the driving force behind pro wrestling and is similar to the plot of a novel. It is anything, such as one wrestler attacking another, that leads to a story between multiple wrestlers, which can take on a number of different forms. Babyface (“Face” for short): The good guy. This is similar to the hero or protagonist of a novel or play. He is the person that the fans cheer for, unless we’re talking about John Cena. [...] Turn: When a wrestler switches from heel to babyface or from babyface to heel. Essentially, it’s when a bad guy goes good or vice versa. Tweener: A wrestler who is viewed neither as a face nor a heel. He generally displays characters of both sides, and thus, is seen as a combination of both. This can also refer to someone who is fully heel as a character, but gets cheered anyway. Work: Anything that is scripted to happen. The exact opposite of a shoot. [...] ## Featured Video ### Will AJ Lee Return On SmackDown? Very few of my friends actually watch professional wrestling, and the ones that do so only tune into Monday Night Raw on occasion. But naturally, I assume they’re diehard fans like me, and thus, they know what a babyface or a shoot is. That is until I actually use those words around them. I’ll say something along the lines of, “Wow. I can’t believe they haven’t turned him heel yet.” ## TOP NEWS
- Glossary of professional wrestling terms - Wikipedia
face : Main article: Face (professional wrestling) "Face (professional wrestling)") Also babyface, blue-eye (England), or técnico (Mexico). A wrestler who is heroic, who is booked to be cheered by fans. Heels are the opposite of faces and faces commonly perform against heels. face-in-peril : Also playing Ricky Morton. [...] scientific wrestler : 1. Alternative term for a technician : 2. Term used by Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications to refer to a babyface as in their early years of circulation, when most heels worked in a brawling rather than technical style. Later replaced with "fan favorite" as technical heels (and brawling babyfaces) became more commonplace. [...] : An unfair and controversial finish, often involving cheating or outside interference. A worked screwjob is part of the story and is used to generate heat or sympathy while allowing a popular babyface to lose without losing credibility. A shoot screwjob occurs when the finish is changed without informing the losing wrestler. Two famous instances of this were the manner in which The Fabulous Moolah took the WWF Women's Championship "WWE Women's Championship (1956–2010)") from Wendi Richter in
- Eight wrestling terms that separate the marks from the heels - BBC
Also known as simply ‘Face’ or ‘Baby’, these are the good guys in the ring and usually the one the crowds are cheering for. John Cena, the breakout wrestling star who combines his success in the ring with TV presenting and appearances in movies such as Trainwreck and Daddy’s Home is a prime example of a babyface. Wrestling is an intriguing world, however, and it’s not uncommon for some stars to lose their babyface credentials and slip over to the ‘dark’ side. It’s then that they become a… [...] If you’re a newbie, perhaps only just dipping a toe into the first season of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and their adventures before the newest lands on Friday, here’s a guide to the terms you may come across. Just remember not to make anyone say kayfabe - and definitely don’t be a heel. ## Babyface [...] Although The Rock, arguably the best-known wrestler of all time and now a successful movie star, would seem a prime candidate to be classed as a babyface, he has time-served on his CV as a heel. The moment when he went from a crowd hero to a villain occurred in in the late '90s and is known as a ‘heel turn’, although he eventually came back to being on the side of the people. Phew. Other famous heels not heading to your gran’s house anytime soon include Randy Orton and Vince McMahon.
- How do you define/distinguish a babyface, face, tweener, heel and ...
WWE's definitions: Babyface - Calls fans "WWE Universe", smiles, doesn't back down from a challenge. Heel - Calls fans "you people", smirks, chickenshits.